Page 21 of SEAL's Sunshine
“Why?” Cam and Rafe were surprised. Didn’t she realize Ryan had a thing for her? Or maybe she didn’t like him. He hadn’t thought of that.
“He doesn’t like me. He hardly says two words to me when he’s here. It seems like you’re just going to torture him with my presence. And trust me, as much as I like that idea, no one deserves that after a deployment.”
“Don’t worry, it won’t be torture. He loves that food. If he comes up for air to acknowledge any of us I’ll be freaking shocked,” Rafe said.
“It’ll be fine, stop being a fucking whiny-baby,” Meghan said as she wrapped her arms around her friend. Oh yeah, there was definitely something going on.
They had to take two vehicles to the restaurant since Rafe’s truck couldn’t fit them all. Halo had to stay behind since the Ice House didn’t allow non-service dogs. They’d tried before so he already knew it was a no-go. To take the sting out of staying behind, he opened a can of tuna and put it out for Halo along with some fresh water.
Then Cam and Miranda hitched a ride with Chrissy to make sure she didn’t ditch them. By the time they arrived at the restaurant, Ryan was already leaning against the side of the building. If Cam hadn’t been watching closely he wouldn’t have seen Chrissy’s intake of breath when she first saw him.
Chapter 7
The foodat the Ice House was excellent, just as Cam said, but Miranda had trouble eating much. Nerves set in as she thought about being alone with him. She wasn’t a prude or a virgin, but they hadn’t had sex yet either. There had been plenty of kissing, touching, and intimacy but she hadn’t been naked in front of him. When that thought hit her, her appetite had evaporated.
It’s not that she had a poor self-image, she accepted her body for what it was—hers. She’d never felt the need to be perfect, or thin, or anything other than herself. But that had changed after Afghanistan. She’d been tortured. The men who took her had cut her so many times that most of her body was covered with scars. Since she’d been home, she’d made sure to be covered up most of the time.
“Don’t you like the food?” Cam asked.
“Oh, it’s wonderful, just like you said. I’m full already.”
“But you hardly ate anything. Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m fine. Maybe a little tired. I’m not used to partying like we did last night.”
“Got all rowdy, huh?”
“Maybe a little.”
“What are you two talking about down there? You need to share with the class.” Chrissy had an excellent knack of interrupting at the most opportune times. It’s like she saw and heard everything. Probably what made her a good analyst.
“I was trying to get Miranda to share about your girl’s night festivities, but she is being tight-mouthed.”
“Good. That’s how it is, kiddo. Whatever happens on girl’s night stays secret.”
“Got it.”
“So don’t try plying her for information, Miranda knows how to keep secrets.”
They had no idea of the secrets Miranda knew and would never share, mostly about her father, but that was the whole point of secrets wasn’t it.
“It’s not a big deal.”
“It is, secrets are important, Sunshine, and I’ll always respect yours.”
“Thank you, Cam.”
“He knows all about secrets, we live them every day,” Ryan said. It was the first thing he’d said since he greeted them when they arrived. Rafe had been right about him being quiet and eating. It was amazing just how much the three SEALs managed to eat in one sitting.
“It must be hard sometimes, not being able to talk about what you do. But I learned all about that with my dad.”
“I didn’t realize senators had many secrets, but I guess I should have,” Ryan responded as he ate the last bite of food on his plate.
“Yeah.” She didn’t mention his prior work for the CIA and how most of her life had been based on his secrets. It was time to change the subject. “I’m curious, do they not feed you when you’re on missions?”
“What? Of course they feed us. Depending on what we’re doing it could be MREs. You had a few when you were with us, remember?” Cam said as he finished his plate.
“Oh yeah, I’ll never forget that gourmet experience.”
