Page 3 of SEAL's Harmony
“Maybe they’re into silver foxes?”
It must have hit his funny bone, because as soon as the words left his mouth, Tony lost it. The guffaw that came out of his mouth took Ry by surprise, and most of the other guests turned in their direction. Ry couldn’t remember if he’d ever seen his CO laugh like that.
“Thanks for that, but I’m pretty sure they’re coming for you.”
“Shit, I guess it’s too late to make a run for it.” Ry took a swig of his beer, straightened his shoulders, and prayed for a distraction. As the two blondes made their way over, he glanced at Whiskey. If the dog made one move toward anyone, he’d have a reason to excuse himself.
Tony elbowed him in the side, and Ry pasted a smile on his face as the women stopped in front of them.
“Hi, I’m Shelley and this is my sister Sharon. We’re friends of Meghan’s from back home.” Blonde number one flashed an overbright smile.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Ryder and this is Tony.” Tony had been right. They weren’t from around there. He tried to catch Lucky’s attention where he stood by the buffet table, but the man flat-out ignored him. The douche canoe knew he needed to be rescued, but winked at him instead.
“Do you work with Rafe, too? We met some of his other teammates earlier,” blonde number two asked.
“I’m not on his team, but I do work with him sometimes. Tony is the boss of both teams,” Ry explained.
“Oh, really?” blonde number one said and batted her eyelashes at Tony. “You’re the boss man, hmm? Is it hard telling all these gorgeous men what to do all day?”
It took all Ry had not to burst out laughing at the look on Tony’s face. Even if he paid for it with extra PT, it would definitely be worth it.
“And what do you do?” blonde number two asked.
“I’m a dog trainer,” Ry said. It took a lot of effort to keep a straight face at the look of disappointment on number two. He’d bet a hundred bucks that she was cursing her sister for getting the boss when she got stuck with the dog trainer.
“I guess that can be exciting,” she mumbled, and moved closer to her sister.
Ry would have to remember to use that line in the future if he needed an escape. Th bigger surprise was how well Tony handled small talk. Maybe Ry would ask him for some pointers for the future.
“Ry, why don’t you tell Sharon about Whiskey?” Tony suggested.
“What about whiskey?” blonde number two asked.
“Not a what, a who. Whiskey is my dog.” Ry pointed to where Whiskey had been lying halfway under the table. But he wasn’t anymore. He was on all-fours, with his ears cocked forward. Something had him agitated. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to check on him.”
Ry didn’t wait for their answer and set off across the room, trying to figure out what triggered his reaction. Unable to figure out what was going on, he had to wait until he made it closer to Whiskey to see the problem.
A petite blonde looked like she’d lost her balance and grabbed the table to keep herself upright. Except the table wasn’t steady, and it looked like both the woman and the wedding cake were about to hit the floor. Before Ry could do anything to stop the impending disaster, Whiskey reached her side, grabbed the bottom hem of her dress, and pulled her away from the table.
The scene unfolded in slow motion as Ry got there just in time to catch her as she lost her footing. He scooped her up into his arms as Whiskey whined next to him.
“What just happened?” the woman asked as she blinked up at him.
The violet eyes gazing up at him took his breath away. It was a moment before he answered. “My dog rescued you and the wedding cake from certain disaster. I just kept you from hitting the floor. Are you okay?”
“I think so. Umm, can you put me down?”
“Oh yeah, of course.” Ry lowered her to the floor. When he looked down, one heel had broken off her shoe. “I think you might need a new pair of shoes.”
“What? Darn. I just bought these, too. That’ll teach me to wear high heels.”
Ry bent over to pick up the heel. “Are you here for the Buchanan wedding? I don’t remember seeing you earlier. Do you want me to get anyone for you?” What the fuck was wrong with him? He was rambling on like a teenager.
“No, no one. I’m really fine and yes, I’m supposed to be here. It just took me a while to decide if I was going to come or not.” Her cheeks flooded with color, making her eyes look even more purple. Then she looked away from him and kicked off her shoes. They both bent to pick them up at the same time, and only Ry’s quick reaction kept them from banging their heads together.
“I guess staying home would have been the smarter choice,” she said and ducked her head to avoid his gaze.
Before Ry could ask her name, Chrissy Stillwell grabbed the woman’s arm. Chrissy was Meghan’s best friend, Ryan McLaughlin’s fiancée, and a CIA operative. But the coolest thing about her was she had an eidetic memory. The woman could unravel any plot she uncovered, and there had been plenty.
