Page 45 of SEAL's Patience
It had to be Quinn. As she shook her head to clear it, she felt the pull of the elastic still around part of her hair. Pulling it out, she ruffled her hair with her hands. Half of it had come out, anyway.
“Were you drinking after work?”
“No. Just exhausted. Quinn brought me home and insisted on checking the house for intruders.” She rolled her eyes just thinking about it. All she’d wanted to do was sit down for a minute, then eat something and go to bed. Looks like she missed most of that plan. “I think I fell asleep while he was doing it. Was the deadbolt on when you got home?”
“No, and your keys were on the island. Theo was worried something had happened to you. I ran upstairs, but you were out cold. Didn’t even hear us calling your name. I got worried since the day’s half over and you still weren’t awake.”
“Wow. I can’t believe I slept for so long. We got back here at about eight-thirty.”
“How do you feel now? Are you hungry? I saw lasagna, salad, and cheesecake in the fridge. I guess Tony sent you home with a goody bag?”
“Yeah.” Patience grinned. “My mouth was watering for it all shift, but we were so busy.”
“I wondered. I’m sorry I didn’t make it back yesterday.”
“No worries. Pam wasn’t upset. She didn’t expect it to get crowded either. But Sky went home early since Murphy was deploying today.”
“Gotcha. Good thing they’re closed on Mondays.”
“Right? Let me get washed up and I’ll meet you downstairs for lunch. Unless you ate already?”
“Nope, waited for you. I need to hear all the tea, too. Including the extra on how you ended up in bed in just your underwear. Nice set, by the way,” Livie teased. “Don’t take too long or I’ll eat yours, too. I’m starving.”
“You’d better not. I might have to kill you.”
Livie’s chuckles followed her out of the bedroom. Patience dropped her head in her hands. She’d slept too long. It was like having a hangover, but with no fun first. Ugh. And what was shegoing to do about Quinn? She couldn’t believe he put her to bed. Maybe Pam was right about him falling for her.
Then she noticed her phone flashing with a message. Wow, he’d even put her phone on charge. He was a conundrum. If she looked up mixed signals in the dictionary, there would probably be a photo of him. But this was a conversation for later-Patience.
Grabbing the phone, she opened the messages. There were three, one from a number she didn’t recognize, probably the mechanic. Another from Livie, and one from Quinn. She was going to read them when her stomach cramped and made a horrible noise. Maybe she should eat then shower. It sounded like a plan until she got a whiff of herself. Nope. Shower, then eat and answer the messages.
Her hunger made for the quickest shower on record—even faster than the cold water outdoor showers in the middle of nowhere. Not bothering to dry her hair, she toweled off, got dressed, and ran downstairs after grabbing her phone from the nightstand.
By the time Patience made it into the kitchen, Livie had the kitchen island set for lunch, the salad out, and iced tea poured.
“Oh, thank goodness. You had about five more minutes before I started eating.”
“Sorry. I don’t think I’ve ever showered that fast. Do you want me to heat the lasagna? I feel bad that you did everything else.”
“It’s already in the microwave. I prepped one of them. It’s like four pieces in each container. I figured we could share. Just push the button, it should start.”
Patience pushed the button and made her way to the island. “I’m starving, too. It’s been over twenty-four hours since I’ve eaten anything other than a piece of fruit I stole from the Ready Room kitchen.”
“Girl, are you trying to get sick? You’re going to be a doctor. Are mostly already one. You know better than that.”
“Yup, I do. It’s not like I planned to fall asleep before eating. I guess I needed that more.” Patience ate a forkful of salad and let the flavor of the balsamic vinegar dressing tingle on her tongue. “So, good.”
Livie nodded. “Mmm, hmmm.”
The two of them must have looked like they hadn’t eaten in weeks. They’d both finished their salad by the time the microwave beeped for the lasagna.
“I’ll get it.” Livie hopped off the stool and grabbed the plate and carried it to the island.
Patience cleared away the salad dishes and put out new plates. “Damn, my mouth is watering already.”
“Right? I keep begging Tony for his recipe, but he says he won’t share it until he’s dead.”
They both laughed. That sure sounded like Tony. When he came to work at the Ready Room, it had made a huge difference for the bar and for Pam.
