“So how’d you do getting home Saturday night?” Rebecca asked. “That storm was insane. I almost called to see if you wanted to stay with me over at Patrick’s.”
“Yeah, because that wouldn’t have been awkward with me as the third wheel. Actually, my car got towed.”
“What!” Rebecca shot up from her lounge chair, staring at Alison with wide eyes. “Why didn’t you call me? How’d you get home?”
“I was about ready to run back to Patrick’s house to find you—or to beg Patrick for a ride home. Evan pulled up a second before the skies broke and offered me a lift.”
“Wow. Evan, huh? He’s sweet.”
“Yeah. I thought I was more into the tall, dark, and brooding type, but he surprised me.”
“How so?”
“Drove me home. Came back yesterday to pick up my car from the impound lot with me. I made dinner for him last night.”
“Wait—you two had dinner together?”
“We’re just friends,” Alison said with a laugh. “I just wanted to thank him. I mean he’s cute, yes—well, really more like smoking hot. But he’s too young for me.”
“He’s not that young.”
“You’re one to talk. Evan is only like twenty-five or so. Patrick must be like ten years older than him!”
Rebecca shrugged. “I’m pretty sure Evan’s older than that. And with the stuff those guys deal with? Even if he is young, he’s definitely more mature than other guys his age.”
Alison snorted. “Right. I’ve heard the stories you’ve told me about Patrick’s SEAL team. A different woman every weekend, right?”
“They’re not all like that.”
“Patrick’s the exception; I get it. He’s a great guy. But as for the rest of them? I don’t think I could hope for anything serious with any of them.”
“All of them have been nothing but polite to me.”
“Yeah—because Patrick would kill them if they so much as looked at you the wrong way.”
Rebecca shrugged, obviously unable to disagree. Of course those guys would treat her with nothing but the utmost respect. From the beginning, Patrick had made it clear to everyone that he cared for Rebecca. He wasn’t the type of man to play games, and it’s not like his team would go after Patrick’s woman. Aside from that, once the rest of the guys on his SEAL team had been informed of Rebecca’s stalker, they’d been on her twenty-four/seven, protecting Rebecca and her daughter.
Alison was glad that Rebecca had someone to watch over her. But one man’s behavior did not foretell how the other guys would act. “I think Evan’s interested in me, but I just can’t do that again, you know?”
“He’s not your ex.”
“I don’t know. I just don’t see it happening.” Alison took another sip of her drink and glanced around the pool area. Rebecca knew more than anyone how wary Alison was to get in a relationship again. Her ex had proclaimed she was “the one.” Alison had suggested moving in together as the next step, and then bam. He’d told her he needed to see the world before he settled down—no need for her to stick around and wait for him.
The guy had broken her heart, and in the two years since, she’d dated but never let anyone get that close to her again. When she did find the right guy, she knew he’d be older. Established. Have a house of his own, a career, and be ready to start a family. She didn’t have time for games with boys. Cute as though he was, she shouldn’t even waste time thinking of Evan anymore.
“Yeah, come to think of it, Patrick mentioned Evan had a date with some hot brunette chick tonight,” Rebecca mused.
“What?” Alison asked, nearly toppling over the table between their two lounge chairs. She grabbed her margarita as it tipped precariously on the edge.
“Don’t care, huh?” Rebecca winked.
“I hate you.”
“That’s what best friends are for.”
Chapter 7
Alison groaned at the end of her shift on Friday evening. Her back hurt, her feet hurt, and a long hot shower was about all she wanted at the moment. Maybe that plus some Advil. Twelve hours nonstop in a crazy ER was a hell of a way to start her weekend. Her schedule of Wednesday through Friday at the hospital allowed her plenty of days off to recover in between shifts, but at the moment, all she wanted to do was crash in her bed for the next twenty-four hours or so. Maybe by Sunday she’d be ready to face the world again.
She grabbed her purse from her locker, pulling out her cell phone. She noticed a text from Rebecca.
Patrick and I are grilling tonight at my place. Want to join us?
Huh. She’d hung out with Patrick and Rebecca alone all of once before. They’d just started dating, and it wasn’t like they needed a third wheel. Why’d they suddenly want her to come over tonight?
She was getting ready to decline the invitation when her phone buzzed again.
Don’t say no! I owe you for having Abby and me over on Monday.
Alison sighed. Margaritas, chips, and apple juice for Abby hardly called for her best friend to invite her over for dinner. Although she loved their girl time, if Patrick was going to be there, too, it meant something else was up. She had a feeling it had something to do with a certain six-foot-two blond Navy SEAL. Patrick wasn’t the type of man interested in setting people up, so of course it was all Rebecca’s doing. She never should have mentioned having Evan over for dinner last weekend. Her best friend was far too observant for her own good.
So what if Alison thought the guy was cute? Or even insanely attractive—for a younger man. That didn’t mean she should date him. Would it be totally rude to decline the dinner invite? He had gone out of his way to help her last weekend, and if Evan thought she’d be there at Rebecca’s, a tiny part of her didn’t want to let him down. What that feeling was about she didn’t care to examine too closely. But seriously, after twelve hours in the ER, she wanted nothing more than a hot shower and her bed. Dinner and a pseudo date hadn’t exactly been in the game plan for tonight.
Her cell phone rang as she walked out the hospital doors, and without even bothering to see who was calling, she said, “Hun, I’m way too tired to have dinner with you tonight.”
“Wow, I hadn’t even asked you yet,” a deep voice replied. Evan. “And for someone who keeps insisting we’re just friends, should you really be calling me ‘hun’?”
Her face heated, the sound of his masculine voice resonating down to her bones. Of course Evan was somehow in on this, too. The whole world was conspiring against her. Why couldn’t he be a few years older than her instead? He’d have sewn his wild oats, seen the world—all right, as a SEAL, he probably had. She’d give him that. But he’d be marriage material then. The type of man she could give a chance because they had potential for a future.
Evan might make a cute-as-hell boyfriend now, but she had to think long term. And protect her heart. No way was she dating a guy for a few years again only to have him decide he wasn’t ready to settle down. That he didn’t want her.
“Sorry, I thought you were Rebecca,” she muttered.
“Not a chance,” he said, clearly enjoying himself. “But as you know, she and Patrick are having a few people over.”
“Who?”
“Me. Christopher. His date. You.”
“Uh huh. That sounds suspiciously like a bunch of couples having dinner together.”
Evan laughed. “So can I convince you to come? Or do I have to pick up some other chick and introduce her to the guys instead?”
“Some other chick?”
“I can’t be the only single guy there. You’d be doing me a favor.”
“Right,” she said, a smile playing on the corner of her lips. Thank God he couldn’t see her right now. Evan was entirely too persuasive for his own good.
“That, and what if you need a ride home again? With your luck, your car could be towed right from Rebecca’s driveway. I don’t want some other man driving you home. Tell you what—I’ll pick you up, save you the worry.”
Alison laughed.
“I’m still at the hospital and need to go home and change.”
“So…I’ll pick you up in an hour?”
“Yes. One hour.”
“Any chance you’ll wear that skirt you had on last weekend?” Evan asked hopefully.
“From the barbeque?” she asked, puzzled.
“That’s the one.” She could practically see the grin on his face.
“What was so special about that skirt?”
“I loved watching you move around in it all night,” he admitted, his voice low and practically oozing sex appeal.
“Evan!” Her face flamed. Obviously he wasn’t going to tone down the flirting. Was she leading him on by agreeing to go to dinner? It was just her best friend’s house, so it wasn’t like an official date or something. Was it?
“You’re gorgeous, Ali,” he said, his voice softer than before.
She bit her lip to keep from smiling. “I’ll see you in an hour, tough guy.”
“Tough guy?” he asked, chuckling.
“One hour.” She hung up and glanced at the time. Crap. She had to get moving.
***
Patrick’s cool blue gaze shot to Evan and Alison as they walked into Rebecca’s home. He looked over at Rebecca, raising his eyebrows, and she grinned. Hell, they seemed on board with the idea of Evan and Alison as a couple. Now if only Evan could convince her.
He rested his hand on the small of Alison’s back, guiding her into the room. No doubt she’d probably been there a million times before, but he liked touching her. Keeping her close.
She hadn’t worn the same skirt as last weekend but instead had on a long dress that skimmed her curves. A “maxi dress,” she’d called it, whatever the hell that was. She looked hotter than anything though, her strawberry blonde hair trailing down her back. The dark blue of the dress contrasted with her fair skin, and the swish of her hips and her ass as she walked was driving him out of his mind. It was almost like she sashayed around in that thing just to taunt him. Something about the way she was all covered up yet displaying those womanly curves to their full advantage was as hot as hell.
“Come in,” Rebecca said. “Christopher’s coming over soon, too, with his date. The kids are already asleep, so I thought we could eat out on the patio.”
“Sounds perfect,” Alison said, handing her friend a bottle of white wine.
They walked outside to Rebecca’s backyard, and Evan again wished he had a nice place of his own. His apartment suited his bachelor status just fine, but he would love to have a yard to mow, a grill to throw some steaks or burgers on, and a wife and kids to come home to. He’d never envied the other men on his SEAL team before, but hell if he wouldn’t love for his life to mirror Patrick’s. The single life had suited Evan just fine for the first twenty-seven years of his life, but lately, seeing other men with wives and families had made his gut clench just a little bit in envy.
Alison sat down at the patio table as Rebecca poured the women glasses of wine, and Patrick lit the grill. “Beer’s in the fridge, buddy,” he called over his shoulder. Evan ducked inside to grab a long neck, and when he came back out, saw Christopher had arrived with a date. Not the same chick he’d brought to the barbeque last weekend, he noted.
Alison was rubbing her shoulders with one hand, tilting her head from side to side. He set his beer down on the table beside her and caught her hand. She glanced up at him in confusion, but he released her and rested his hands on her slender shoulders. Light freckles dusted across her fair skin, and he had this crazy urge to lean down and kiss every single one. Not that he’d be doing that in the middle of Rebecca’s backyard—or anytime soon with the way things had been going. At a freaking snail’s pace. But if slow and steady got him the girl, he could work with that for the time being.
He lightly massaged Alison’s shoulders, feeling her momentarily tense up and then relax into him. “Wow, you’re in the wrong profession,” she sighed.
“How’s that?” Evan asked as the others chuckled.
“If the SEAL thing doesn’t work out, you could be a masseur.”
“I’m sure the women would be lining up around the block for that,” Christopher’s date said with a laugh. Evan grinned at her but noticed Alison tensed slightly.
He ducked down, murmuring into her ear, “Only for you, baby.” He massaged lower, between her shoulder blades, and a small moan escaped her lips. Thank God the rest of them were listening to Patrick and Christopher tell some story about training earlier in the day. That little sound coming from Alison’s mouth was sexy as fuck.
Evan glanced down, admiring the swell of her breasts just peeking out from the neckline of her dress. His position behind her gave him a glorious view. They were pert, tight, and he could see just a hint of black lace. Holy hell. What he wouldn’t give to slowly undress her one of these days, discovering her body. With his hands, with his mouth…with his tongue. Would she taste as sweet as she smelled?
He looked over at the others, not wanting to make her uncomfortable. Her eyes had been shut, and she had no idea he’d been gazing down at her. If he was going to be standing around ogling her breasts, she was going to know about it. Preferably, encouraging him to do more than just look.
The scent of meat on the grill sent his stomach rumbling. Christopher had his arms wrapped around the woman he brought, and they were standing by Patrick, who flipped the burgers. Rebecca was carrying some side dishes out on a tray. Damn those two were domestic and cuter than hell together.
He smirked. Patrick would love that shit. No one would dare tell “Ice” he was cute. He sure seemed smitten with Rebecca though.
“Be right back, babe,” he said to Alison as he watched Rebecca struggle with the large load. “I’m going to help Rebecca for a sec.” He strode over and took the overflowing tray from her.
“Thanks Evan. You’re a real sweetheart.”
“Thanks for having us over. As soon as I get a real place, I’ll have you and Patrick over sometime.”
“And Alison?” she teased, her eyes lighting up.
“Put in a good word for me, okay?” he asked with a wink.
“Already on it.”
He set the tray down as Rebecca wandered back over to the grill, wrapping her arms around Patrick. She rested her head on his back, and Evan smiled. Hell if he wouldn’t love if Alison acted that way around him some day— too in love with him to resist being away from his side for even a minute.
He grabbed a chair next to Ali, where she relaxed, sipping her wine. She had a cute sprinkling of freckles across her nose that he hadn’t noticed before. “Rough day?”
“Just more ER craziness,” she said, flashing him a sweet smile.
“You like taking care of people,” he noted.
“Yeah. That’s what nurses do, I suppose. I already told you I have two younger brothers—I guess maybe it’s just second nature at this point.”
“And who takes care of you?” he asked, his voice gruff.
“I can take care of myself,” she said with a shrug. “I don’t need anyone to take care of me.” Her voice faltered with her second statement, almost as if she didn’t quite believe the way it sounded herself.
“Everyone needs someone, Ali. Maybe I need to take care of you.”
Her mouth parted slightly as she gazed over at him.
“Let me take you out sometime. On a real date. Not this dinner with friends and SEAL buddies stuff. I want you alone.”
She bit her lip, and the sight of her teeth sinking into that soft flesh nearly made him come undone. He longed to sink his teeth into her lower lip. To nibble on it and kiss her softly, sweetly. If he thought for a second that she’d allow it, he’d haul her into his arms right now. Hold her close. Kiss that soft skin on her neck and shoulders. Gently bite her lip and soothe the sting with his tongue.
She looked away for a moment, watching the other couples near the grill. They laughed at something Christopher said, and Evan felt like he and Alison were in their own little wor
ld for the moment.
Her eyes wandered back to his, and they were bright. Interested.
“Maybe.”
He grinned.
***
“So what’s going on with you and Evan?” Rebecca whispered later in the evening as Patrick and Evan cleaned up. She had her wine glass in one hand, Alison’s elbow in the other, and steered her to the corner of the yard. Christopher had already left with his date, and Rebecca had tugged Alison off under the auspices of showing her some flowers.
At ten o’clock at night.
“I don’t know,” Alison said, taking a sip of wine. This was her third glass over the course of several hours, but it was still giving her a small buzz. “He’s cute. Probably all wrong for me.” Her stomach had been doing crazy little flips all evening—starting with walking in the door of Rebecca’s together like they were a couple or something, continuing when he’d massaged her neck and shoulders, and ending with him helping to clean up, shooting her searing gazes all the while.
“He’s really nice…not to mention totally gorgeous.”
“Yeah, and totally too young.”
“Patrick was a little confused when I said we should invite some of the guys over tonight—specifically Evan.”
“Men can be so dense sometimes.”
“Evan seems really into you—that massage he gave you earlier? I’m pretty sure I almost melted watching you two.”
“Uh huh. When he had his hands all over my skin? It definitely made me want things I’m not supposed to with a guy like him.”
“They’re good guys,” Rebecca insisted.
“I know—it just caught me by surprise.”
“It happens,” Rebecca said with a shrug. “I totally wasn’t expecting for Patrick to walk into my life. Honestly, I didn’t even think I’d ever really date again. But when these guys want something they go after it.”
“It being you?” Alison asked with a giggle.
“Is that so bad?” Rebecca teased. “Patrick was pretty intense, but after our first night together? I couldn’t imagine ever being with another man again.”
SEALed with a Kiss (Alpha SEALs Book 2) Page 6