Hot SEAL, Cold Feet

by Becca Jameson

  And that was when Evan knew there was no way he would say no. Judging by the smug satisfaction gracing the guy’s mug, John knew it, too. The bastard.

  Damn it.

  Evan sighed, caving to the inevitable. “If the two of you don’t want to wait to get married, drag Chloe’s ass to city hall when she gets home and get it done. You could always plan the pomp and circumstance for later if that’s what Chloe really wants.”

  There. Problem solved.

  John was already shaking his head. “She loves her job, and she loves me. She feels torn, no matter how understanding and patient I am with her schedule. She was crying, Evan.”

  Well, fuck.

  “Chloe deserves to have the wedding she wants the first time we take our vows,” John continued. “She doesn’t want an extravagant wedding, but she does want to walk down the aisle in a pretty dress. She wants to carry flowers and eat and dance with me at a reception.”

  “You just proved my earlier point. She wants. Dudes don’t grow up dreaming about wedding stuff. Weddings are for the bride. The bride should be the one who makes the decisions.” He and John were bound to fuck something up and ruin Chloe’s perfect day.

  “You sound ridiculous right now.”

  “Am I wrong? Are you telling me you actually care about flowers and dresses and reception food?”

  Evan wouldn’t give a shit about those things. If he ever decided to get married, the only thing he would care about was making the woman his. The flowers would die, the food was just another meal, and the dress would be on the floor as soon as he could manage. What mattered was his lasting commitment to love, honor, cherish, and protect his bride with everything he had. If his hypothetical woman needed a huge production to prove his commitment, he’d already failed her.

  “I care because Chloe cares.” John shook his head. “One day, you’ll understand. In the meantime, I need you to do this with me.”

  John was forgetting one crucial aspect of Evan’s life—the one that tossed his reliability out the window. Even accepting the offer to be best man was shitty and unfair to John, because Evan couldn’t guarantee his presence at the wedding. He’d already burned leave for the first two busted dates. This time he’d have to play schedule Russian roulette.

  “What if I get called away?” His team wasn’t scheduled to leave the states for a long-term deployment any time soon, but that didn’t mean anything. They could be called on at any moment, for any length of time.

  John shrugged. “All the more reason not to waste time arguing when you know you’re going to end up saying yes anyway.”

  “You’re an asshole.”

  “Say it,” John encouraged, making Evan laugh. “You know you want to.”

  “Fine,” he conceded, not even trying to hide his grumpiness. He didn’t know anything about planning a wedding. “I’ll help you.” Evan waited for John to finish his celebratory fist pumps before he continued. “But if this thing goes sideways, I am not taking the fall. As her future husband, Chloe has to forgive you. Me, on the other hand … I do not need her hating me forever.”

  “Got it. If we fuck this up, it’s all on me. Done.”

  “Not if, my man. When.” Evan groaned and resisted the urge to drop his face into his hands. He suddenly wished they were in a bar instead of a coffeeshop. He could use a shot of something stronger than espresso. “Two heterosexual dudes planning an entire wedding,” he mused. “This is gonna be the worst event in recorded history.”

  “If you believe that, you obviously haven’t spent much time on the Internet. We got this. And besides, it won’t be just the two of us. I might be crazy, but I’m not stupid. I found someone to help.”

  “Well, that’s a relief.” Evan relaxed somewhat. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. “We’re gonna need all the help we can get. Makes sense to get a wedding planner. Good thinking.”

  He extended his fist for John to bump.

  “Oh, Presley isn’t a wedding planner,” John said as their knuckles clashed. “She owns a nursery and flower shop. Chloe met her last year when we initially started talking about the wedding. They became fast friends. When I reached out to Presley to let her know about rescheduling, she was gracious and offered to help in any way she could. I probably should have, but I didn’t hesitate. I told her my idea. She loved it. She seemed excited about planning a surprise for Chloe.” John’s chest puffed out. “She called me a romantic and said the world could use more men like me.”

  If Evan’s head weren’t buzzing, he might’ve had a smart-ass retort about the kind of men the world needed. As it was, Evan’s brain was dialed in on the name he hadn’t expected to hear ever again.

  “Presley?” Evan asked slowly, his heart rate kicking up a notch. “The woman’s name is Presley?”

  It couldn’t be. Granted, Presley wasn’t a common name, but there had to be more than one, right?

  “Yeah. She owns Masters Flower House and Greenery, that big place off the freeway.” John’s face lit up, his gaze focused over Evan’s left shoulder. “Oh, here she comes. We need her help, so please, for the love of God, Evan. Don’t try to get in her pants.”

  His head was still spinning. “Why would I—”

  “Because you’re you.”

  The man had a point. Evan was far from a man whore—that title belonged to his teammate C-Note—but he was a single guy with a high-stress job. Some guys worked out their stress at the gym. Evan worked his out in bed. Sue him. He’d never had any complaints.

  John stood and clapped him on the shoulder before Evan could give his word to behave. “Everything is going to be great. You’ll see.”

  What Evan saw as he turned were a pair of bare legs. Toned, tanned, sexy-as-fuck legs that ended with feet tucked into equally sexy black heels. The sixteen-year-old girl he remembered would never have worn heels like those. Or had legs like that.

  Evan sat up straight. He scrubbed a hand over his chin as he took a lazy tour over the rest of her. Her gorgeous legs disappeared under the hem of a red dress. A dress that was wider above her knees, but tapered and hugged the gentle curve of her waist like a dream. A dream that turned wet by the time he got to her breasts. Encased in red and framed by silky looking hair the color of milk chocolate swirled with honey, her tits were pert and round. The dress he could envision on his living room floor offered an enticing hint of cleavage.

  He had more self-control than to pop wood in the middle of a coffee shop, but damn. What he wouldn’t do if he had those curves under him.

  He slid his gaze higher. Up her slim neck to her delicate chin. Over her full lips, her slightly imperfect nose, and, holy shit, her eyes…

  Evan froze.

  There was only one woman with eyes that green. It was her. Presley Masters.

  Interest faded into questions. What was she … why was she …?

  “Hey, Presley,” John greeted cheerfully, waving her over.

  God, she was beautiful.

  That was the last thought Evan had before the past came rushing back with a speed that stole his breath. He cursed and curled his fingers into his palms, the sudden need to strangle his best friend making his fingers twitch.

  Author’s Note

  I hope you’ve enjoyed Hot SEAL, Cold Feet. This Wedding Edition of SEALs in Paradise was so much fun to write. Watch for the next batch of books from the SEALs in Paradise series coming Spring, 2021.

  * * *

  If you’d like to read the rest of the Wedding Edition, I’ve included the links.

  * * *

  Hot SEAL, Bachelor Party by Elle James

  Hot SEAL, Decoy Bride by Delilah Devlin

  Hot SEAL, Runaway Bride by Cat Johnson

  Hot SEAL, Cold Feet by Becca Jameson

  Hot SEAL, Best Man by Parker Kincade

  Hot SEAL, Confirmed Bachelor by Cynthia D'Alba

  Hot SEAL, Taking the Plunge by Teresa Reasor

  Hot SEAL, Undercover Groom by MaryAnn Jordan

  Also by Becca James
on

  Canyon Springs:

  Caleb’s Mate

  Hunter’s Mate

  * * *

  Corked and Tapped:

  Volume One: Friday Night

  Volume Two: Company Party

  Volume Three: The Holidays

  * * *

  Surrender:

  Raising Lucy

  Teaching Abby

  Leaving Roman

  * * *

  Project DEEP:

  Reviving Emily

  Reviving Trish

  Reviving Dade

  Reviving Zeke

  Reviving Graham

  Reviving Bianca

  Reviving Olivia

  Project DEEP Box Set One

  Project DEEP Box Set Two

  * * *

  SEALs in Paradise:

  Hot SEAL, Red Wine

  Hot SEAL, Australian Nights

  Hot SEAL, Cold Feet

  * * *

  Dark Falls:

  Dark Nightmares

  * * *

  Club Zodiac:

  Training Sasha

  Obeying Rowen

  Collaring Brooke

  Mastering Rayne

  Trusting Aaron

  Claiming London

  Sharing Charlotte

  Taming Rex

  Tempting Elizabeth

  Club Zodiac Box Set One

  Club Zodiac Box Set Two

  * * *

  The Art of Kink:

  Pose

  Paint

  Sculpt

  * * *

  Arcadian Bears:

  Grizzly Mountain

  Grizzly Beginning

  Grizzly Secret

  Grizzly Promise

  Grizzly Survival

  Grizzly Perfection

  Arcadian Bears Box Set One

  Arcadian Bears Box Set Two

  * * *

  Sleeper SEALs:

  Saving Zola

  * * *

  Spring Training:

  Catching Zia

  Catching Lily

  Catching Ava

  Spring Training Box Set

  * * *

  The Underground series:

  Force

  Clinch

  Guard

  Submit

  Thrust

  Torque

  The Underground Box Set One

  The Underground Box Set Two

  Saving Sofia (Special Forces: Operations Alpha)

  * * *

  Wolf Masters series:

  Kara’s Wolves

  Lindsey’s Wolves

  Jessica’s Wolves

  Alyssa’s Wolves

  Tessa’s Wolf

  Rebecca’s Wolves

  Melinda’s Wolves

  Laurie’s Wolves

  Amanda’s Wolves

  Sharon’s Wolves

  Wolf Masters Box Set One

  Wolf Masters Box Set Two

  * * *

  Claiming Her series:

  The Rules

  The Game

  The Prize

  * * *

  Emergence series:

  Bound to be Taken

  Bound to be Tamed

  Bound to be Tested

  Bound to be Tempted

  Emergence Box Set

  * * *

  The Fight Club series:

  Come

  Perv

  Need

  Hers

  Want

  Lust

  The Fight Club Box Set One

  The Fight Club Box Set Two

  * * *

  Wolf Gatherings series:

  Tarnished

  Dominated

  Completed

  Redeemed

  Abandoned

  Betrayed

  Wolf Gatherings Box Set One

  Wolf Gathering Box Set Two

  * * *

  Durham Wolves series:

  Rescue in the Smokies

  Fire in the Smokies

  Freedom in the Smokies

  * * *

  Stand Alone Books:

  Blind with Love

  Guarding the Truth

  Out of the Smoke

  Abducting His Mate

  Three’s a Cruise

  Wolf Trinity

  Frostbitten

  A Princess for Cale/A Princess for Cain

  About the Author

  Becca Jameson is a USA Today best-selling author of over 90 books. She is most well-known for her Wolf Masters series and her Fight Club series. She currently lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband and her Goldendoodle. Two grown kids pop in every once in a while too! She is loving this journey and has dabbled in a variety of genres, including paranormal, sports romance, military, and BDSM.

  A total night owl, Becca writes late at night, sequestering herself in her office with a glass of red wine and a bar of dark chocolate, her fingers flying across the keyboard as her characters weave their own stories.

  During the day--which never starts before ten in the morning!--she can be found jogging, running errands, or reading in her favorite hammock chair!

  …where Alphas dominate…

  Becca’s Newsletter Sign-up

  Join my Facebook fan group, Becca’s Bibliomaniacs, for the most up-to-date information, random excerpts while I work, giveaways, and fun release parties!

  * * *

  Facebook Fan Group:

  Becca’s Bibliomaniacs

  Contact Becca:

  www.beccajameson.com

  beccajameson4@aol.com