Free The SEAL's Best Man (Special Ops: Homefront Book 2) by Kate Aster Page A

idea.” Jack lifted his
hand as Maeve opened her mouth. “And don’t shut me down till you’ve heard it
all, okay?”
    “Okay,” Maeve replied tentatively.
    “You know how you said my decorating
skills were hopeless?”
    “I didn’t mean anything insulting about
it, though.”
    “No, no. I didn’t take it that way. We
Navy guys just don’t have any practice on how to settle in and make a place
look nice. We move too much. And families have it even worse sometimes because
they’re trying to do it all while juggling kids.” He took a sip of his orange
juice. “So how would you feel about offering your design services for free to a
few Navy people? You can sort of dress up their places with the stuff they
have, maybe a few items they can afford to buy, too, on a tight budget. We take
some pictures of it all and then you can write about it on your blog.”
    “I don’t have a blog.”
    “You need a blog. And it will have a
special tab just for your Navy makeovers. We’ll call that section something
catchy like ‘Dress my PCS’ or something like that. You know—like a
take-off of all those ‘Dress-My-This-And-That’ shows.”
    Maeve couldn’t suppress a laugh. “Dress
my PCS? That’s actually funny. You’re pretty creative for someone who aced
nuclear physics.”
    “Actually Bess came up with it. We’ve
been—spending some time together.”
    Spending some time together? What was
that supposed to mean? Maeve edged out the childish jealousy that seemed to
creep into her stomach. She tried to sound unaffected. “But most people don’t
even know what a PCS is.”
    “Details, details. We’ll think of
something better then.” He chugged the last of his orange juice. “You help out Navy
people like that and you’ll get publicity. I guarantee it. You live in a Navy
town. Word will get out and one of these local magazines will want to write an
article about you. And the blog will link to your website.”
    “I don’t have a website.”
    Jack reached for the pepper. “You will by
the end of the day.”
    “ What ?”
    He shrugged. “Bess and I have been
working on something together. One of her clients is a graphic designer who whipped
up a logo for you in exchange for some free housecleaning from Bess. Bess is finishing
the website today.”
    While the cat’s away… Maeve struggled not to burst into
protest. “Jack, I’m really not comfortable with this.”
    Jack held up his hands. “We won’t publish
it till we get your approval, of course. But we just wanted to show you what
was possible.”
    Maeve didn’t know whether to kiss him or
shake him senseless. Her eyes drifted to his lips and she realized which she’d
prefer. She swallowed and leaned her chin on her hand. “I wish you guys
wouldn’t have done that. I really don’t think I have it in me to be self-employed.
I’m too—I don’t know.”
    “Risk adverse?”
    “Well, yeah.”
    “How about this? You just try it out a
little while you’re still looking for a regular job. It’s not like you have an
offer yet, right?”
    “Don’t remind me.”
    “So it’s not like you’re wasting time. Keep
sending out your résumé, and if a job offer comes, great. But in the meantime, there’s
nothing wrong with passing out a few business cards of your own company.”
    My own company. “I don’t have business cards.”
    Jack reached into his pocket. “Actually,
you do.” He plunked a card down in front of her.
    Her hands nearly were numb as she lifted
it. Maeve Fischer Designs, it read, with her contact information beneath. It
was simple and clean with a sleek graphic above her name that looked
reminiscent of waves on the Bay. She traced her finger over the raised print
and the shiny spot gloss over the logo.
    “Do you like it?”
    Maeve just stared, speechless.
    Jack put his fork down. “Crap. You don’t
like it?”
    Almost embarrassed to see goose bumps
popping out on her arms, Maeve blinked several times. “I love