Free SEAL the Deal by Kate Aster

always got him laid. He’d be talking about the war,
the loss, his duty to his country, and all the other patriotic bullshit that
generally sent women to their knees…literally.
    But something about Lacey made Mick want
to coldcock any man who used a line on her. Including himself.
    Lacey was right. It was smarter to just
stay friends. A woman like her might convince him to kick his Navy career to
the curb, especially since he was already pissed off at his chain of command.
    He had a career to focus on, just like she
did.
    He just hoped she didn’t give him the
proverbial friend-hug at the end of the evening. Holding her that close without
ripping her clothes off might kill him.
    “I had a wonderful time,” she said with an
uneasy sigh. “Look, I understand enough about men to know that they really
don’t want to be just friends. I had a great time tonight, though. I want you
to know that.”
    “I had a great time, too,” he admitted. And
now that she had given him the perfect out—served it up to him on a
silver platter—he shocked himself adding, “And you’re wrong. Friends is
fine with me. If for no other reason, I just want to be around when you are
voted the most successful real estate agent in the Mid-Atlantic.”
    She beamed.
    Then the devil in him returned as he
leaned in closely to her. “But when that happens, I warn you that I will seduce
you to my fullest capacity.”
    ***
    Hearing a car door slam, Maeve raced to
the window barely remembering to turn the light out so that they wouldn’t see
her watching. A man was approaching the passenger side door. Maeve’s jaw gaped
at the sight of his broad silhouette, and she nodded her tacit approval. He was
a heartbreaker.
    A protective feeling rose in her. Lacey
was so trusting. Maeve better keep a close watch on this one.
    When the man opened Lacey’s car door, the
car’s interior lights revealed Lacey’s image in her conservative capris and
blouse. Maeve strained to see her shoes. Flats? Maeve shook her head.
    She raced down the stairs when she heard
Lacey come in through the door, and stopped, arms crossed and eyebrows raised,
on the bottom step. “How are you supposed to seduce a man in flats, Lacey? Have
I taught you nothing?”
    “We’re just friends, Maeve.”
    “Whatever. When Bess told me that you had
driven off with some hot guy, I thought there might be hope for you. But I can
see I was wrong. Your hair’s not even disheveled.” She sighed and flopped onto
the sofa opening her latest issue of Wine Connoisseur . “What a waste. He
looked delicious. Was that the guy from the funeral?”
    “How’d you guess?”
    “Bess said something about your meeting
with that widow, so I put two and two together. From the look of him, maybe I
should start hanging out at funerals.” She let out a low whistle from behind
the magazine.
    “Where is she, anyway?”
    “Bess? I think she’s asleep by now. Kid
sleeps like the dead. I’ve never known anyone to go to bed so early.”
    “It’s the work, probably. Very tiring
pushing vacuums and scrubbing floors all day. I don’t know how she does it.”
    “It pays,” Maeve said, dog-earing a page. She
set it down on her lap thoughtfully. “I think she’s just doing that to pay the
rent while she figures out her next move.”
    “I can relate to that.” Lacey’s tone was
dismal. “That’s how I spent my entire twenties.”
    They heard the creak of the staircase
behind them.
    Maeve peeked over the arm of the sofa. “Hey,
Bess. I thought you were asleep.”
    Bess’s startled eyes were puffy. “I was. I
heard someone at the door.”
    “Oh, that was just me. Sorry I woke you.” Lacey
kicked off her shoes.
    “How was your date?”
    “Well, it wasn’t really a date,” Lacey
said, and explained to them both Edith’s unexpected set-up between her and
Mick.
    Maeve laughed as the story unfolded. “I
like this old lady’s style.”
    “She’s really sweet. But it was so
awkward. And honestly, I