Free SEAL the Deal by Kate Aster Page B

proved that he
was still in control of his emotions. Control was important.
    Of course, that was not counting when he
had called Lacey the day after their dinner to tell her she had lost an earring
in his car. Mick had thought it was a ploy to get him to call her, his healthy
ego getting the better of him. Women were trained to “accidentally” leave
things behind if they wanted a man to call them. He may be a guy, but he had
some passing knowledge of that whole Cinderella-glass-slipper thing.
    The fact that the earring turned out not
to be Lacey’s—well, he hadn’t expected that. But the time they had spent
laughing about it on the phone was almost worth his being wrong. He hated being
wrong.
    Fortunately it rarely happened.
    He flicked his cell open and started
dialing.
    “Hello?” Lacey’s voice sounded hollow on
the other end.
    “Lacey? It’s Mick. Are you all right?”
    “Oh.” Her voice brightened a bit. “Hi,
Mick. No, I’m fine. I just got off the phone with my mother.”
    “Everything okay? You don’t sound too
happy.”
    “Everything’s fine. Thanks, Mick. My mom’s
just so—I don’t know.” She sighed. “How are you?”
    “Fine. I just called to see how your first
closing went. But I can tell from your tone that it must not have gone well.”
     “No, actually it went great. That
was nice of you to remember.”
     “I’m just that kind of guy,” he said
with a grin. “Congratulations, then. So why do you sound so down?”
    “It’s just—it’s complex really. I
told my mom about the closing and she was her usual less-than-enthusiastic
self. She managed to tell me that my sister is going to be on CNBC in about an
hour, though.”
    Mick was glad to hear the bite in her
tone. It made her sound less defeated. “And I’m sure you’re racing home right
now to see her.”
    Lacey laughed. “No way. In fact, I think
I’ll stay out and avoid anyplace I might run into a TV for the next hour or
so.”
    “Well, why don’t you come out sailing with
me? I was just headed down to the boat basin. I need to brush up on my skills. We
don’t do a ton of sailing in the SEALs and I don’t want to be shown up by one
of these mids.” Mick winced, suddenly realizing what he was offering. Offering
to take a woman out on a boat at sunset. A woman he promised to keep his hands
off.
    Was he insane?
    “You have a boat?” Lacey said with
surprise.
    “God, no. I couldn’t afford one of these
beauties at my rank. But I’m an officer and have my C license. I can take them
out anytime if they’re not being used for training.”
    “Really?” Her voice was hesitant. “You
really can take me sailing? You won’t get into some sort of trouble, will you?”
    Mick laughed, touched by the enthusiasm in
her voice when she had only moments ago sounded so downhearted. “I really can
do that.”
     “It’s a date, then. I mean, a deal. It’s
a deal.”
    “Great. I’ll meet you at Gate One to the
Academy in about ten minutes. It’s the one at the end of King George Street.”
     “I know right where it is. See you
there.”
    ***
    It had been more than a week since Lacey
had seen Mick in uniform, and she still hadn’t fully recovered from the sight. Yet
this evening he had unknowingly topped himself when she discovered how
completely arousing it was to be with a man who warranted a salute.
    “How do they know to salute you since
you’re not in uniform?” she whispered as a group of midshipmen passed, their
hands raised quickly in the precise greeting.
    “A lot recognize me. And the others are
too damn scared to not salute and then see me standing at the front of
their lecture hall.”
    Mick hopped onto the boat and glanced down
at Lacey’s feet. “I don’t want to seem like I’m already trying to get your
clothes off of you, but you can’t come on board in those heels. Much as I love
what they do for your legs.”
    “Oh, of course,” she laughed as she leaned
over and unstrapped her sensible