Free Contract with a SEAL (Special Ops: Homefront Book 3) by Kate Aster

tense.”
    Bess lips curved toward the sky. “Give up
finance. You should be an investigative reporter.”
    “So she’s not his girlfriend anymore?”
    Looking nearly giddy, Bess swung her legs
back and forth under the dock, almost teasing the waves beneath them. “Yep. I
told him to wish her a merry Christmas from me. You know, just trying to be
friendly. And he said they haven’t seen each other since he moved to Fort Drum
to take over a Platoon.”
    “Mm. Is he seeing someone new?”
    “I didn’t ask. Probably. It’s not really
my business. Besides, I didn’t want to seem like I’m interested or something.”
    “But you are, right?”
    Bess let out a stilted laugh. “Well,
hell, who wouldn’t be interested in a guy like him? I might be a mom, and
slighted jaded to men since my last bad relationship—”
    “Catastrophically bad relationship,” Vi
chimed in.
    Bess gave a nod of agreement. “—but
I’m not completely dead. We’re just friends, though. And I’m really fine with
that.”
    “If you were really just his friend, you
wouldn’t have a Cheshire cat smile at the news he broke up with his girlfriend.
You’d be, well, sad for him, I’m guessing.”
    “I know. This is really bitchy of me,
isn’t it?” Grimacing, her smile was sheepish.
    Vi waved a careless hand. “Eh, you’re
human. Cut yourself some slack.”
    “Knowing that he’s single suddenly gives
me hope. I mean, not that he’d ever go for a woman like me. But he’s like a
symbol for me, you know?”
    “A symbol is the American flag or those
yellow ribbons you guys put on the trees out front. He’s no symbol. Tyler sounds
like he’s all hot-blooded male flesh, hon.”
    “I mean, if Tyler is single, then that’s
living proof that the good ones aren’t all taken, you know?”
    “Ah. I see… I guess.” Vi leaned back on
the deck, and gazed out to where the steel blue horizon met the orange sun. “I
still say you should make a move.”
    Bess rolled her eyes. “Not a chance. First
off, he’s stationed in New York now. Second. Look at me. I’m not you, Vi. I
can’t reel in a SEAL CO. I’d be happy if the guy who serves coffee at the Buzz
would give me a second look.”
    “For the record, I’m not reeling in a
SEAL, CO or otherwise. We’re just helping each other out for a couple nights.”
    Bess fanned herself. “We could all use
such help.”
    “And besides that, Bess, I’ve seen how
you clean up. You were smoking hot at the wedding. You’ve got that awesome red
hair, and your eyes are the color of a Tiffany box. Most women would kill for
eyes like yours.”
    “Really?” Looking bolstered, Bess sat up
a little prouder on the dock. “A Tiffany box?”
    “Yeah, really.” Vi turned to her,
squaring her shoulders. “You know what your problem is?”
    “I think I’m about to find out.”
    “You’re scared of men. And hell, who
wouldn’t be, after what you went through with your ex?”
    “I’m not,” Bess denied, and followed up
with a frown. “Well, I was for a while. But knowing Mick and Jack changed that.
And Tyler too, maybe a little. I know they’re all not like Dan.”
    “Yet you still do everything you can to
not attract anyone.”
    Bess looked thoughtful a moment, glancing
down at the sweatshirt she wore—the one with something dry and crusty
smeared across the front. Mashed potatoes, Vi guessed. Her jeans were baggier
than was stylish these days, rendering Bess surprisingly gender neutral.
    Vi angled her a look of challenge. “Let
Maeve pick out a few outfits for you. Smear on some lipstick, and I guarantee
you’ll have a date before you know it.”
    Frowning, Bess sighed. “The idea of it
makes me slightly nauseous,” she admitted. “So how’d you figure me out so
fast?”
    “Years of therapy.” Vi winked. “My shrink
would have said it’s safer for you to fixate on someone who is unattainable
like Tyler. He’s far away. Not a threat.”
    Bess eyed her in disbelief. “You had