Free SEAL for Her Protection (SEALs of Coronado Book 1) by Paige Tyler

probably in hot dogs, the pedigree of its chicken content—if any—was the least of her concerns.
    “You’re the one who got kidnapped in Argentina. Or was it Antarctica? Someplace like that,” Poppy continued. “It didn’t hit me when you and Chasen first got here, but only because I don’t watch a lot of news. That must mean Dalton’s team was the one that got you out.” She waved her hand at Melissa when the other woman frowned. “I know, I know. The first rule of Fight Club is you don’t talk about Fight Club, yada, yada, yada. But it’s not like I’m running through the streets naked shouting it, sheesh. Even you gotta admit getting rescued by a Navy SEAL is pretty freaking romantic.” She looked at Hayley. “Am I right?”
    “Well, I could have done without the part where I got captured by terrorists who were likely planning to behead me,” Hayley said then smiled. “But other than that, yeah it was kind of romantic.”
    Poppy leaned forward eagerly, her eyes bright with anticipation. “Tell us about it.”
    That earned her another scowl from Melissa. Hayley had learned earlier that Kurt’s wife was a middle school teacher in the San Diego area, and with her glasses and black hair pulled up in a twist, she looked every bit of one. In fact, she was giving Poppy a look she likely used on her more recalcitrant students.
    “Remember when I mentioned we don’t talk shop here, Poppy?” Melissa said. “There’s a reason for that.”
    Poppy rolled her eyes. “Okay, so don’t tell us all the classified stuff, Hayley. Just the part where Chasen swept in and cut the leather cords holding your naked body down to the silk-draped bed.”
    Hayley stared at her, sure the woman was going to crack up and say she was joking. Nobody on the planet could actually be that naive and still breathing, right?
    But apparently, Poppy could be, because she sat there with an expectant look on her face. Well, it wasn’t like Hayley had wanted to get into any specific details of her time in captivity anyway. It still upset her too much to even think about, much less talk about openly. If Hayley hadn’t told her best friend Jillian yet, she sure as heck wasn’t going to tell a complete stranger like Poppy.
    So she spun a complete BS tale of Chasen riding in on a camel to save her from a crazy sheik after her virtue. Hayley even slipped in a sword fighting scene. She had no idea if Poppy actually bought the story—no one else at the table did for sure—but the tall blonde with legs up to her ears listened with rapt attention.
    “That was so awesome,” Poppy said when Hayley finished. “I hope this doesn’t freak you out or anything, but Dalton and I are so going to role-play that whole scene when we get back to my place tonight.”
    Hayley was pretty certain most of the women considered the comment to be in the TMI category, but she just shrugged. She’d heard weirder confessions in her time. “Sure. Have at it.”
    “Oh look. Someone scored another touchdown,” Nash’s girlfriend said suddenly in a blatant effort to hijack the conversation and move it in another direction.
    Hayley glanced over and saw Chasen had tossed another touchdown, this one with Wes on the receiving end. On the sideline, Melissa’s daughter and her two friends alternated between cheering and refereeing the game. They were all clearly having a blast and Hayley was glad the teen girls hadn’t been around to hear her story—or Poppy’s response.
    On the other side of the table, Melissa got to her feet. “The game looks like it’s about to wrap up soon. I’m going to start bringing some of the stuff out.”
    Hayley quickly pushed back her chair. “I’ll give you a hand.”
    She was relieved Poppy didn’t offer to help. The woman was precious, but she was one of those people you could only take in small doses.
    Melissa smiled over her shoulder at Hayley as she followed the woman through the back door and into the sunny kitchen.