Free A SEAL's Secret by Tawny Weber Page B

info, though, Livi had come up blank.
    Nobody would even tell her if he was, indeed, single. If he had a girl in every port, if he left a trail of broken hearts in his wake. Or more importantly, if he liked shower sex, preferred top or bottom or was interested in including food in bedroom play.
    And then he’d called. Because he couldn’t resist, he’d said.
    The minute she’d heard his voice, Livi had stopped caring about facts. Who needed those trivial distractions when there was sexy talk to be had? Which meant she’d asked him about showers, positions and play.
    That three-minute phone call had been more exciting than actual sex with her ex had.
    Of course, that had rarely lasted more than three minutes, either.
    Livi hadn’t asked Mitch if or when she’d see him again. She’d known he couldn’t say.
    But she still considered that phone call—and the handful of texts they’d exchanged since—to be perfect.
    Or—she eyed the restaurant through her car windshield and sighed—perhaps it was the perfect distraction from real life. Livi grabbed the purple leather stilettos off the passenger seat and opened the car door to slide her feet in, then reached back to get her phone.
    Time for family fun.
    “Miss Kane,” the maître d’ said as she hurried in. “Let me take your coat.”
    “Hi, Jenson,” she said, smiling as she shrugged out of the lightweight poplin. Whether it was his easy manner and the fact that he’d poured her mother into too many cabs to count, Livi always felt comfortable with the man. “Bummer that you caught holiday duty.”
    “It’s the price we pay, isn’t it,” he returned with a warm smile as he took the coat. He lowered his voice conspiratorially. “And speaking of, your mother is waiting at her regular table. She’s on her third Scotch.”
    Livi winced.
    “Your aunt’s only had two.”
    “Goody.” With a deep breath and a wide-eyed look of only half-fake terror, Livi headed in.
    “Wish me luck,” she called over her shoulder.
    His laughter followed her but unfortunately faded before she made it to the table positioned in the exact center of the room. Where better to see and be seen? Livi often wondered if her shyness was a direct response to her mother’s need for attention. The more Pauline wanted it, the more Livi hated it.
    “Happy Thanksgiving,” Livi said optimistically, smiling at the only two relatives she had.
    “Hey, sweets,” Roz responded, getting to her feet and offering a hug. Her Mohawk was pumpkin-orange today, contrasting nicely with her rust-colored leather pantsuit.
    Pauline didn’t get up, of course. Not even the competition she considered herself to be in with the sister of her one-time lover was enough to overcome her irritation over her daughter’s tardiness.
    She did deign to raise her cheek for a kiss then pat the chair to her right, indicating that Livi was to sit there. The table seated five, so her daughter could sit at her elbow and leave plenty of room between her and the woman she considered to be an unwelcome interloper.
    “I’m surprised it’s so crowded in here,” Livi observed as she slid into her seat, noting that most of the tables in the four-star restaurant were filled.
    “You shouldn’t be. Given the choice between slaving in a kitchen half the day and then scrubbing pots and pans, and ordering a delicious gourmet meal, I’m surprised we could get in at all.”
    “Tell me, Pauline. Have you ever scrubbed a pot or a pan?” Roz slanted a look over her glass of Scotch. “Or cooked, for that matter?”
    Ah, it was going to be one of those dinners.
    Her stomach knotting, Livi sighed and signaled for the waiter to refill the ladies’ drinks. A risk, since Pauline had been known to cause a scene when she was sloshed. But unlike some people, she was more likely to throw one when fully sober. Livi cast another look around the room, hoping her mother wouldn’t ruin these nice peoples’ holiday.
    With that hope, and her