glass upside down on the bar next to the first one. “Least now I can fly back to Little Creek knowing you’ll be just fine down here for the rest of your leave.”
Neil chuckled. He and Clay had been pals since BUD/S, standing next to each other in lineup, two last names starting with B. Surviving the training course in Coronado, freezing their petunias off Hell Week. Going through all that alongside another guy tended to cement a friendship.
Clay clapped his shoulder. “Man, an affair with the Piper. Just come up for air every once in a while, okay? You want to be able to walk after your leave is over.”
Neil’s beer slid down the wrong pipe and he choked and coughed while Clay slapped him hard on the back.
“Jeez, Bellamy. You work hard at being crude or does it just come natural? I’m down here for a little R and R, that’s all. I’m going to hire a boat and do some deep-sea fishing, maybe sail down to the Keys...”
Clay raised his brows. “Fine, but this weekend our objective was to find us some women and go wild. And since you’re already mission accomplished, I’m down one wingman tonight.”
“Tomorrow we’ll hit that honky-tonk you wanted to check out. Now get out of here.”
Clay stood and saluted. “Suh, yes, suh!” Then pivoted on his heel and headed for the exit. As Clay took off, in walked the long-legged model in a slinky short black dress that didn’t leave much to the imagination. She’d actually showed.
But now that he knew who the woman was, he couldn’t see the dinner going anywhere. The illustrious Piper probably wouldn’t give him the time of day. He was no Brad Benton. Besides, celebrity models and navy SEALs lived worlds apart, right?
Still, she’d agreed to dinner. So who knew?
When Piper passed Clay, his friend turned around to walk backward, wiggling his brows behind her back.
Neil ignored him. His attention was riveted on Piper. She brushed her long hair behind one ear and gave him a hesitant smile. Neil swallowed.
Oh, he sure hoped she wanted to be bad tonight.
PIPER WAS DETERMINED to be good tonight.
But looking into the navy lieutenant’s flashing eyes, she had to take a deep breath and let it out slowly. He’d changed into a dark suit with a crisp white dress shirt. But no tie. And he smelled nice. Clean, musky, subtle. “Hi.”
“Hi.” He pushed away from the bar at her approach, and there was a sense of carefully controlled power in his stance. She guessed the military training must be ingrained in him. He was older than she was. With the crinkles around his eyes, she’d say he was in his early to midthirties.
He nodded toward the dining room. “Would you like to eat here or...?”
“Are you a member?”
“Me? No, I live in Virginia.” He smiled. “But I know a guy who is.”
She paused. Surprisingly, Ragi had readily approved of Piper’s impromptu date, suggesting that she bring the lieutenant to the gala. It seemed he was a decorated SEAL whose father was a US senator. Being seen on his arm would be worth more than a dozen pictures with the Miami mayor. So her job tonight was to get her name linked with a military hero’s.
But to do that, she’d have to mix and mingle and she’d have to use this guy for a photo op. Suddenly Piper found herself longing—just once—to have a normal dinner with a normal guy away from all the craziness of the paparazzi.
Normal. She didn’t even know what that meant.
Panic flared momentarily as she realized she’d never been on a regular date. How messed up was that?
What would they talk about? What did one do on a normal date?
She glanced at the white linen that covered the tables, topped with gleaming silverware, flickering candles and fresh flowers. The bank of windows looked out over the sparkling ocean. Soft music played in the background. Now was as good a time as any to find out about a regular date. Ragi would be upset if she skipped the gala. But hadn’t she’d earned a night of harmless fun?
She met his gaze. “Here sounds nice.”
He offered his bent arm and she slipped her hand around his elbow as he led her to a table by the window. She could feel the hard muscle beneath her fingers, and she liked the way he held her chair as she sat and then scooted it in for her before taking his seat across from her. She wasn’t used to being treated so...respectfully.
A waiter handed them menus, and the lieutenant ordered a bottle of wine before she could tell him not to. One glass wouldn’t hurt, right? She lowered her menu to meet his gaze as the waiter left. She knew men liked to talk about themselves. No reason this one should be any different. “Do you do a lot of sailing, Lieutenant?”
“Neil.” He shrugged. “When I can. I like to sail down to the Keys.”
“Those are the islands south of here? Is that really where Jimmy Buffet lives?”
Smiling, he nodded. “Yep, and lots of other celebrities, too. But the best thing is the sunset. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen a sunset in the Keys.”
“I’d love to see that.”
“Maybe I can take you while we’re both in town.”
Ah, so he did want to get her into bed. Why was she surprised?
He cleared his throat and she realized she’d waited too long to respond. She smiled. “And did you sail your boat down here from Virginia for the regatta?”
“No, a yacht company sponsored me, so I sailed one of their racers.”
“Oh.” She nodded and studied her menu. Where was that waiter with the wine?
“My family does own a yacht, but it’s moored in DC,” he offered.
She glanced up. “And that’s where you live?”
“In DC? No, but I’m not far. I standby at Little Creek, Virginia.”
“Standby?” She knew nothing about the American military. Or the British one, either, for that matter.
“When we’re not deployed or attending a special training school we’re waiting around to be deployed. We can be playing pool at this bar called Barney’s one minute and the next thing you know we’re on a plane headed for an op.”
“That sounds a lot like my life in a way. I never know where in the world my next assignment might be.”
He chuckled and started to scan his menu.
“What’s so funny?”
“Sometimes I never know where in the world I’m going to be, either.”
English wasn’t her first language, but she caught the play on words and smiled.
