Tempted by a SEAL(17)

“All righty. Say hi to her for me.”

Mack shook his head and walked away without comment, not willing to give Rocky the satisfaction of an answer.

He pulled his cell out of his pocket as he turned down the hallway toward the equipment room. After hitting send he pressed the phone to his ear.

“Hello?”

“Dad. Hey, it’s me.”

“James. Hello.” The surprise in his father’s tone was obvious.

Okay, maybe that was justified. His calls home lately had been few and far between. He was a good SEAL but he was a shit son, he supposed. He wasn’t sure it was possible to be good at both.

“What’s up?” his father asked.

“Not much. Thanks for brunch yesterday. It was, uh, fun.”

“Good. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Laurie and I will have to wrangle you and Liddy together and do it again real soon.”

Liddy. Who was likely still in his bed where he’d done things to her no mother or father would be happy knowing about.

Mack tried to not choke on that knowledge as he pretended everything was normal. That Lydia was just a new acquaintance he’d met at brunch. A girl who also happened to be his stepsister. “Uh, yeah. That’d be good. But let me call you before you make any plans. Okay?”

“Why?” There had been a brief hesitation before his father’s guarded question.

“It looks like I might have to go out of town again.”

“When?”

“Soon.” Ninety or so minutes to wheels up qualified as soon. “I’m not sure for how long. You know they never give us firm dates.”

“Yeah, I know.” His father sighed. “I really wish you’d let me tell at least Laurie. She wouldn’t tell a soul. Son, I swear to you.”

“I’ve been rethinking that and you’re right. Laurie and Lydia should know.”

“Really? Oh, thank God. I’ve hated keeping this secret.”

“I know, Dad, but listen. I’d like to be the one to tell them. I’ll do it as soon as I’m home. I promise. But I’d really like it to come from me.”

His father laughed. “Don’t trust me?”

“I trust you. Just let me do it. Hold on a little longer. Please.”

“Okay.”

“Good. Thanks. So I gotta get going but I’ll call you as soon as I can.”

Again, there was an ominous pause. “All right. Stay safe.”

“I’ll do my best. Uh, give my best to Laurie and Lydia for me. K?”

“I will.”

“Thanks.” Mack disconnected the call and sighed.

He didn’t like withholding half the details of his life from everyone except his teammates any more than his father did.

Unfortunately that was the reality of this life. He could only hope Lydia understood when he finally did tell her.





CHAPTER 14

Lydia pushed through the doorway of her apartment barely juggling her overnight bag, her purse and the extra large cup of coffee she’d picked up on the drive.

She had to pee like a racehorse, hence the reason she’d stopped drinking the coffee half way through the drive and had to carry it now.

Dumping the bag on the floor, she glanced up to see Marissa in the kitchen.

“You’re finally home. I was worried you wouldn’t make it back in time for your class.”

“Not too worried. Why didn’t you answer your phone when I called?” Lydia put her purse and the coffee on the counter.

“I was in the shower.”

“For over an hour?” She asked the question as she made a beeline toward the bathroom.

“Well, no. Not the whole time.”

Lydia shook her head as she cleared through the bathroom door and flipped up the lid. For once, she had a tale to tell about a man and she wasn’t about to let Marissa’s story get in the way of it.

She leaned forward from her perch on the toilet. “Don’t go anywhere. I want to talk to you.”

“If you think I’d leave before I hear all about this new guy of yours, you’re nuts. Want me to warm up your coffee in the microwave?”

Lydia wasn’t so certain he was her guy but she was very sure about the coffee. “Yes, please.”

She was exhausted. Being up half the night will do that to a girl, but it was worth it. She could take a nap later.

Now, she needed to shower and get dressed for class, but more importantly, she needed to talk to Marissa and drink that coffee.

If there was a breakfast of some sort in her future, even better.

“We have anything to eat?” Lydia called as she washed her hands in the bathroom sink.

“Leftover pizza. Want me to reheat it?”

“Sure. Thanks.” It was better than nothing.

By the time Lydia made it back to the kitchen, her coffee was steaming in her favorite mug, and the toaster oven was aglow as it warmed a slice of pizza.

She lifted the mug and took a deep whiff of the brew. “You’re the best roommate ever.”

“Remember that when you see that I might have mistakenly put your sweater I borrowed in the dryer.” Marissa cringed.

“That’s all right. It looked better on you.” And it had probably shrunk so small it would no doubt only fit Marissa now and not Lydia anymore anyway.

After taking a bracing swallow of caffeine, Lydia drew in a breath and gathered her thoughts in preparation to begin her story. The one about a man she’d just met, whom she’d spent two nights with, who also happened to be technically related to her now. A man who didn’t own much, but didn’t seem to lack for anything either. A seemingly private man who kept things close to the vest, but also had no problem leaving her completely alone in his apartment.

James MacIntyre was certainly a puzzle, but hopefully if Lydia and Marissa put their heads together, it was one they could solve.

Marissa pulled the pizza out of the toaster oven with two fingertips and dropped it onto a paper towel. She slid it toward Lydia and then reached for a bottle of water. “Okay. Eat and then spill.”

Luckily for them both, Lydia was confident she could multitask and do both—eat and talk.

After chewing and swallowing a bite of pizza she washed it down with a slurp of coffee and launched into the long sordid tale of Mack.

She tried to run quickly through their meeting at the bar, and then the shock of the parental brunch but kept having to stop for Marissa’s comments and questions. Lydia couldn’t blame her roommate for interrupting. It was a pretty insane story.

She skipped over the more intimate details—what had happened in the kitchen being one of them—but didn’t leave out any details about the man himself. He was such a conundrum she needed all the help reading him she could get.

Lydia finally wrapped up the story with how he’d kissed her and left with not much more than a goodbye.

Wide-eyed, Marissa asked, “That’s it? Did you give him your number?”

“No.”

“Did you get his?”

“No.” Every question added another regret to Lydia’s list.

“Oh my God. We talked about this on the phone after the first night with him. That’s like Hooking Up 101. You have to exchange numbers.” Marissa sighed. “I guess it’s not that bad though. I mean you are related to him.”

“Ugh. Don’t remind me.”

She laughed. “It is pretty crazy. But it probably explains a lot. Why he trusted you in his place alone. Why he didn’t ask for your number. He figures he can get to you anytime through your parents.”

“I guess.” Lydia wasn’t sure she was on board with Marissa’s assessment.

Not getting her number or giving her his could also be Mack’s way of keeping his distance.

Maybe he figured he’d try to avoid any contact except when they had to run into each other at their parents’ house. Then he’d just grin and bear it.

But he had invited her back to his place last night and he didn’t have to do that.

Men were exhausting. Her limited experience had saved her from that knowledge until today but she was getting a full dose of it now.

“So, military, huh? Did he leave this morning in a uniform?”

Lydia frowned. “No. He didn’t. What does that mean? Was he lying?”

“No. Not necessarily. Maybe he keeps his uniform in like a locker or something.” Marissa’s eyes opened wide and she sucked in a breath. “Oh, my God. What if he doesn’t wear a uniform because he’s undercover. You know, like covert operations or something.”

Lydia rolled her eyes. “His father said he was in the Navy and Mack himself said he was just a sailor. He’s not some sort of super secret special operations kind of guy.”

“Well, of course he would lie. He can’t go around telling people. Not even his dad. Remember when we binge-watched all five seasons of Covert Affairs and the star couldn’t even tell her sister what she really did?”

“That series was about the CIA, not the Navy.”

Her eyes wide as saucers, Marissa sucked in a breath. “What if he’s a Navy SEAL?”

Lydia let out a snort. “As much as I’d love to tell everyone I scooped a SEAL at a bar and spent two nights in bed with him, I really don’t think he is.”

Though he certainly was fit enough to be a SEAL. All those hard, lean muscles. And he’d proven he was pretty fit in the cardiovascular area a couple of times during the weekend, as well.