“Frog Hogs?” Kenna asked.
“Yeah. The generic term is ‘tag chaser,’ women who go after any man in the military. But a Frog Hog is someone who only wants to date the best of the best…a Navy SEAL.”
“Conceited,” Kenna muttered.
But Aleck caught the humor in her tone, and he much preferred that than the humiliation he’d heard earlier. “We prefer the word ‘confident,’” Aleck said. He took another deep breath and continued his story. “Anyway, she was tall, blonde, had a master’s degree, and she was pretty, so I felt proud that she’d singled me out. I knew about Frog Hogs, of course, but she seemed so different that I ignored the warning signs. We dated for a few months, and I thought things were going pretty great. My team hated her though. They didn’t come out and say it, but I could tell.
“We were all out together one night, and she went to the restroom. She was gone a really long time, and I got worried, so I went to check on her. She was drunk, and laughing and talking to a girlfriend really loud in the bathroom. I could hear every word through the door.”
Aleck paused. He hated remembering how he’d felt when he’d stood in the dim hallway in that bar.
“What’d she say?” Kenna asked quietly.
Deciding to treat the conversation like a bandage and just rip it off to get it over with, Aleck continued. “She was talking about me, and how she was sure I was on the verge of asking her to marry me. Basically said she’d encourage me to go to Vegas and get it done quickly, then it would only be a matter of time before I was killed on some mission. And as my wife, she’d get not only my life insurance from the Navy, but my trust fund too. She and her friend actually laughed over that, agreeing that I was a sure thing. That she wouldn’t have to—in her words—put up with me for long because of my dangerous job.”
“Holy shit, what a cunt!” Kenna exclaimed.
Aleck couldn’t help but chuckle, more because of Kenna saying “cunt” than anything else.
“I hope you dumped her right then and there,” she continued.
“I did,” Aleck said. “I turned around and left the bar. Didn’t even tell my friends why I was leaving. I had brought the bitch to the bar, so she had to get a ride home with her friend. She called me several times but I never spoke to her again. I texted her that we were done…and that’s it. It was juvenile, and I should’ve been the bigger person and broken up in person rather than ghosting her, but I just couldn’t.”
“No, you should not have. She didn’t give a shit about you, so why would you give her the decency of breaking up in person? Fucking bitch.”
As much as Aleck was enjoying her support, he still wanted to make sure she understood why he was telling her the story. “She got under my skin—in the worst way. I didn’t date for over a year after that because I couldn’t trust anyone, and when I finally started, I was much more careful when it came to telling anyone about my wealth. Hell, I might’ve even been able to handle the bitch wanting to be with me because of my money; at least that wouldn’t be very surprising. But the fact that she wanted to marry me because my job is dangerous, and she was counting on me getting killed in action so she could get her hands on my money sooner…that was nearly impossible to wrap my head around.”
Kenna took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I understand. I’d probably be just as wary as you are if I was in your shoes.”
Aleck couldn’t believe she was letting him off the hook so easily. “I should’ve said something,” Aleck told her. “It was cowardly of me.”
“I didn’t really give you a chance,” Kenna offered. “And I was pretty judgmental about rich people. I’m sorry for that.”
“Still. I could’ve said something before we got out of the Jeep. Or when you told me your plan on getting past Robert at the security desk. Or even after we were sitting on the beach.”
“Are you seriously trying to talk me into staying pissed at you?” Kenna asked with a small laugh.
Was he? It hadn’t been his plan, but now that she’d pointed it out, Aleck realized that was exactly what he was doing. Unintentionally, but still. “Shit,” he muttered.
Kenna giggled, and the sound seeped into his pores and settled into his heart.
“You hurt me,” Kenna said honestly. “I was mortified when Elodie and Lexie let it spill that you lived at Coral Springs. I bitched about you to Carly on our way home from Food For All today, and you know what she said?”
“What?”
“That I was a bons. A reverse snob. She pointed out that most women would be over-the-moon excited if their boyfriends had money. I thought about that a lot this afternoon before I called. I’ve had so many people look down on me because of my job and tell me I could do so much better, that it’s made me wary of anyone who makes a ton of money. I don’t like you because of what you do, Marshall. Or because of how much is in your bank account. I like you because of who you are. But I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—I don’t like secrets. Is there anything else I need to know? Any other big reveals you need to make? Now’s the time if you do.”
“No. Although I have to point out again that there’s a lot I’ll never be able to tell you about my job,” Aleck said a little warily.
“I understand that, and it’s okay. I’m more concerned about things like you having a fatal disease or that you’re married with children or something.”
“No, absolutely not. Kenna?”
“Yeah?”
“I really am sorry. I hate that I made you feel bad.”
“Me too. But now that I know, we’re moving on. I had fun with the girls today.”
“Yeah?”
“Uh-huh. Did you know Lexie’s friend Theo is a damn good artist?”
“He is?”
“Yeah.”
For the next few minutes, Kenna talked about her day and about the mural Theo had painted on the wall of the annex of Food For All. Then they talked about Carly and if she’d seen Shawn—she hadn’t—and how the rest of the day had gone.
“I know you work the next three nights, but I was wondering if maybe we could hang out Friday for a while?” Aleck asked. “Maybe go to lunch?”
“Don’t you have to work?” Kenna asked.
“If you had time, I was going to ask my commander if I could take a few hours off. I just…I want to see you. Apologize in person. Make sure we’re okay.”
“We’re good,” Kenna told him. “And you don’t have to apologize again.”
“Yeah, I think I do,” Aleck said.
“I’d love to have lunch with you on Friday,” Kenna told him.
Aleck let out the breath he’d been holding. “And we’re still on for Sunday? For the swap meet and dinner?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.”
“So…is the view from your balcony as good as Elodie and Lexie said it was?” Kenna asked.
“Yes,” Aleck said simply.
“I can’t wait to see it,” Kenna said.
Aleck fully relaxed for the first time since he’d read her text earlier. Instinctively, he knew not telling Kenna about his money could be an issue, but he hadn’t realized how terrified he’d be that she’d tell him she didn’t want to see him anymore.