“Lori did jury duty a few years ago, back in Connecticut,” Loni said.
It’d been right after she’d finished pastry school.
Abby’s gaze swung to hers. “You did? How was it?”
She shrugged. “It wasn’t bad. Thankfully, I wasn’t selected for Federal. That could go on for a year or more. Mine was a drunk driving case. It only lasted about ten days.”
Hearing the testimony and viewing the photos had been tough. Lori hadn’t been keen on passing judgment, but she understood the laws, and the drunk driver had broken several on top of paralyzing a young mother of two.
Thank God the children hadn’t been in the car with her. It had been flattened like a pancake.
“I was summoned two years ago,” Lyndsey said. “I was chosen for a robbery case, but it ended up settled with a plea agreement, so I was only there a day.”
“Was it a case Gabe was involved with?”
Lyndsey nodded. “Yes, I think it was one of his first cases. I remember thinking, damn, that man is fine but way too uptight for me.” She snickered, lifting her drink. “Turns out, I was wrong.”
Lori snorted. “Bet Gabe would love to hear that.”
“Yeah, but don’t you dare tell him.” Their host laughed. “He knows I adore him.”
The sheriff knew, all right, and adored his girlfriend right back…well, his soon-to-be fiancée—provided Lyndsey said yes later.
Gabe was righteous and immovable, and a complete pushover when it came to Lyndsey.
It was great.
She exchanged a quick look with her sister and fought a grin. The good sheriff had commissioned them to bake a special cake today for the occasion. It currently sat in a box inside their refrigerator at work.
Lori would fetch it when it was time. She was so excited for her friend and equally excited to witness the proposal.
Keeping Gabe’s secret had been tough the past week. At least she’d been able to talk about it with her sister, but only at work, and only when they were alone. The sheriff had sworn them to secrecy. He hadn’t wanted any of the guys to know either, which meant Loni couldn’t tell Dean.
Not a problem. It was part of the job. Her sister was a professional, and great at keeping secrets. Hell, she’d kept her disease a secret from Lori until the doctor told Loni it was hereditary, and that Lori needed to get tested. She knew Loni hadn’t done it to be mean. No, her sister was a softie. She had done it to keep others from worrying.
Lori worried anyway.
But not today. It was a day to celebrate. At least, it would be after dinner. Nothing was going to dim her excitement.
Buster jumped to his feet and barked at the privacy fence a second before the gate opened and Gabe and Dean walked into the yard carrying a cooler, with Chief, the sheriff’s pit bull close on his heels.
Abby’s husband Cooper walked through the gate.
Followed by RJ.
Lori’s pulse leapt without her permission.
Shoot. She stood corrected. RJ’s presence could definitely dim her excitement…or up it exponentially.
It depended entirely on the sexy SEAL.
Chapter Three
“Who’s hungry?” Gabe asked.
“I am.” Lyndsey waved her man over. “Come here and give me some sugar, sugar.”
Lori grinned as the man immediately set his side of the cooler down and headed for his woman.
“Oh.” Abby smiled. “I want some sugar, too, Cooper.”
Her sister even got in on it, crooking a finger at Dean.
While the women offered their lips to their men, Lori kept her gaze averted from the sugar-less SEAL, put her lips on her glass, and enjoyed her no-strings attached margarita.
Delicious.
Was it more delicious than RJ’s kisses?
Nope. But they weren’t on the menu.
She glanced at the guy from under her lashes. Texas seemed to be good for him.
The handsome man appeared less gaunt than he had upon his arrival. His cheeks weren’t as angular, and his muscles were fuller…not that he hadn’t had a smokin’ hot body before. But now, he looked healthier, stronger. He even walked with more ease.
It was her sister’s fault that she’d noticed these changes. Loni had insisted she come over for early morning coffee to watch the sun rise. Knowing how important each sunrise was to her sister, Lori had agreed. That was before she realized her sister also enjoyed a different kind of view each morning.
Dean…running shirtless on the beach…only he wasn’t alone. No. Cooper and RJ ran by his side.
A trio of former SEALs.
Okay, so it wasn’t a hardship watching sunlight and shadows caressing a triple dose of muscles and ridges.
Loni had warned her not to be fooled by the distance and safety of her back deck. The glorious view of a certain, recently transplanted SEAL could come back to bite her in the ass.
God, she hoped so…
Shit.
Lori sat up and blinked. She had no business fantasizing about the guy.
Especially since he wasn’t interested.
Watching him run every morning was a waste of time.
Too bad she was addicted.
It had all started with that slow dancing Abby had mentioned. Lori’s body remembered every delicious second of pressing into all that rock-hard muscle, and then later when they were naked and touching and kissing. The man had felt warm and solid, and it was weird, but in his arms, she’d felt safe and protected.
That wasn’t something she’d ever really looked for or required in a guy. But RJ was unique. There was something different about him.
Yeah, his indifference to her.
She swallowed her snort down with the last of her drink, then reached for the pitcher and refilled her glass. Deep down, she knew he had enjoyed their naked time together, but it didn’t make being around him any less awkward.
“You taste like one of Gabe’s margaritas,” Dean told her sister, then leaned down for another kiss.
“A’right. Save it for later, Romeo,” Gabe said, now standing next to Lyndsey’s chair. “You and Coop need to get busy cleaning the fish RJ and I caught.”
Lori glanced at RJ and her heart rocked when a smile crossed his handsome face. Her body always overreacted when the guy smiled. And it wasn’t even aimed at her. Tell that to her body. It didn’t seem to care.
“Roger that,” Dean said, bending down to grab the cooler again. “Where would you like it done?”
“Behind the garage, and put a lid on the garbage can when you’re done,” Gabe replied. “Don’t let Threepio’s lack of appendage fool you. He is more than capable of retrieving scraps from inside. He doesn’t need to get into any of the bones.”
“Ah, isn’t that cute?” Cooper grinned as he grabbed the other side of the cooler. “Papa Bear is worried about his kitty.”
Gabe flipped the guy off. “You’re the one who is going to be a papa bear in…?” He glanced at Abby with a raised brow.
“Ten weeks,” the mother-to-be replied, rubbing a hand over her swollen belly.
“And don’t dally with the fish,” Gabe called to Cooper. “Your wife and child are hungry.”
Papa Bear waved a hand as he continued toward the garage. “Roger that.”