Page 28 of The Seal's Promise
“What about Miles? He seems to get to see you a lot.”
“He’s my ex-brother-in-law, so quasi family.”
“I’m not convinced that’s all he wants to be.”
“And what are you asking for, friendship?”
He grimaced and hung his head for a beat before meeting her eyes again. “For starters, forgiveness and friendship,” he said, and she had to look away from the intensity of emotion she found in the swirling depths of his blue eyes.
She could still feel his eyes on her and she let out a breath, trying to relax her shoulders. “You’re forgiven, Dalton. My childish disappointment that you left without saying goodbye felt like a bigger deal fifteen years ago. I know you didn’t mean to hurt me, and you didn’t owe me anything.”
Dalton’s warm, rough hand landed on top of hers on the bench in the dugout next to the batting cage. His fingers skimmed over the back of her hand, sending a shiver over her entire body. It took only one simple touch.
“Well, I’m sorry anyway, and I’m sorry for myself because now you’re set on not giving me a chance at all.”
“A chance at what?” she couldn’t resist asking.
He threaded his fingers with hers. “Whatever this is between us, because it feels exactly like something we’re not supposed to ignore.”
“I’m out, I need more balls to hit!” Max called.
“We better head home for lunch anyway—you need to rest a little before your big game,” Brooke said, standing and letting go of Dalton’s hand.
She knew exactly what the connection was with Dalton: it was lust. And after their makeout session in his truck she couldn’t deny she felt it, but that didn’t mean she should act on it again, did it? On the other hand, she’d played by all the rules, gotten married, and still ended up with a broken heart. Maybe she was due to find out what a “friends with benefits” type of relationship had to offer.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Dalton
Game On
When Dalton gotback to his grandmother’s house after his long day, he just wanted to take a cold shower and sleep for at least ten hours. He’d stayed for Max’s entire game but kept his distance from Brooke. As much as he wanted to be close to her, he didn’t want to push her too fast. He saw Miles and most of the town at the ballfield, but he didn’t see Tyler.
Now, as he sat in the driveway, he could tell sleep wasn’t going to happen soon. The entire house was lit up, there was music blasting, and there were quite a few other cars in the driveway. Part of him wanted to call Wes and make him deal with it, but it was his turn. So he parked, walked up the shell driveway, and opened the screen door to head into the fray. To his surprise the house looked like there had been a fancy cocktail party, with half-filled dainty glasses scattered around, hors d’oeuvres, and half-eaten pastries. There were party lights strung up across the massive built-in bookcases, but there was no one in sight. He was almost getting worried about where they might be, but then he heard laughter over the music that was coming from the back porch.
When he walked into the dining room with floor-to-ceiling windows, he discovered his grandmother and about a dozen of her friends wearing cowboy boots and old-fashioned hats, dancing in the garden. He knew he’d best make himself scarce, but still stay and make sure no one tried to drive home. He’d almost made it to the back staircase when a woman pushed open the screen door and gasped.
“Oh my, Dalton Hart, are you a sight for old, tired eyes. You’re so handsome, just like your brothers.” The woman was practically purring.
“Good evening, I was just checking on Gran and about to head back out again.”
“Oh no, you should stay, the girls would love to see you.” Then, with a grip he didn’t expect from a woman in her seventies, the woman dragged him out onto the covered porch that led to his grandmother’s expansive garden. It was an enviable Southern garden overflowing with roses, leafy green plants, and a large weeping willow tree.
“Look who I found! He’s joining the party, girls. Our very own Navy SEAL!” The woman’s voice was booming and all eyes fell on him. His gran had the biggest smile of all, and Dalton succumbed to letting her and her friends preen over him and repeat how lucky his gran was to have such accomplished grandsons.
A half hour later Dalton had managed to lock up everyone’s keys and the booze, then escaped his grandmother’s house with no intentions of returning until they had all sobered up. He had two choices, the diner or the pub, so he decided he had earned a beer and found Wes and Declan seated at the bar.
With a slap on his brother’s shoulder, he sat down next to him. “Hey, thanks for the invite.”
“Oh, my bad, bro, I thought for sure you’d have made other plans for your first Saturday night back in town,” Wes said.
The bartender set a bottled beer in front of him and he took a long swig before responding. “Well, I did get two very tawdry offers from Gran’s bingo partners tonight, but I decided I’d better wait and see what my other options are.”
Wes and Declan both laughed at his expense as he filled them in.
“I guess you could stay out at Levi’s place and get more privacy that way.”
“I keep forgetting to ask you about it. I didn’t realize he had a place.”
