Saved by the SEAL by Diana Gardin Read Free Book Online

give him an honest one.
    “I only know what I can see, Grisham. I see a guy who pulled me out of the ocean when he hadn’t been in the water in months. I see a guy who took me to the doctor and found my number to check up on me the same night. I see a guy who, when he realized I was going to be alone with a concussion, showed up on my doorstep with a duffle bag and a smile. If that’s not sweet…I don’t know what is.”
    I drop my gaze, studying the countertop. But the fact that he doesn’t even know how awesome he is…it gives me the courage to look him straight in the eye when I speak next. “You’ve been through a lot, Grisham. So you have a story. We all do. It doesn’t mean you’re not good enough for someone else.”
    He averts his eyes. His voice comes out in a ragged whisper. “You don’t know what you’re saying, Greta. You don’t want…this.”
    He gestures toward himself.
    Still keeping my eyes locked firmly on his face, I shrug. My attitude screams “carefree” but my heart is hammering a violent rhythm in my chest. “Why don’t you let me be the judge of what I want?”
    “There’s no room in my life for a partner. Not anymore. I’ve dedicated myself to saving other people…to making sure they’re safe from harm. I gave up the illusion that I could do that any other way than alone a long time ago.”
    It feels like I’ve been punched in the gut. If Grisham really feels that way, that he needs to be alone in order to fulfill his purpose in life, then I’m just setting myself up for a broken heart. This broken, beautiful man has dedicated his life to making sure other innocent people have one. How can I take that away from him?
    But now that I know him, how can I let him go on thinking that all he can ever be is alone?

5
Grisham
    S even…eight…nine…ten!”
    The bar clatters back on its anchor and I sit up on the bench. I’m out of breath and my biceps are burning.
    “Damn, bro. You’ve been intense this morning. Five reps of ten with two-forty? Shiiiiiit, Ghost.”
    I smirk at Lawson’s use of my combat nickname. “It was a hard road coming back from the amputation, Laws. My upper body functioned the way it was supposed to, so I worked the hell out of it. It was therapeutic or something.”
    Lawson nods as he reaches for a pair of dumbbells and begins a set of bicep curls. “I ain’t mad atcha, Ghost. But…” He pauses in his lifting.
    Here it comes.
    I rise from the weight bench to grab my towel and my water bottle. I stand, waiting for him to spit out his question, wiping my dripping forehead with the navy-issue towel. We work out for the first two hours of every shift. It’s my favorite part of the day, unless we’re working on training exercises and maneuvers in the afternoon. We aren’t today. It’s mainly an admin day, and I have paperwork lined up on my desk I want to put off for as long as possible. Planning for the next mission my team will embark on without me is just depressing.
    “Ben and I got your text yesterday morning that you weren’t gonna make breakfast. But then you missed pizza Wednesday. You never miss pizza Wednesday. What the hell kept you so busy yesterday?”
    And there it is. I’ve been wondering when I’d have to bring up Greta. Knowing Lawson, he’ll rag on me until I let him meet her. And I’m conflicted about when or if that’ll happen. What would I introduce her to my buddies as? A friend? The way my body reacts to Greta is way more than friendly. But I haven’t made any type of commitment to her, either. Do I even want to?
    And what if I introduce her to the guys, and one of them decides to make a move on her? Just the thought of anyone else getting close to Greta sends a sizzling jolt of anger ripping through me.
    “I ran into a friend on the beach who needed help. I ended up needing to hang out with her for a while during the day yesterday and then again last night.”
    I leave it at that, but on the inside I’m cringing,