SEAL for Her Protection (SEALs of Coronado Book 1) by Paige Tyler Read Free Book Online Page B

“We are. They have Movies in the Park here on Friday night.”
    Of course. Duh. Hayley knew that. She didn’t realize they showed movies so late. Not that ten o’clock was late. She’d assumed it was an early evening event. But the park was packed with people.
    Chasen grabbed a fleece blanket from the backseat of the truck, then came around to open her door. Pocketing the keys, he took her hand and led her toward the entrance. His grasp was gentle and strong at the same time, and she found herself moving a little closer as they walked.
    They made their way past the reflecting pool then circled around the fountain with its dancing sprays of water and colorful lights, navigating through the group of people lounging on blankets and relaxing in lawn chairs. Finding an open space in the center a few feet away from a hipster couple with a cute puppy, Chasen spread out the blanket.
    “Hang tight here and I’ll go get us some ice cream,” he said.
    As he went in search of dessert, Hayley slipped out of her wedge sandals then sat down on the blanket. First dinner, followed by a movie in the park under the stars, and now ice cream. She couldn’t think of a more romantic date. Smiling, she leaned back on her hands and looked out at the ocean. Across the San Diego Bay, she could see the green and white flashing lights of the rotating beacon on the North Island Naval Air Station. If she looked really hard, in the distance, she could even see the glow of lights from the Naval Amphibious Base where Chasen and the rest of SEAL Team 5 were stationed. It was a beautiful view.
    “Sorry it took me so long,” Chasen said as he dropped down on the blanket beside her a few minutes later. “There was an elderly couple in front of me who couldn’t decide whether they wanted nuts on the sundaes they ordered or not.”
    Hayley laughed as she took the plastic bowl with the ice cream sundae he’d gotten for her. Holding the cherry by the stem, she popped it into her mouth.
    “What movie are they playing tonight?” she asked.
    Not that she really cared. Something told her she’d be too busy cuddling with Chasen to pay much attention to it.
    He dipped his spoon into his sundae. “ Top Gun .”
    “Cool. I’ve never seen it.”
    Chasen’s eyes went wide. “You’re kidding, right? It’s a classic.”
    She shook her head. “Nope. I take it from the way you’re looking at me that you obviously have.”
    “Hell, yeah. At least twenty times.”
    It was her turn to be surprised. “Seriously? You must really like it.”
    He shrugged. “It’s kind of a favorite whenever the Team ends up being on a ship for any length of time. We watch it like other people watch Rocky Horror Picture Show . We act out the scenes, make up new dialogue—stuff like that. We walk around for days afterward spouting lines from the damn thing.”
    Hayley grinned around her spoonful of ice cream. She hadn’t even seen the movie yet, but the thought of him and his buddies acting out scenes from it sounded hilarious. “You and your Team sound close.”
    “We are,” he admitted. “Those guys are like my brothers. In some ways, we’re tighter I guess.”
    “How so?”
    He shrugged. “The Navy takes us from all around the country and drops us into a Team then puts us in situations where we have no one else to depend on but each other. We’re all different, with our own backgrounds and experiences, but all of that gets put to the side when you’re on the Team. You have to be totally there for each other because there’s never going to be anyone else. That kind of isolation and dependency builds bonds that can’t be replicated anywhere else. Blood is important, but people don’t pick their families. We chose to be SEALs and that ties us together more than simply being born to the same parents.”
    She licked ice cream off her spoon as she considered that. Chasen followed the movement with his gaze, the hunger in his eyes unmistakable. She ran her tongue