SEAL The Deal by Sharon Hamilton Read Free Book Online Page A

that he’d ever know. Come on, give the guys a way to blow off some steam and prance around half-naked. And they won’t know anyone here.”
    “But I do, or did.”
    “You mean Devon? That nice piece that’s got you dreamin’ in the shower? I fully understand you not wanting a bunch of horny Frogs hanging around her. Probably too much for her. Make her go off and do something unladylike and all.” Marc punched Nick in the arm. “Be good for the little lady, who I think needs a little man-scent in her life. Get my drift?”
    Nick put aside the comment about being around Devon and forced himself to focus on the problem at hand: time was running out for Sophie. Marc might be onto something. Maybe they could earn enough money to at least make one payment. If they were close, maybe he could make up the shortfall. And maybe this kind of team bonding project was just what they needed so soon after they got back from Afghanistan. Better to schedule it now than wait until everyone had made other plans.
    Why not?
    “Go call ‘em.”
    “When do you want them here?”
    “Yesterday.”
     
    Marc announced that several of the men on SEAL Team 3 would be coming up, including their LPO, Kyle Lansdowne. Nick was glad to know that Cooper had said he’d come, since he’d practically been born under a tractor in Nebraska. and knew how to fix anything. Nick hoped Coop could fix several rototillers and mowers Sophie used to rent out, but that no longer started. At this point they’d been sitting around so long they were also rusty as hell.
    She also had a vintage vegetable truck in the back with four flat tires. He knew Coop would get that thing running in no time.
    Now he reviewed the disclosure statements Devon had left and had some questions, so he gave her a call.
    “Hey, Dev.”
    “Devon.”
    “Miss Brandeburg. How’s that?”
    “Nick, can we just stop this? Just call me Devon, okay?”
    “Fine. So, I have questions about these disclosure papers and was wondering if I could go over them with you.”
    “Sophie has to fill them out.”
    “Well, she’s not getting out of bed today. I think, under the circumstances, I should fill them out and she can sign.”
    “You have to know about the property.”
    “I’ll leave blank the things I don’t know. I can ask her about those.”
    “That would work. So, what questions do you have?”
    “Well, I thought we could kill two birds, sort of do it over lunch, like a date? I think it would make her happy if we did that.”
    “Our first date?”
    “Our very first.”
    “Okay. Why don’t we meet at the Italian place on Fourth Street next to the bookstore? Mama’s.”
    “Perfect. Say in an hour?”
     
    Mama’s was packed with a lunch crowd. The quaint restaurant was “noisy intimate” like some of his favorite places in San Diego. The food was tasty, with free bread sticks and supposedly the best pizza north of San Francisco. He was watching the mostly young crowd around him, waiting in a booth for Devon to show up.
    When she walked in, his heart thumped so hard it made his ears ring. She wore her hair up in a clip but loose, so that silky strands fell about her shoulders and neck. She studied the room, starting on the right at the bar, and moving her gaze across the dining room until their eyes met. He tried to suppress a smile, but it was tough.
    He acknowledged her with a lift of his hand while trying not to grin like an idiot. His mouth was dry even though he’d tried to swallow several times. He ground his teeth and locked his jaw. Something about her was all the right kinds of haughty and sweet. Her sexual energy was bigger than the room.
    She turned every male head as she made her way to him with long strides on a straight trajectory. Best of all, she never took her eyes off his. For a second, he thought perhaps he’d been wrong about her experience with men. She was fucking killing him.
    He almost forgot himself, but at the last minute stood as she slipped into