Bodyguard SEAL (SEALs of Coronado Book 8), Paige Tyler [best classic books txt] 📗

“I’m sure you’re right about all those things, but bad things can still happen.” Her brow creased. “Regardless of what he says, I’m almost certain he didn’t hurt his knee playing volleyball. He was almost assuredly on a mission, probably in some backwater craphole neither one of us could find on a map if our lives depended on it.”

When Peyton didn’t say anything, her friend leaned in and gave her a hug, then stepped back to look at her seriously. “I would never try and tell you not to date my brother. You’re a grown woman free to make your own choices. I only want you to think about what it will mean if you do and ask yourself if you’re ready for what being with a Navy SEAL means.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

PEYTON GROANED, BLINKING at the early morning sun streaming through her bedroom window. Crap. She felt like she hadn’t slept at all last night. That wasn’t surprising considering the questions Laurissa had given her to ponder at the promotion party.

She doubted her friend had intended for her to lose sleep over any of it, but that was one of Peyton’s many failings. If there was a problem, she nonstop obsessed about it until it was solved. Unfortunately, in this case, there was no simple solution. Which was why she’d spent hours staring up at the ceiling last night wondering if she was making a big mistake falling for Noah.

Part of her knew she was blowing the whole thing out of proportion. She’d known Noah for all of seventy-two hours and they’d gone on exactly one unofficial date. Yet here she was, getting wrapped around the axle worrying about whether she could handle him being a SEAL. Then again, that was standard practice for her. She had a history of worrying about the long-term potential of a relationship before the first date was even in the books.

She didn’t know what that said about her. She’d simply never had the slightest interest in having a casual thing with a guy. Unlike Laurissa, she wasn’t the swipe-right kind of girl. Heck, she’d never even dated more than one guy at a time. If she went out with someone, she committed to him until they went their separate ways.

Maybe that was why Laurissa told her to think long and hard about whether she wanted to get involved with Noah. Maybe she knew they’d never work out.

Rolling onto her back, Peyton dragged the pillow over her face to scream into it. Leave it to her to find a whole new way to torture herself.

Get a grip.

Sighing, she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. This situation wasn’t nearly as complicated as she was making it out to be.

On one hand, she liked Noah. A lot. Enough to already see herself in a relationship with him, regardless of the fact that she’d only known him for three days. On the other, Noah had a job that would scare off most sane women. Was she going to let his job scare her off, too?

Her first instinct was to say, hell no. But then she took a breath and stopped herself. If she was being honest, Laurissa’s warning that Noah was gone all the time on secret missions that nobody even knew about was enough to give her pause.

How could she live not knowing if he was safe or not?

How could any woman live like that?

Getting to her feet, Peyton took off her tank top and shorts and put on her yoga clothes.

Obviously, there were women who did live like that. Hayley and Chasen had recently gotten married. Kyla and Wes seemed to be headed that way. And there had been other women at the party last night who’d appeared equally committed to the SEALs they were dating, some married and others engaged. They weren’t superhuman. They were simply in love. If other women could do it, she had to believe she could, too.

But before she could know for sure, she’d need more than a vague idea of what Noah and his fellow SEALs did for a living. She also needed to know exactly what he wanted out of this relationship. He’d said he wanted to see what else they could be. Was his idea of a future for them the same as hers?

Peyton decided to do without her usual bottle of water, not needing the distraction of a half-naked Noah sleeping on her couch, and went directly to her workout room. After the night she had, skipping yoga wasn’t an option. Thirty minutes of chaturangas, downward dog, and warrior positions would not only refresh her, but get her completely ready for the party later that would include a couple hundred die-hard fans and one very distracting SEAL.

After a quick workout and a shower, Peyton changed into a skirt and sleeveless top, then headed downstairs. Noah was leaning back against the counter in the kitchen, scrolling through his phone with one hand and holding a mug of coffee in the other. He glanced up as she walked in, his eyes lingering on her for a moment before he went back to his phone. Peyton smiled to herself, enjoying the sensation of his warm gaze on her skin.

“Morning,” he said, looking up from the phone again with an expression that could only be described as hungry. She found herself relishing that thought.

“Good morning,” she replied, taking out a mug and filling it with coffee. “Have you eaten yet?”

He shook his head. “I waited for you.”

That was nice of him. And exactly what a guy who was into her would do.

Peyton got two bowls out of the cabinet, then took a detour to the pantry for the cereal. When she came back out, Noah already had the carton of coconut-almond milk on the table and two spoons. She handed him one of the bowls, then sat down opposite him. As tempting as it was to gaze at him the whole time they ate,