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

Her gaze lingered on a photo of him and the other guys with a dilapidated-looking mud hut in the background. “Do you still stay in touch with the guys who got discharged from the Navy?”

He grinned. “For sure. Those guys are like my brothers. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for them and vice versa. If any of them called and said he needed me to go halfway across the world to help him, I’d go without hesitation.”

Peyton turned to face him, her expression tough to read as she looked up at him. “Having a bond like that sounds amazing.”

They hadn’t been this close to each other since the party last night and her nearness was making it hard to think of anything except kissing her again. “Um, yeah.”

Way to sound articulate, dude.

“What about this guy on the end?” she asked, smiling as if she knew he was a little befuddled. “I’m pretty sure I didn’t see him at the party, either.”

Noah didn’t say anything for a second, not sure how he was supposed to answer the question, since Peyton wasn’t going to like hearing the truth. “That’s Dan,” he said softly, reaching out to run a finger over the frame. “He died on a mission about a year ago. We were good friends.”

Seeing Peyton’s eyes fill with sadness made him sorry he’d told her. Maybe a lie would have been better. But then he realized that would have been stupid. He’d spent a good portion of the past few days wondering if he and Peyton might be right for each other. If she couldn’t handle the simple reality of life in the SEALs, then getting together with her was nothing but a pipe dream.

“Oh. I’m so sorry,” she murmured. “How did it happen? Did they get the people who did it? I mean, they didn’t get away with it, did they?”

They were typical questions people asked when they heard that anyone in the military had died in combat, so he didn’t blame her for wondering.

“There’s not much I can tell you,” he said. “It was a classified operation, so the location and details were never released.”

Peyton didn’t say anything for a long time, turning to look at the photos on the mantle and wall again, only to settle on Dan’s picture. Noah was about to apologize for saying something so disturbing when she spoke.

“I guess that’s what Laurissa meant when she asked me if I’d really thought about what it would be like to get involved with a SEAL.”

Noah opened his mouth, wanting to know exactly what his sister had said, but Peyton turned back then, her expression serious.

“It’s not like she was trying to warn me off,” she said. “I want you to know that. But she told me in the strongest terms possible that you travel all the time, that you can’t tell anyone where you’re going or when you’ll get back, and that sometimes bad things happen. I told myself I understood all that, but after telling me about Dan, I’m not so sure I was being honest with myself.”

Part of him was pissed Laurissa had inserted herself into the middle of this, but another part realized he couldn’t hold it against his sister for looking out for him…and for Peyton.

“When did you two talk about this?” he asked.

“The party,” Peyton said. “She picked up on the vibe between us during dinner and asked me when things changed between us. I told her about the kiss and that we were going to take it slow. She was thrilled for us, but also concerned I was going into this with my eyes not quite wide open.”

Noah took a deep breath, letting it out in a sigh. Putting his hands on her waist, he gently tugged her closer and gazed deep into her eyes. He had this conversation with other women before. Not usually this soon, but it happened every time and it never got easier. But for some reason, it seemed even harder this time. Because he didn’t want to watch Peyton walk away.

“I wish I could say my sister was wrong, but she isn’t,” he said slowly, bring her in until his chin was resting on the top of her head and her face was buried against his chest. “I’m a SEAL. That means the phone will sometimes ring in the middle of the night and I’ll have to go. I might be gone for a week or six months, and I won’t be able to tell you anything one way or the other. I’m always careful, but what I do is dangerous. There’s no way to hide from that.”

She didn’t say anything. Knowing that wasn’t a good sign, he kept going, hoping this time things might turn out differently.

“The last thing I want to do is scare you off, but at the same time, I also don’t want you getting hurt when you realize being with me is more than you signed up for. I don’t ever want to hurt you.”

Peyton nodded against his chest. A moment later, she took a step back and reached a hand up to quickly wipe a tear from her cheek.

“We should probably get going if we’re going to make it to the release party on time,” she said softly. “We have to get back home in time for me to change, and should probably get something to eat, too. Once the signing starts, I’m not going to be able to take a break for anything more than a sip of water.”

Her voice was casual, but there was a sadness in her eyes that made Noah think he’d destroyed any shot he ever had with this amazing woman. All because he’d decided to be honest and upfront about everything.

Sometimes, he could be such a dumbass.

CHAPTER NINE

THEY STOPPED AT P.F. Chang’s for takeout on the way back to Peyton’s house. Neither of them said a word throughout the drive or the stop at the restaurant.