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Here I am, always bringing up my boarding school and fancy art college, and he had to risk his life just to make a living.
“So, you hated it?” I ask, swallowing hard.
“No, not at all. I made a lot of great friends, and it got me here. I have the skills to start my own company. I’m still here with my best friend. It’s all good.”
That makes me feel a little bit better, and I take another lick of my ice cream.
“What was your favorite thing about the military?”
“The routine. There was no guessing or really that many decisions to be made. There was a chain of command, and everyone knew to follow it. I knew what I was doing every day. I woke up at the same time and ate at the same time. It was the structure that I needed, especially after my childhood.”
“Why the Navy?”
“I always liked swimming. There was this community pool by our house, and Anson, Lottie, and I used to break in some nights and go swimming. It was some of our happiest times.”
“And then being in the Navy wasn’t enough, so you decided to be a SEAL?”
He laughs at that, and I smile.
“Something like that. It was more that I wanted the challenge. Anson and I did it just to see if we could, but having him there is what got me through. I wasn’t quitting if he wasn’t.”
“I’m envious that you have that kind of friend. I always kept to myself, but it would have been nice to have someone who always had my back like that.”
“Lottie really likes you,” he says, and I smile.
“She was so sweet. She and Anson are adorable together.”
“Yeah, they always were. I’m just sorry it took them so long to get together.”
Lottie told me all about how she and Anson were scared that Rhett would be mad that they were seeing each other. I remember thinking that was weird. Rhett loves both of them so much, and I know that as long as they’re happy, so is he.
“Can I see some of your pictures?” Rhett asks, and I hesitate but nod.
“I only have the ones up on the blog right now,” I tell him, and he smiles.
“Let’s see.”
I pass him my ice cream cone so I can dig my phone out of the clutch. I turn back to see him eyeing my cone, and I laugh.
“You can have some.”
“Are you sure?” He asks me, looking like a little boy as he stares down at my ice cream.
“Go for it.”
He takes a lick, and my core clenches. It should be an innocent thing. He’s just trying my ice cream, but seeing his mouth licking where I was just licking seems so intimate.
“I was worried that it would melt, but it’s so cold out here,” I joke, and he laughs.
“Are you still cold?” He asks, scooting closer to me in the sand.
“A little, but the coat helps. Thanks for letting me borrow it.”
“Of course.”
He’s such a gentleman, and it seems to come so naturally to him. He saw me shivering and didn’t even say anything. Just took off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders without a word.
I pull up the photos and pass him my phone, taking my ice cream cone back.
