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“I just recently moved to D.C. for a new job. Billy’s one of my brother’s best friends, so they arranged a place for me to crash until I find something permanent.”
Dani’s eyebrows lifted. “Your brother’s a Ranger too, then?”
Shayna nodded and gathered her soap and shampoo. “Deployed to Iraq right now.”
“Or somewhere,” Dani said with a knowing smile. “I was in the Army for eight years myself. Nurse.”
“Wow. Thank you for that,” Shayna said. And then she quickly added, “I don’t mean that in the sort of generic thank you for your service way I know you probably often get. I mean that people like you were there for people like my brother, and I really appreciate that.”
Dani gave her an appraising glance and nodded. “I’m out now,” she said stepping into one of the shower stalls. “Still nursing, though.”
“What’s your new job?” Tara asked Shay as she stripped down and wrapped her pin-up curves in a towel.
“I’m a photographer for the Washington Gazette.” Shayna supposed she ought to start thinking of herself as a photojournalist, but that seemed grander than her experience had yet justified.
Tara’s eyes lit up. “Ever do any underwater photography?”
“No,” Shayna said, intrigued by the question as she headed to one of the stalls. “Have you?”
The woman nodded as she gathered more of her things. “I work in commercial diving, and we often use video and still photography to get a full picture of what’s going on beneath the water’s surface on a project.”
Shay hung her towel on a hook. “I am kind of a photography nut so now I have to know everything about that.”
Tara laughed as they both stepped into their respective stalls. “That can be arranged.”
The hot water felt great as it rained down against Shay’s tired body, but then she had a funny thought. “Uh, oh, Tara, wait. Does your diving job by any chance mean we’re going to be on opposite sides of the Army-Navy game come football season?” Shay called out over the sound of the running water.
“Go Navy,” Tara said, amusement plain in her voice.
Shayna chuckled. “My brother played Army football.”
“Oh, no, so what you’re telling me is that you’re hardcore?” Tara asked.
“I mean, a little?” Shay said, grinning as she washed her hair. And if she thought she could really get to like these women, she knew she did after two hours of dinner and drinks at a nearby steakhouse.
Dani had an absolutely cutting sense of humor that had Shayna laughing all night, especially as Sean and Billy were often on the receiving ends of it. And Tara was the kind of wicked smart that made you sit back, shake your head, and wonder what you’d done with your life. She told the most interesting stories about things she’d seen during her years as a Navy diver and about where her travel as a commercial diver had taken her since.
And all the while, Shayna sat nearly plastered against Billy’s side, because the restaurant had squeezed the seven of them into a booth that would’ve been more comfortable for four or five. Only the fact that Mo sat in a chair at the end of the booth made it work, but it was still a tight fit.
Shayna was not complaining.
Because Billy smelled like soap and a clean-scented aftershave and something that was all him—combined, they made up a mouthwatering scent that she wouldn’t have minded drowning in. The whole night she’d been over-aware of the press of their thighs and the way they kept bumping arms until they’d finally broken down in laughter over how difficult it was to cut their steaks without elbowing each other in the face.
She only hoped that she wasn’t giving off the same I’m really freaking interested vibes that Sean gave off every time he looked at Dani—especially when Dani wasn’t looking back.
He probably thought he was being all chill about it, but the guy was about as subtle as a heart attack. She couldn’t be the only one who saw it, could she? Not that Shayna blamed Sean at all, because Daniela looked absolutely beautiful. Between her long, glossy hair, a form-fitting black wrap shirt, and the almost delicate perfection of her facial features, the woman was truly stunning.
Billy turned to Shayna. “Are you having a good time?”
“Yes. Thanks for letting me tag along,” she said.
He shook his head. “You’re not tagging along. I wanted you here. And everyone wanted to meet you.”
“It’s true,” Sean said. “Because it’s not everyday someone gets a jump on a Ranger.”
Billy threw the guy an unamused look, and Shayna laughed. “I wouldn’t go that far,” she said.
“Thank you,” Billy said.
