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What would it be like being with someone like Harper? He’d dated his fair share of women, but no one like her. She possessed a feminine elegance that had been missing from his latest line-up of beach bunnies and party girls. Harper was definitely a relationship kind of girl and not just some casual hook-up.
Looking forward to their date, Ryland headed over to his apartment, whistling a low tune. It had been a long time since he’d been out on an actual date.Years.Usually, he’d meet a woman at the bar or on the beach. They’d hang out and he always kept things light and fun. Anytime a woman tried getting serious, he’d hit the brakes, explaining that his job didn’t allow it.
And that was the truth. Before separating from the Navy last year, he’d spent most of his time deployed halfway across the world. The workload never lightened and being a SEAL meant constant training. His time off was precious and he didn’t waste it. Any spare moment was spent doing what he loved—surfing, swimming, hiking. He craved the outdoors and that connection to nature. No orders to follow, no rules to abide by. Just the wide-open beyond, ready to be explored and appreciated. It was freeing for his mind and necessary for his soul.
In all honesty, he also didn’t make time for dating. Pleasing a woman was a lot of effort and he was still young. At twenty-eight, he had no desire to get married or start a family any time soon. Hell, his own family had never been the greatest example of marital bliss either. His dad had been a workaholic who’d devoted his life to the Navy. That caused a lot of stress, among other things, and his parents separated when he was thirteen. He and his older sister Addison barely saw him once a year after the split. Then he died during a mission when Ryland was eighteen and his mom passed not long after.
Ryland had always been fascinated by the stories his dad told him about being a Navy SEAL. After he learned his dad died, Ryland signed up with the Navy, determined to follow in his father’s footsteps. Maybe it was his way of trying to keep his dad’s spirit alive. Maybe he wanted the challenge. Whatever it was, Ryland pushed himself harder than he ever had before. The day he received his Trident pin, he knew his dad was watching from somewhere, and he was so damn proud. Even though Nathan “Cross” Mills hadn’t been physically present, Ryland had heard his voice in his head, congratulating him with a resounding, “Hooyah!”
Reaching into the neckline of his t-shirt, he fingered the silver chain and cross hanging around his neck. It was the only physical thing he had from his father and he’d never taken it off. Not even throughout all of his missions.
Normally, Ryland didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about his dysfunctional family. It bothered him that he and Addison barely talked since losing their parents. But whenever they did, the siblings inevitably got into an argument about her life choices. His sister had a lot going on and he didn’t approve of any of it. He missed her, though. Addie was strong, sassy and the most intelligent woman he’d ever known. That was half the problem—she was far too smart for her own good and that led her into constant trouble.
At least the Navy had kept Ryland busy and out of the endless shenanigans Addie was always neck-deep in. But once he separated from the military, he floundered a bit, feeling like he’d lost his purpose. In a moment of weakness, he very briefly considered joining the “family” business. Luckily, The Agency recruited him fairly quickly and he turned his energy toward them.
Now he once again found himself wondering if it was time for another change. After mere weeks of knowing she existed, Harper was making him think about things a little differently. Like maybe he was spending too much time running around the world chasing down bad guys. Maybe there was more to life.
Or maybe it had just been too damn long since he’d been laid and he needed to chill the fuck out and stop reading into everything.
Propping his surfboard in the corner, Ryland grinned. He had a date with Harper Grant and he wasn’t about to fuck it up.
Chapter Two
Harper calmly closed the door to her apartment then squealed and broke out into a happy dance. He finally asked her out! With a sigh, she dropped onto the couch, feeling very much like a melting stick of butter.
Ryland did that to her. Every time she ran into him, her heart picked up its pace until it was galloping inside her chest. With his wild brown hair highlighted with golden streaks, cobalt blue eyes and sun-bronzed skin, he was delicious in the most achingly beautiful kind of way. Plus, she’d been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of him shirtless and the sight had stunned her into immobility, driving every last breath from her lungs. She could’ve bounced quarters off those flat, ridged abs. Even now, her fingers itched to skim along his tanned skin.
They had talked briefly in passing, but it never amounted to much and she began to worry that he had a girlfriend. Because let’s face it, the man was a golden god of epic proportion. There was also the worst-case scenario—he simply wasn’t attracted to her. Although he’d been polite and chatted her up for a few, breath-stealing minutes, he hadn’t hinted at anything beyond a casual, friendly neighborly greeting.
Until today.
Her lower belly tightened at the idea of spending some quality time with him tomorrow night. Beyond knowing he liked to surf, drove a Jeep and was former military, she knew practically nothing about him. She wondered what branch he was in. Being so close to Coronado and the base, her gut said a Navy SEAL. Plus it was written all over his ever-present surfboard and sun-kissed face—the man loved the water and being outside.
Blowing out a soft breath, Harper felt giddy, excited and nervous all rolled into one.Reel it in,she told herself. It was just dinner. Plus, meeting a man was low on her priority list right now. She’d promised herself she was going to step back from the dating scene and take some much-needed me-time.
Well, so much for that. But, hell, after all she’d been through up in Los Angeles the past year, she deserved something good.
Despite vowing to remain single for a while, there’s no way she could’ve said no to Ryland.Gah.The guy was too gorgeous, and the attraction she felt every time they crossed paths was too difficult to write off or ignore.
After leaving her LaLa Land nightmare behind, Harper came down to San Diego to work on her withering self-esteem and improve her non-existent finances. Helping her sister Savannah renovate and open the restaurant she recently purchased should have been enough to occupy her time, keep her busy and focused on herself. But now she couldn’t stop thinking about Ryland Mills. And talk about knowing nothing about him, the only reason she knew his last name was because she’d caught a glimpse of it on his mail.You’re such a stalker.
With a soft sigh, Harper forced herself to shut down the tantalizing images of her sun-bronzed neighbor and got up to feed Betty.
“Are you hungry?” Harper asked, walking over to the small tank sitting on the kitchen bar. Betty, her Betta fish, swam all around and Harper could’ve sworn she was smiling at her. Well, smiling as much as a fish can.
Also known as a Siamese Fighting Fish, Betty had been a sad mess when Harper first laid eyes on her a few weeks ago. She hadn’t realized just how much fight Betty had left in her when she decided to bring her home. Relegated to a dimly lit shelf at the back of a local pet store, the poor thing was floating in the smallest bowl Harper had ever seen. Her coloring faded, fins tattered, the sickly-looking thing had appeared so depressed. Harper had watched her float lethargically for a few minutes, started to cry and then dug out the last of her cash to pay the $3.29 scrawled on the sale sticker taped to Betty’s pitiful little home.
After two weeks in a new tank in Harper’s bright apartment, Betty’s dull pink scales had turned into a vibrant red, her energy was restored, and bright blue appeared on her fins. Dropping some food pellets into the tank, Harper watched the tough, little fish eat for a few minutes and realized she was the perfect example of resilience.
Sometimes you had to fight through the darkness and hard things, trusting that once you came out on the other end, things would get brighter again. Sure, it required you to dig deep, find your inner strength and take matters into your own hands, but it didn’t allow shitty ex-boyfriends named Patrick and pet stores with crappy owners to get the last word.
Harper didn’t believe in dwelling on her failures, though, and she was determined to put her past behind her and not let it affect her future.
Grabbing her purse and keys, Harper locked up. She was bursting at the seams and needed to share her exciting news with someone. And by someone, she meant Savannah—her constant confidante and biggest support system.
It didn’t take long to reach the restaurant just off Main Street on Coronado Island. Harper knew once her sister had the place up and running, it would attract the Navy boys. No doubt about it.
Parking her Prius out front, she walked up to the front door and knocked. A minute later, Savannah appeared, grinning at her a little too widely through the grimy glass. She unlocked the door and with a flourish of her hand, said, “Welcome to the shithole. I hope you’re here to help because I’m about to have a nervous breakdown.”
