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“What?” he asked with a chuckle.
“We came here for the Mai Tais,” she admitted, her sweet, feminine voice doing something funny to his insides. “I know they’re kind of fruity and girly, but they’re so good with the fresh pineapple juice and rum.”
“Whew,” he pantomimed. “I thought maybe you wanted something really touristy and embarrassing, like those drinks in a huge coconut with hibiscus flowers floating in it.”
“Are they good?” she asked, and Wyatt chuckled as he saw that she was trying to bite back a smile.
“I wouldn’t know,” he said with a wink. “I think I’ll stick with a beer, but you can order all the Mai Tais you want.” He flagged down another bartender and placed their order as Alexa and Austin turned their attention toward them.
“That worked like a charm,” Alexa joked. “All of a sudden Mr. Flirts with Every Female seemed oh-so-curious about me and my date tonight.”
“I feel like a piece of meat,” Austin mock-complained. “The bartender gave me the once over, checking out the imaginary competition.” He crossed his arms, clearly enjoying that the other man had been intimidated.
“You’re a good sport,” Alexa said.
“That guy’s a womanizer,” Austin said, his gaze flicking toward the bartender. “The guys and I come here a lot to grab a beer. He’s always got a flock of women around him.”
“Oh, I know,” Alexa said. “It’s just for fun. A little flirtation never hurt anyone, right?”
“You got me there,” Austin admitted.
“So what? All of you guys are military?” Alexa asked.
“Navy SEALs,” Austin confirmed in a low voice. “Some of our teammates are over there,” he said, nodding toward them on the other side of the bar. “What about you? When you’re not trying to snag a womanizing bartender that is.”
Alexa playfully pouted at him. “I’m a photographer. I mostly do weddings.”
“There’s lots of those in Hawaii,” Wyatt commented.
“For real. I’m never short on jobs. I finished up a wedding earlier and then dragged Callie here for dinner. She’s actually been a big help with my social media channels. The girl’s a genius. I’ve got more clients than hours in the day. I’ve been having to turn people away.”
Wyatt’s gaze slid toward Callie, curious. “You’ll have to show me your blog sometime. You must be pretty savvy with the social media to make a career out of it.”
“Oh, uh, sure,” she said, suddenly looking uncomfortable. He looked at her questioningly for a beat. Did she not want him tracking her adventures? Wyatt assumed most people in that line of work would want the attention. Callie wasn’t an obnoxious, show-off type of person, but why have a travel blog if you didn’t want to share it?
Once again, he wondered what exactly she was doing in Hawaii. No doubt moving here would be an adventure in and of itself. Maybe she blogged about local spots. He understood if she didn’t want to fly much anymore. The likelihood of being on another hijacked plane, however, was almost impossible.
“Do you ladies want to get a table so we can order some food?” Austin asked, drawing Wyatt out of his thoughts. “There’s probably a wait, but I can go put our name in. We were running drills all day, and I’m starving.”
“Sure,” Callie said, surprising Wyatt. “If that’s okay,” she quickly added.
“Of course, it’s okay. I’d love to catch up and have dinner with you.” Their gazes locked, and he didn’t miss the slight flush on her cheeks. Wyatt was attracted to her. Even if nothing would come of it, he hoped to get to know her better. He could sense Callie’s interest in him. She was guarded but clearly felt some of the connection he did. Maybe they could go out a couple times while she was here in Hawaii. He hadn’t met a woman he clicked with yet or was interested in dating. She was beautiful and brave, and he loved her sense of adventure.
The bartender brought over their drinks, and she took a sip of her Mai Tai, smiling. “Delicious.”
“They have the best Mai Tais here,” Alexa confirmed. She began chattering about her favorite tropical drinks, and Callie shot Wyatt a shy smile. He needed to get her number, he realized. Dinner tonight would be fun, but he didn’t want this to be the only time they saw each other. He’d love to spend time with her alone, away from their friends and the crowd. He might not be looking for a girlfriend, but he’d been thinking about this girl for months.
For reasons he couldn’t fully admit to himself, he didn’t want to go without seeing her again after tonight.
Chapter 8
CALLIE FOLLOWED WYATT as he guided her out the front door several hours later. He’d insisted on going first as they exited the building, which was sweet although unnecessary. Coconuts wasn’t some hotbed of terrorist activity. They were in a touristy, busy section of Honolulu. Still, the way he watched out for her made warmth flood her chest. Wyatt was as protective as he’d been all those months ago. He might not be rescuing her from a hijacked airplane, but she still felt safe with him.
Wyatt stood several inches taller than her as she followed him, and she took in his broad shoulders, muscular neck, and short cropped hair. His shirt stretched over his back, and his warm hand clasped around Callie’s to keep her close. Even his hand was strong, with calloused fingers from hard work. Shivers snaked down her spine at his touch, but he released his grip as soon as they were both through the doors.
They’d talked and laughed over the meal, an impromptu double-date of sorts since Alexa and Austin had also been there. Austin was hilarious, having them all in stitches with some of his stories. Wyatt was more content to observe and listen. He’d been gentle with her, too, seeming to notice her right arm bothered her at times. Callie wasn’t sure most people even paid attention to that sort of thing, but he was sharp, noticing everything. She figured in his line of work, he needed to be attentive to every detail and constantly aware of his surroundings. No doubt a lot of that was what made him such a good SEAL.
Wyatt glanced back, those green eyes watching her, making sure she was okay. He had a clean, spicy scent that had her body taking notice. She had no business being attracted to him, but it was what it was. Wyatt was a good-looking man. By some stroke of dumb luck, she’d run into him here all the way around the world. She’d seen him at her absolute worst, and he’d still been interested in her.
