by Paige Tyler
Nash scowled. They’d talked a lot about how weird it was that there was someone out who looked like him going around making the world a crappy place. She hated thinking about it, but she had no doubt that if he was ever given a chance, Nash would go after Chapman simply because of what the man had done to her in the kitchen back at the villa.
“There’s something I need to talk to you guys about,” Shaw said. “You’re not going to like it, but I need you to go along with me on this.”
“What is it?” Nash asked.
Shaw took a deep breath. “Neither the CIA nor ATF want it coming out that their agents went rogue. It would be a public relations nightmare. They’ve slapped a classified coversheet on the whole mess and buried it. The official company line is that both Roman and Santiago were killed in the line of duty trying to take down Munoz. I know it sucks, but I’m asking you to simply keep the details of their part of the mission to yourselves.”
Nash and Dalton didn’t seem upset, so she nodded, too.
“On the bright side,” Shaw added. “You might be interested in knowing the CIA was really impressed with your work down in Mexico, Nash. They’ve asked me to extend a job offer to you. They can get you out of the SEALs the moment you say the word.”
Bristol’s stomach clenched. She wasn’t thrilled with the work Nash did for the Navy, but at least when he went on a mission, he was surrounded by people who had his back and protected him like family. She got the feeling the CIA wasn’t like that.
Nash chuckled. “Thanks, but no thanks. I’ve figured out that sneaky covert operations aren’t for me. Manzanillo was the first—and last—undercover work this Navy SEAL is ever going to be involved in.”
Bristol sagged with relief. That was one less thing to worry about, at least.
“If you change your mind, you know where to find me,” Shaw said. “Okay, I’m going to get out of here. Have fun.”
As Shaw made his way across the park, a woman with long, blond hair over by the picnic tables called Dalton’s name.
“Who’s that?” Nash asked.
“That’s Beth. She’s one of those women I met while we were overseas.” Dalton flashed her a smile, then glanced at Nash. “I told you about that, remember?”
Nash nodded.
“Okay, what was that all about?” Bristol asked as Dalton jogged over to Beth. “I thought you said you guys were deployed right before coming to Manzanillo? How did he end up meeting a girl?”
“Yeah, well, apparently a Tinder account can be accessed from anywhere.”
“Ah,” she said.
Nash smiled. “Come on.”
Giving her hand a squeeze, he led her over to the picnic tables where most of the adults were gathered around a cute, little girl with an absolutely angelic face topped with a wild tangle of pale blond hair. She was kneeling on the bench seat, eagerly surveying the stack of gift-wrapped presents in front of her, a huge smile on her face.
Nash introduced Bristol to everyone, making a joke about there being a test later on all the names. She laughed. No way could she remember all of them yet. But she definitely latched onto a few of them, including Kurt Travers, the guy who’d just retired from the SEALs and now worked on Coronado as a civilian. His wife, Melissa, was easy to remember, too.
Lastly, Nash brought her over to see the birthday girl and her parents. She’d met Trent down in Manzanillo, of course, but it was nice finally meeting his wife, Lyla. And their eight-year-old adopted daughter was an absolute darling! Nash had told her that Erika had grown up in a tough situation and that this was her first real birthday, which was why everyone was going a little overboard on the presents. That seemed like an awesome idea to Bristol.
“Hey, Erika. You have room for any more presents?” Nash asked, holding up the wrapped gift and giving the little girl a smile. “Or should I take it back to the store?”
The girl giggled. “There’s always room for more presents. Put it right here on top of the stack. I’ll open yours first since you’re one of my favorite uncles.”
Bristol laughed as Nash did exactly as he was told, placing the doll they’d picked out and wrapped together that morning in front of the birthday girl.
“Erika, this is Bristol,” Nash said. “She helped picking out the present, so if you don’t like what we got for you, it’s all her fault.”
Erika giggled again, giving Bristol a wave. “I like your name. It’s cool. And I know I’m going to like your present. I love dolls.”
Bristol gave Nash a questioning look, wondering if he’d told Erika what they bought, but he seemed as confused as she was.
“What makes you think it’s a doll?” Bristol asked.
Erika considered that, pursing her lips and regarding the two of them with a knowing expression that seemed completely out of place on a girl her age. “Well, I know it can be hard for some guys to know what to buy a girl, so before Uncle Nash went off on his trip, I specifically told him that I liked Monster High stuff. Then there’s the unique shape of the box, which tells me it’s a Monster High doll.” Erika gave them a megawatt smile. “Am I right?”
“Maybe you should open it and find out,” Nash said.
Erika shook her head. “Nah, I’ll wait until after we eat. Mom always says things are better when you have to wait for them a little bit. Right, Mom?”
“That’s exactly right,” Lyla said, a glimmer of tears in her eyes as Erika jumped up to join the other kids on playground.
“That girl is going to be a heartbreaker,” Nash said.
Bristol silently agreed.
A few minutes later, Erika asked Nash and her other uncles—aka SEAL Team 5—to play with her and the other kids.
“You okay here by yourself?” Nash whispered to Bristol.
She laughed. “I’m fine. Go have fun with the kids.”
Giving her a quick kiss on the lips, Nash jogged to catch up with his teammates, leaving Bristol sitting with Melissa, Lyla, Hayley Garner, and Felicia Bradford while the guys ran around the park playing some convoluted game of tag.
“Which ones are the kids again?” Felicia asked with a laugh.
Bristol sipped her iced tea. “So, how did you end up meeting your significant others?”
“I met Kurt over twenty-five years ago when he came into my elementary school classroom for career day and balanced a ball on his nose like a seal,” Melissa said with a smile. “But I didn’t realize the kind of man I was getting involved with until he saved me from three men trying to carjack us on our first date. My heart pretty much belonged to him after that.”
Bristol was still staring wide-eyed at Melissa when Hayley laughed. “Chasen saved me from a group of terrorist in Nigeria. And then again right here in San Diego when an old friend had an emotional breakdown and wanted to kill me.”
“You’re making that up, right?” Bristol asked.
Hayley shook her head. “I’m a journalist and I still can’t make stuff up that good. It all happened and Chasen got me through it. I wouldn’t be here today without him. But more importantly, I wouldn’t know what it means to love someone with my entire soul if it wasn’t for him.”
Bristol looked at Felicia. “Please tell me you met Logan in the produce section of the grocery store.”
Felicia smiled, but shook her head. “Sorry, but nope. I kidnapped Logan at gunpoint because a group of Russian mercenaries were holding my sister hostage. It didn’t stop him from rescuing my sister and me. So yeah, I kind of fell in love with a man in shiny armor who goes around saving the world.”
“If it makes you feel any better,” Lyla said. “I used to crush on Trent all the way back in high school. But our relationship didn’t really take off until he and some of his teammates came down to Mexico to rescue Erika and me from drug dealers. Then he agreed to adopt Erika with me because he knew she needed a family. So, Trent’s my hero, too.”
Bristol shook her head. “And here I thought Nash was the only one who’s a superhero.”
; “Of course, he’s a superhero,” Melissa said. “They’re SEALs. It’s what they do.”
Felicia nibbled on a tortilla chip. “So, how did you and Nash meet?”
Bristol only meant to give them the CliffsNotes version like they’d done, but she ended up telling them everything. Maybe because the women could understand exactly what she’d been through. By the time she was finished, there wasn’t a dry eye at the table.
“It sounds crazy after everything that happened, but sometimes I can’t help wondering how I got so lucky Nash showed up,” she said. “I don’t want to imagine what would have happened if he hadn’t come into my life when he did.”
Hayley reached across the table to give her hand a squeeze. “Well, you don’t need to worry about that. He’s in your life now and I’m pretty sure he’s not going anywhere.”
Bristol wished she could be so sure. She wanted to stay in San Diego and make a life with Nash, but she didn’t know what he wanted. Things happened down in Manzanillo so fast. What if he regretted his decision to bring her back with him?
“Have you thought about what kind of work you’d like to do here in San Diego?” Felicia asked. “Nash said you have a background in tourism and travel.”
Bristol nodded, admitting how it had been her dream to open her own business and specialize in vacation packages to exotic locales.
“Would you be willing to work for someone else if it meant getting to do that dream job?” Felicia asked.
Bristol wasn’t sure where this was going. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“I’m a wedding planner, but I want to branch out and start offering honeymoon packages,” Felicia explained. “What do you think of putting together exotic honeymoon adventures?”
Bristol smiled, already thinking of the possibilities. “I think that sounds fantastic. I’m in!”
She and Felicia were exchanging phone numbers when the game of tag ended and Nash jogged over with Erika and the guys, laughing and ready to eat. Sitting down beside Bristol, he gave her a kiss that made her wonder why she even doubted how he felt about her. That said, she’d feel a whole lot better if she knew for sure.
* * * * *
“You were quiet on the way home,” Nash said as they walked into his apartment.
Bristol smiled as they collapsed on the couch. The place was a one-bedroom with a small kitchen and a mid-sized living room. There wasn’t even room for a coat closet. The whole apartment could have fit in the garage at the villa. Or at least in the garage that had been there before the villa was destroyed. Regardless of how big it was or wasn’t, she loved this apartment. Because this is where Nash was.
“I’m just a little tired,” she said, leaning against him.
He wrapped an arm around her, caressing her bare skin with the tips of his fingers. “We didn’t have to stay so late if you didn’t want to.”
“I know, but I was having a good time,” she said. “Felicia, Melissa, and all the other women are so amazing. I just met them and yet it’s already starting to feel like I have a new family.”
“But?” When she didn’t answer, he shifted on the couch so he could look at her. “There’s obviously something you want to talk about, so out with it.”
She sighed. “I was talking to Felicia and the other women about what happened down in Mexico, how we met, and how you saved my life. I told them how I felt lucky to have you in my life.”
He grinned. “I feel pretty lucky myself.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” He frowned. “What’s wrong? Are you having second thoughts about staying here with me?”
“No! Of course not!”
He looked even more confused. “But?”
Bristol hesitated. She’d lost everything in the world she’d known, and she didn’t want to lose Nash, too.
“I’m in love with you, Nash.” The words came out in a rush and she hurried on before he could say anything. “When we were in Manzanillo, you said you wanted me to come home to San Diego with you, but now that I’m here, it feels like someone has hit the pause button. I’m trying hard not to read too much into it, but I can’t help it. I’m starting to freak out a little because I don’t know how you feel about me.”
She held her breath, on the verge of tears for some ridiculous reason. Crap. What if she’d just ruined everything?
Bristol waited for Nash to say something. Anything. But what she got was a chuckle.
Inexplicable anger shot through her and she pulled her hands away from his. She’d poured her heart out to him and he was laughing? “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing.” He stopped laughing, but he couldn’t seem to wipe the smile completely off his face. “I’m relieved, that’s all.”
Now it was her turn to be confused. “Relieved?”
He reached up to brush her hair back. “I thought you were trying to find a way to tell me you were dumping me.”
Her mouth may have dropped open. She wasn’t paying enough attention to her own body to know for sure. She was too focused on Nash’s unbelievable confession. He’d been worried she was dumping him?
She started to ask him what made him think such a crazy thing, but Nash placed a gentle finger on her lips. “I love you, Bristol. I think I have from the moment I saw you on the steps of the villa. I probably should have told you sooner, but I assumed you’d know how much I care about you since I was willing to die to keep you safe. Now I know that’s not enough. So, I promise to tell you every day what you mean to me.”
Bristol tried to reply, but he shook his head, his finger still on her lips. “I want you to stay here with me. It’s what I wanted when I asked you to come to San Diego. I thought that was obvious already, but if it isn’t, I’ll make it official.”
Taking his finger away from her lips, he leaned forward and kissed her with all the feeling in the world. Her heart beat harder as his fingers slipped into her hair and held her firmly, his tongue teasing hers until she was dizzy. Only then did he pull back. But he kept his fingers wrapped up in her hair.
“Bristol Munoz, I want you in my life, in my apartment, and in my bed. But more than that, I want you as my wife to have and hold until the end of our days.”
She blinked, her heart doing a flip followed by what she was sure was a barrel roll. “Is that a proposal?”
“No, that’s a promise.” He grinned. “The proposal will come later when there’s zero doubt in your heart that I’m the man you’re going to love forever, and who will love you the same way in return. Trust me, when I ask you to marry me, you’ll know it because it’ll sweep you off your feet.”
Part of her wanted to scream in frustration. If Nash had asked her to marry him right then, she would have said yes on the spot. She could live with a promise, though. But only because she believed him when he said he loved her. The relief that washed over her was hard to describe. It was like she could finally breathe again.
She leaned forward and kissed him as gently as he’d kissed her, and with as much conviction. “Thank you.”
“For what?” he asked, the corner of his mouth tipping up.
“For showing up in my life, putting yourself at risk, saving me, and bringing me here to San Diego with you. But mostly, for loving me. I guess that’s what I needed more than anything else. For you to simply love me.”
He chuckled. “If loving is what you need, why don’t I take you to our bed so I can spend the rest of the night showing you exactly how much I do love you. Just without so many words.”
“Our bed.” Bristol smiled and kissed him again. “I like the sound of that.”
* * * * *
I hope you enjoyed Nash and Bristol’s story!
Dalton Jennings is the next Navy SEAL to fall in love.
His story releases July 2018 when Kimber Grant, the only woman he ever loved, comes back into his life, showing up on his doorstep with a bombshell of an announcement—they have a daughter.
Here’s a sneak peek at SEAL with a Past, Book Five in the
SEALs of Coronado Series.
His past came knocking…
The last person Navy SEAL Dalton Jennings standing at his door was the woman who dumped him five years ago without any explanation. Nothing! Now she’s back, and the secret she reveals is enough to bring Dalton to his knees. Someone has kidnapped their daughter—a child he never knew existed—and he will have to break every SEAL code he’s sworn to uphold and steal government property to find his little girl.
And offered a whole new future...
Kimber Grant has put off this meeting for five years. Cowardly, yes, but how do you tell the man you deserted he has a child? Not to mention Kimber never stopped loving Dalton. Now she’s desperate for his help. After all, who better to carry out a convert mission than a SEAL? The kidnappers want a computer chip developed by her boss for the Dept. of Defense, and they will kill anyone who gets in the way. Including Kimber.
When she's taken, Dalton realizes he’s got two girls who have his heart—Kimber always has. And he’ll be damned if greed is going to take either away from him now that he’s got them back.
CHAPTER ONE
San Diego, California
“Wes, cover my left flank!” Dalton shouted, his heart thumping as he kicked in the door and moved into the dimly lit room. “Holden, watch our six, dammit. Without Nash, we’re heavily outnumbered. If we don’t do this right, we’re never gonna make it out of Morg alive.”
“I got movement in the darkness behind us,” Holden announced. “I can’t frigging believe Nash ditched us at a time like this. I thought we were supposed to be a team.”
“Keep your head in the game, Holden,” Dalton said as something big and ugly stepped out of the shadows ahead of him and into the dim moonlight seeping through the skylight. “Nash made his choice. If he’d rather spend the weekend hanging out with Bristol than help us, that’s his call. We’re gonna have to pull together and pick up the slack.”
Secretly, Dalton wasn’t shocked Nash had bailed on them. They’d just gotten back two days ago from their deployment and had put in very little effort prepping for this mission. At the best of times, trying to go into a situation like this was tough, but without advanced planning, it was nearly suicidal. Nash had decided he’d rather spend his time with a sexy woman rather than dying some godawful horrible death with them.
