Page 44 of Protected By the Billionaire Ex-SEAL

I shiver at the contact, then the words. Desire pools in my belly, and I have to make an effort to keep my expression neutral. It’s crazy how we already touched each other, and it still feels like the craving for him just keeps growing.

Before I can make a fool of myself, I slip into the water to get away from him, then swim toward where Clara and Jazzy are. A loud splash comes after us, and it doesn’t take long for Christian to play around and splash everyone within distance. Nick joins in with Jared after, and we get absorbed with our spontaneous game of water tag.

After, we get out of the water and dry off with our towels and the sun. I watch as Christian ribs Clara and she ribs him back. The happiness on his face tells me it was the right idea to come here.

Watching them sparks a hint of envy inside me, mostly because I know what this kind of closeness feels like. I miss my parents. I miss my sister, too.

But I also long for the kind of unit Clara has someday—a family that supports each other, loves each other, and is just vibing because they know they will always be there for each other no matter what.

Every time Nick looks at Clara, it’s like his whole world lights up. Every time Clara looks at him, she smiles like she has a nice secret. I’ve never seen two people so in tune with each other and so in love, and it’s a nice sight.

“Everything good?”

I nod at Christian. “Oh, yeah. When are they leaving for Nashville?”

“Tomorrow. Then they’re headed to New York, I think. Just a short visit, but I probably won’t see them again in a while.”

“Then it’s good that we came here. So, you can spend time with them.”

“Yeah.” He smirks at me. “And you just made Jazzy’s day. Again.”

I smirk back, delighted to be someone’s source of happiness, too.

“Great. Well, I’ll make sure she gets a permanent membership to my book club and always receives advance copies of my future books.”

Christian chortles. “You just made that up, but I bet that’ll elevate you to star status in her eyes.”

“Nah. I just want to be called Aunt Raven forever.”

Then I remember there won’t be a forever because I’ll be leaving soon.

I don’t know why, but there’s a pang in my chest at the thought. So, I try not to think about it.

“Hmm. By the way, Clara invited Honey Lee. And a few more people. I hope you don’t mind.”

I don’t, but I still brace myself in case it’s the Sutton cousins, including Aimee. Or the women who openly flirted with him. Or the neighbors who look like they’ll be more thorough in their interrogation than Clara was.

Instead, I find a man I haven’t met yet welcomed into the picnic, with a little girl who’s about six or seven years old clutching his big hand. She looks like a sweetheart, all doe eyes and shy curiosity, while he looks…familiar.

I try to recall where I’ve seen him in town before I remember that I haven’t been out much. Then realization dawns and I stare some more.

“Oh, my God. Isn’t that Evan Whitlock? As in Evan the Conqueror, the NFL star?”

“Ex-NFL. But yeah, still a star. He grew up with us and played with us in high school. He got drafted right after college.”

My excitement dies when I recall one more thing: Evan’s wife dying a few years ago and the steady decline of his football career after that. The news of her plane crash was everywhere, along with Evan’s very public mourning. But I caught him on television when he was still in his glory days because my dad and sister were kind of obsessed with football.

“Is he taking a break?”

“No, he just retired. He’s settling back into town.”

It’s surprising news, mostly because I’ve witnessed a lot of football players who bounced back after a couple of years of personal issues and bad plays. But I don’t have time to analyze it as we’re introduced. Evan smiles warmly and welcomes me to Sweet Haven, even though he and his daughter just arrived here.

Looking at him, you will never see the tragedy on his face now, but I know we all have ways of hiding behind masks. I’m no different.

I was right about his daughter Ella being a sweetheart, and I do my best to get her out of her shy state. Then the three kids and the three men end up flocking toward each other while Clara sits with me.

“Looks nice, doesn’t it? I never thought we’d see Evan again, but here they are.”

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