Page 16 of Andy

“Um, let me ask her. I’ll text you the answer.” He ended the call and met her gaze. Her eyebrows were raised, and she looked adorable. “That was Harry. He wanted to know if we want to go to his condo and go for a swim.”

She shrugged. “I guess so. His association doesn’t mind?”

Andy shook his head. “No. Not many people actually use the pool. The last few times, we’ve had it to ourselves. Also, we always clean up and make sure the place looks like no one was there when we leave.”

“Cool. My swimsuit is in my car.”

“Awesome. Let me text him, and I’ll tell him you said yes.”

Mel bit her lower lip, and he reached over and smoothed his thumb over her lips. She let go of her lip and then ate another bite of pizza. After he sent the text, as he watched her eating, he worried about what she said about losing weight. He knew most people dealt with weight gain, but low weight had health implications. A bunch of emotions flew across her face as she finished her slice. Did she know he could read her so easily?

“So Harry, how long have you known him?”

Andy shrugged. “A few years. We’re close. I’d trust him with my life.”

“Is he married or dating someone?”

“He got married a few months ago. Rory is his wife.”

“Cool.”

“Yeah, she’s great. Ava is married to Wild, and Bear is married to Ingrid. Then Jax has Jessica. Jessica and Ingrid are both nurses. Ava takes care of the kids, but she’s going to school to get a certificate to do taxes. Well, first, she’s getting a certification, then she says she wants to get her accounting degree once the kids are older and become a CPA.”

“Wow, that’s ambitious.”

“Yeah. She’s like that. Rory just got a job doing consulting in international security.”

“Security like what we have at the bank or computer security?”

Andy shook his head. “No, like security assessments for big companies who want to do business or are doing business in foreign countries. She’s good at it.”

“That’s cool.” Mel ate more pizza and then met his gaze. “You told me what the women do for work, but I don’t think I know what you do.”

Andy glanced around, making sure no one was close. Not that he had to keep it super-secret, but people reacted weirdly when he said he was a SEAL. “Um, we’re all Navy.”

Mel laughed. “I don’t believe you.”

He snorted. “You don’t?”

“Your hair isn’t regulation. And why are you banking with us if you’re Navy?”

He lifted his water and took a sip. “I like that you didn’t just believe me. It is odd that I’m banking with you all. When I was a kid, my parents opened an account for me. They put money in until I hit eighteen. Then they let me have control, and I didn’t spend it, and I kept letting it grow. I've been with the bank for so long that I was given some perks with low fees, and I've stayed. Anyway, that’s where I had the down payment. My paycheck goes into another account, so I don't go to the bank where you work that often."

“Wow, that’s impressive that you saved up that kind of money and didn’t spend it before now.”

He shrugged. “My parents taught me to save money.”

“That’s good. Mine didn’t. I’m impressed. I didn’t learn about saving or stocks or anything like that until I started working for the bank.” Mel sat back and rubbed her stomach. “Ugh, I think I ate too much.”

He didn’t say anything, but he swore she’d only had two slices. Most women, even ones in the military, didn’t eat as much as he did, so he wasn’t going to compare how much he’d eaten to how little she had. But he was worried about her after she’d told him how low her weight had gotten. He wouldn’t be annoying, but he would always make sure he had snacks she could eat.

“How about we box this up to take with us and head over to Harry’s after we get our swimsuits?”

“Sure. That sounds great.”

He texted Harry, telling him he would be there in less than an hour. Mel insisted they split the bill, and he wasn’t going to stop her. She seemed like she needed to feel that going out was equitable and she wouldn’t owe him anything. Later, if they stayed together for longer than a few weeks, he would talk to her about when she would let him pay for both of them. He got the feeling there was more to her wanting to pay for her own meal than she’d let on.

Chapter 8

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