Page 14 of Playboy

“Okay.” Gabby looked over toward the other side of the bar where she and Luna normally sat when they came to Bayside for dinner. She saw a table open by the window. “There’s an open table. Why don’t you grab it while I finish up here.”

Luna looked between Gabby and Playboy and grinned.

“Sure. Take your time,” she told Gabby and winked.

Gabby shook her head and laughed. The rest of her teammates were involved in their own conversation, which just left her and Playboy to themselves.

“Well, I don’t want to hold you up from dinner with your friend. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay,” Playboy told her with a smile as he stepped back slightly.

Right at that moment, Gabby wished they were alone and that she could spend a little more time talking with him, especially since it appeared that Vicky, his stalker, wasn’t there.

She carefully got down from the chair and looked up at him.

She grinned as she raised her drink. “Thank you for buying me this. That was sweet of you. And for coming over to check on me.”

Shit, was she blushing? Her cheeks felt like they were on fire.

“You’re welcome,” he said with a chuckle and started to turn away, but Gabby stopped him.

“Hey. Are you going to the sniper competition on Saturday?” she asked him.

He nodded. “Yeah, me and the guys are going to watch.” His eyes traveled to her hip. “Are you going to be okay competing with your hip?” He asked, appearing genuinely concerned.

Gabby smirked, her hip aching but not about to admit it. “Oh, it would take a lot more than a bruised hip to keep me from that competition.”

Playboy gave her a quick once-over, his gaze lingering on her lips before he smiled. “Well, I guess I’ll see you on Saturday. And if I don’t get to talk to you before the competition starts, I wish you the best of luck.”

Her damn cheeks hurt from smiling. “Thanks! I’ll see you there.”

He smiled and winked before turning and walking back to his friend.

She watched him walk away. Yes, she got a good look at his firm ass in his jeans. She felt a mix of excitement and nerves bubble up inside. Her heart raced a little faster than usual, and she couldn’t help but bite her lip. She really wanted to get to know him. Who knew…maybe Saturday would be her chance. Could she muster up enough courage to finally end their cat-and-mouse game?

CHAPTER FOUR

Gabby stood by with James, who was acting as her spotter for the competition. She watched nervously as the scores for the Annual Armed Forces Sniper Challenge were updated. The previous update had her only two points behind the first-place team, who had just finished their last element, which was the hardest of the five elements the teams were put through.

“Damn, I can’t believe that Cruz missed four of his shots,” James said aloud, scratching the back of his head.

Gabby had the same thought. Cruz was a Navy SEAL. He was also an arrogant asshole but an excellent sharpshooter. She’d at least give him credit where it was deserved. If he missed four out of his ten shots, either the element was that challenging, or he was just having a bad day.

The two huge jumbotrons updated, showing Cruz’s scores, and Gabby bit the inside of her cheek, trying to conceal her worry. She was now down by fifteen points.

This final element was Helo-sniping, and she would shoot at various targets in the water from a moving helicopter. There were ten targets in total, and the shooter was only allowed one shot per target, except for the last challenge, in which each competitor was allowed two shots. Each target was worth a certain number of points.

“Okay, the first challenge consists of five stationary targets worth two points each. So, if you hit all five, you’ll pull within five points. The last five are worth three points. All you’ll need to do is hit two of the remaining five, and the title is yours,” James told her, sounding confident that she’d hit her marks.

“You mean, the title will be ours,” she said with a grin. “We’re a team, and I couldn’t have gotten this far without you.”

“Oh shit!” James blurted out, ignoring the compliment Gabby had given him. He was staring at something behind her.

“What?” Gabby asked, her eyebrows scrunched together.

“Don’t look now, but Alley just showed up.”

Gabby’s gut tightened. She hated the Vice Admiral, but because of his rank, she always showed respect and professionalism while in his presence. Outside of work, he was a sworn enemy of hers. His sudden arrival at the competition gave Gabby another reason to be nervous.

“What is he doing here?” She tried not to show her concern.

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