Page 2 of Married to a SEAL

Ten minutes later Rebecca was driving along the highway in Virginia Beach toward the courthouse. She wasn’t due in court for another hour but always preferred to arrive early to get her clients settled in and prepare for any last-minute problems.

Angry soon-to-be ex-husbands were known to roam the halls, attempting to intimidate their wives. Nothing like a contentious divorce to bring out someone’s true colors.

She was proud of the cases she handled as a divorce attorney. Many of her clients were women, and although some just wanted out of their marriage without any good reason, there were plenty of women that she was really helping. Some were leaving husbands who’d cheated on them or hurt them. Some men just up and left their families without a word. It felt good to get her clients and any children they had what they deserved in the divorce settlements.

Although her own marriage to her first husband had been happy, not every relationship was.

She pulled up to a stoplight, glancing in the rearview mirror at the cars stopped behind her. Traffic always backed up along Atlantic Avenue in the gorgeous weather, especially at the start of the weekend, but she couldn’t resist driving down by the water on this beautiful day. The scenic route to the courthouse it was.

It was hard to believe how much her life had changed recently. A single mom and a widow just over a year ago, she’d never expected to fall in love with someone again. And as an independent woman who was a successful attorney, she’d been surprised to be so attracted to an assertive, alpha male like Patrick. A man who commanded attention everywhere he went and no doubt had plenty of women fawning over him during his younger years.

He’d charmed her right from the start though—been protective of both her and her daughter. Tracked down a stalker set on revenge when one of her divorce cases had gone wrong. Been there anytime she’d needed him.

Throw that in with the inexplicable chemistry and draw they’d always had to one another?

Goodness.

She’d never stood a chance of resisting.

As a divorce attorney, she faced down fierce opponents in the courtroom every week. But none of them held a candle to him—six-foot-three inches of solid, muscular man. He led an elite SEAL team into battle and on secret missions all over the world. When those cool blue eyes met hers, though, she was lost. He was an aggressive, assertive Navy SEAL, but a caring father to his son. A protector to her and her daughter. An attentive lover.

And her boyfriend now.

She felt almost silly calling him that—she’d had a husband before and was thirty-one, not a silly teenage girl with a crush on a handsome military man. She had a house and a daughter, a career. But it’s not like she could explain to her young daughter that Patrick was her lover, she thought as her cheeks flushed.

She couldn’t even call or text him during the day like she did with her girlfriends—not when he was busy conducting drills out on the ocean with his SEAL team.

He had an entire career and life outside of their relationship—as did she.

It worked and suited them.

Her phone buzzed with an incoming text, and she glanced down to see a message from her best friend Alison.

Are we still on for drinks tonight? Virgin for me. Ugh.

Rebecca smiled. Alison was an ER nurse and was dating another man on the SEAL team, Evan “Flip” Jenkins. They’d recently moved in together, and she was pregnant with their first baby.

Rebecca speed-dialed her number as the light changed to green.

“Hi! Are you busy in the ER right now? I guess not or you wouldn’t answer.”

“No, hun, I’m on break. I thought you’d be in court this afternoon.”

“On my way right now. The hearing isn’t for another hour. I’m on Atlantic Avenue wishing I was at the beach instead of on my way to a courtroom.”

“Ohhh, I’m insanely jealous. It looks gorgeous outside from the window of the cafeteria I’m currently sitting in.”

Rebecca laughed. “I’m sitting in traffic, not on the beach. Aside from this, I’ve been stuck in the office all day.”

“Tell me about it. I’ve had back-to-back patients in the ER. Something about gorgeous summer days seems to bring out the daredevils. So far we’ve had broken legs, broken arms, and a kid that fell off his bike and needed ten stitches. I need some kind of new career where you get to spend days like this outside. Evan said they’re doing drills on the water today. Is it wrong to be envious of that?”

Rebecca coughed, trying to hide her laughter. “My legal assistant said the same thing—although I tried to explain that SEAL training isn’t exactly like sitting on the beach with a cocktail in hand.”

“And my days sitting and relaxing on the sand are numbered,” Alison said wistfully. “I mean don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled about the baby. But sometimes a margarita in hand, chilling on the sand is exactly what you need.”

“Amen,” Rebecca agreed. “Those days are few and far between with kiddos. But hey, it just makes you appreciate it all that much more when you do get a break.”

A loud beep from the background sounded over the phone, followed by a garbled announcement. “They’re calling a code blue,” Alison said. “I have to get back to the ER and see what new catastrophe awaits. See you tonight?”

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