Page 18 of Protection for Rowan

A shiver slid through her. “I agree.”

Shine told her more than once the lasagna was the best he'd ever had. It had taken her a while to perfect it, but she was glad he appreciated the work she'd put into it. His appreciation made her feel better about them. He drew her in even if he didn't mean to.

After washing the dishes, they headed out for a walk. It was nice walking hand in hand next to Shine. She felt like she belonged with him.

“I like this.”

Shine squeezed her hand. "I do, too." They were approaching a house with a man outside doing something on his car. He looked up and wiped his hands on a rag before moving toward them.

At first, she was worried about the big guy who looked threatening—no, not threatening. He had a beard and hair that was pulled up in a knot at the back of his head. If she met him on her own, she would probably try to shrink and hide, but his smile was genuine. She'd read him wrong at first.

"Shine, how are you doing? It's been a while." The big man shook Shine's hand and then turned to her.

“And you are?”

“Wild, this is Rowan.”

Wild took her hand. He was gentle at first, then matched the strength she put into the handshake. She liked that about him.

“It’s nice to meet you, Rowan.”

“Do you work with Shine?”

“We’re not on the same team, but yes, we’re both SEALs.”

Another man who was jogging slowed and moved closer. “You must be Rowan. Shine told us about you.”

She turned to the newcomer, taking in the way he looked. “Hello, yes. I’m Rowan.”

Shine shook the new guy’s hand. “This is Apple.”

“So you work with Shine.”

Apple nodded. “Sure do. He is impressed with you. Said so himself.”

She raised her eyebrows and turned to Shine. “Really? You’re impressed with me?”

He pulled her into a hug and kissed the side of her head. “Very.”

“I didn’t know you were dating someone,” Wild said.

Shine shrugged. “I wasn’t.”

The front door of the place opened, and a woman stepped out followed by two kids. “Hey, I’m Ava. I don’t think I’ve met you.”

She smiled and moved to shake the woman’s hand. “I’m Rowan.”

“How long have you known Shine?”

"Known. Since we were seventeen."

“Oh my. But?—”

“I just ran into Rowan after all these years.” Shine put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. She would be lying to say it didn’t feel perfect.

The girl standing behind Ava gave her a shy smile. She liked how the men acted around each other. They gave hugs easily and seemed very comfortable with each other. There was no posturing at all.

“So you’ve known each other since you were kids. How did you get together?” Ava asked.

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