Page 51 of Riding Danger

Yeah, there was no denying it. To myself at least. I loved her. For all the reasons I had told Harry the night before. For the first time in my life, I knew I was more than my voice. I was more than my looks. I had a son who needed me to be more than those things. He just needed me.

By the time we arrived at the shooting location at the beach, all the guys were already there. Carl was sitting with his wife who wore a navy blue and white striped bikini top and a white cover up wrapped around her waist. Roan’s wife was rubbing lotion into her arms. Even though it didn’t get as cold this close to the equator as it did in other parts of the country, no one sported fully tanned bodies. There was a chill in the air and I knew Shiloh had pasted on nipple covers before she got dressed. Something I was grateful for.

Jason came walking up with Tiffany hot on his heels. I wasn’t sure what she did, but I heard her talking to Shiloh about what to wear.

“Gentleman.” Jason shoved his hand into his shorts pocket. “This is Tiff Snow, stylist for the day. She’s the one who helped your wives wear what they’re comfortable with today. She’s also picked your swimsuits so it doesn’t clash with your women.”

Tiffany waved at everyone. “Lara, are you happy with the one piece? Alternatively, I have a bikini you could use, and we can airbrush the stretch marks.”

Her husband frowned. “I like your stretch marks.”

She smiled at Tiffany. “One piece it is.”

Tiffany nodded and then turned to Shiloh. “Did you like the bottoms I suggested? It should hide that little pooch that worries you so much.”

What the fuck? It was my turn to frown as I faced Shiloh. “There is nothing wrong with your body. I love the fact there is evidence that you brought my child into this world.”

Shiloh touched my cheek and smiled. “And you can look at it whenever you want. But I do not want it on camera, okay.”

I nodded. She was right. Only she decided which parts of her body would be on camera. All four of us changed into variations of red, white and navy-blue swimsuits. Jason spoke to the crew who set up all the scenes as we waited for Skylar to arrive. SinceOscar was not married or in a committed relationship, we had to hire an outsider to be his partner. Skylar had agreed to do it if I doubled her normal rate. I had it in the budget for the video and I knew he was difficult to work with, so it was an easy decision.

What I was not expecting was Hilton to accompany her and argue with her about what she was wearing. I could tell that her eyes were red. She wasn’t bruised or anything, but she was in serious need of makeup. Shi stepped away from me and went over to her friend.

I walked up to the two of them and glared at Hilton. “Hey. If you can’t keep your mouth shut, you will get off my set.”

He may have been a big deal at Moore Pictures, a job he only got because of his relationship with Sky, but this was a Big Records set, and I was in charge.

Hilton huffed out his chest. “I don’t see why she needs to wear so little.”

“It's required for the video.”

Technically, it wasn’t. My mandate when Jason said he knew someone who could handle the wardrobe, was that I wanted the women comfortable on the beach. And I gave him a budget. I had no idea who he hired, but I was glad he found someone who did in fact talk to all the women involved. It was how I knew Skylar was happy with the navy-blue and white polka dot sixties style bikini. It wasn’t too revealing, but it gave the vibe I was going for.

Skylar’s eyes darted between Jason and I. “What happened to the two of you?”

Shiloh stepped up and rolled her eyes, hands on hips. “Oh, their faces met the Rippers’ fists. Don’t worry Charlie and Keith got off worse.”

“Jason.” Then she went off on a tirade about leaving well enough alone until Tiffany dragged her to the makeup area. Of course, Hilton followed not far behind.

I turned to face both Shiloh and Jason. “Are we just going to let that happen? We need to do something.”

“We are doing something, Ry.” Shiloh leaned on my chest and wrapped her arms around my waist. “We’re making sure he doesn’t isolate her. She knows how we feel about him. She just thinks it's because we’re team Aidan.”

“Team Aidan?” I remembered him as the guy who had won the obstacle course race a few weeks back. “Does he…?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Jason shook his head. “Not while he’s still part of DEVGRU.”

I didn’t know much about the military, but I knew that word. That meant he was the elite of the elite.

Jason shoved his hands in his pockets. “She is my oldest friend. Watching that asshole tear down the fiercest woman I know is killing me. As for Aidan, he saved my life in a way no one will ever know. I’ll watch over her until they can get their act together.”

With that he also went to the makeup tent. Shiloh turned in my arms and looked back up at me. “What are you doing on Christmas Eve?”

We still needed to get through Thanksgiving and she was already planning Christmas. “Why.”

“We’re all spread out for Thanksgiving this year. Normally we spend Black Friday together but everyone is either deployed or working in one form or another, so we’re foregoing the tradition. But many of us will be home at Christmas, so we want to do something then.”

I knew Shiloh lived for tradition and that her friends were as important as her family. “I have some meetings in the day or two before. But I will be here on Christmas Eve.”

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