Page 13 of A Very Grumpy Navy SEAL

“What?No.Why would I do that?”he asks, sounding baffled.“What happened?”

“I just…I’ve had a bad day.”

“With Koa?”

“What?No.”

“Why are you asking about my friends then?”

I sigh.“It’s nothing.Never mind.”

“Lula…”

"I don’t know.Maybe you give off big brother warnings or something.It doesn’t matter.It’s fine.”

"Did Koa do something?”he asks again.

I groan.“No!Forget I said anything.”

“Lula.Talk to me.”

I shake my head even though he can’t see me.“I’m just having a rough day.Job hunting sucks.No one’s hiring.I’m tired and stressed, and I feel like I made a huge mistake moving here.”

He’s quiet for a minute, and I check the call to make sure we haven’t been disconnected.

“You didn’t make a mistake, Lula.You wanted a fresh start, remember?And things might be tough now, but they won’t always be.”

His words calm me a little.That’s the thing about Ledger—he can annoy the crap out of me, but he’s always known how to bring me back to center.

“Thanks,” I whisper.

“Anytime, Lu.You need anything, you call me.Okay?”

“I will,” I promise.“Now, tell me what you’ve been up to.”

He laughs, and we talk a little more.He tells me about his current deployment and what he’s been doing.He asks me more about Wolf Valley, and I tell him about Cameron, the diner, and the bakery.I don’t mention Koa again.

After we hang up, I sit in the quiet for a long time.

I try not to think about Koa or the way he looked at me.Like he wanted me.Like he needed me.Like he felt this thing between us.

And I try even harder not to think about how much I want him, too.

But I do.

God help me, I do.

SIX

Koa

The second myphone lights up with Ledger’s name, I know that this is the conversation I’ve been dreading.

My heart threatens to burst out of my chest, and I feel sick to my stomach as I pick up my phone.I swipe to answer and press the phone to my ear, bracing myself.

“Hey,” I say, trying to keep my voice casual.

“Don’t ‘hey’ me.What the hell is going on?”Ledger barks.

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