Redeeming Her SEAL (ASSIGNMENT Caribbean Nights #9) - Kat Cantrell Page 0,38

sure he just had to breathe on her and she’d drop her panties. Again. Her will sucked, but his was like iron, so he’d be the one doing the heavy lifting in this deal.

It was imperative that they take this slow so they could figure out how to be around each other again. So she could gauge whether he had one foot out the door this time too or he intended to do things differently. They had to talk, really talk, about the reasons they’d made the decisions they had. She wanted to feel like she could trust him enough to tell him about Isaac and how broken she’d been. How broken she still felt sometimes.

Otherwise, there was no point in this. They’d done hot, fast, and furious, then good-bye. She didn’t want that. Of course she had no freaking clue what she wanted other than not Jared and not being apart from Charlie. Anything else was too much to contemplate right now.

Content in the moment worked for her. And a walk on the beach sounded like a perfect way to take some baby steps forward.

But when she found Charlie outside the restaurant on the path to the pool, he was talking to two women he obviously knew, a blonde she might have to hate for being extremely pretty and an arresting brunette with horn-rimmed glasses. She was also pretty but she got a pass by sheer virtue of her style. Not many women could pull off glasses with such panache.

“Dr. Reed.” Charlie smiled as she approached.

Uh-oh. Titles meant something. But she wasn’t sure what. Was he sleeping with one of these women and hoped to keep his relationship with Audra quiet so no one got upset?

Her stomach twisted, threatening to expel the contents of her dinner onto the sidewalk by the blonde’s flip-flops.

“This is Emma Riley and Rachel Blume,” Charlie said unhelpfully. “Emma is married to one of my partners. Dex. You haven’t met him yet. Rachel is my lawyer. Or rather she’s working for Aqueous Adventures. I just tell her how hard to press on the court.”

Oh. That was helpful. “Nice to meet you. Please call me Audra. I’m only Dr. Reed at work.”

Rachel held her hand a touch too long as she shook Audra’s, her gaze shrewd and assessing as she took her measure. “Well, well. I just heard the distinct click of several stray pieces falling into place.”

“I’m sorry?”

“I never could figure out Anderson’s angle when he insisted on bringing in a dolphin expert. He was so smug when I met with him. I had no idea there was more at play here than just an island.”

What the hell had this women figured out simply by shaking Audra’s hand? And when had she met with Jared? He’d never mentioned it to her. Her hackles rose.

“Can we talk about something less inflammatory please?” she murmured with a glance at Charlie. “Like politics or religion? Jared is not a popular subject at the moment.”

Rachel’s eyebrows rose. “I like you already. So okay. No work talk tonight. You and I need to have a very long discussion though. Soon.”

Something about the way the lawyer drenched her comments with innuendo intrigued her. She instantly liked Rachel too—especially since she didn’t give off the slightest vibe that she’d ever noticed Charlie had a smoking hot body and a mouth with lush lips that could yank a scream out of a woman in minutes.

“What are you ladies doing at the resort anyway?” Charlie asked conversationally. “Evan mentioned that he had plans with you when I shanghaied him into taking Audra and her sisters parasailing earlier.”

Rachel grinned. “He always has plans. That was code for the fact that he wanted to be home when I got there so he could surprise me with flowers. It’s our anniversary,” she explained to Audra. “We’ve been together exactly one month today.”

Oh. That was helpful too. “You and Evan? The gorgeous, silent one? Lucky girl.”

“I’m standing right here,” Charlie commented drily. “I’d hate to hear what you’d say if I wasn’t.”

Rachel shrugged. “No difference. Were you expecting a filter over the mouth of a woman who can handle you? I wasn’t. If you’re looking for a sweet, unassuming woman with social niceties, keep walking.”

“Well played,” Audra said decisively with a laugh. “We should make that appointment to talk in a couple of days. My sisters are in town until Sunday. Tonight I have plans for a moonlit walk on the beach with a surly ex-SEAL who apparently