Hot SEAL, Heartbreaker - Cat Johnson Page 0,16

Jason, for bringing that up.

He’d served a few years in the Navy himself. She had a vivid memory of declaring she would never date a sailor when Jenny had started dating Jason.

That comment was coming back to bite her in the butt now.

Jenny had doubted the validity of her relationship with Brian before. She was never going to be convinced now that she knew he was in the Navy.

Brian laughed behind her. The sound rumbled through his body and into hers. “Yeah. My being in the Navy was quite a strike against me. It took a lot of convincing to get this little lady here to give this old sailor a chance.”

Oh, he was good.

She might need to write a paper on psychological training techniques in the SEALs, because Brian knew all the tricks. How to read people and situations. What to say to persuade and sell a lie.

Some of it might be innate talent, but she wouldn’t doubt he’d been well trained as well.

He tightened his arm around her and leaned low, pressing his mouth against her ear.

“What are you thinking about so hard?” he asked, low and sexy and only for her.

“What? Me? Oh, I’m just wondering when the rest of the guests are going to arrive.” She answered in a normal voice to reduce the intimacy of this conversation.

Part of what she’d said was true. The thought had crossed her mind that this big important party, with a bar set up in the living room and food warming on every burner and in the oven, was a bit sparce on guests.

So far, there was only her and Brian. Why that might be, hit her.

Alicia glared at Jenny. “Did you tell me the wrong time to get me here early for some reason?” Such as to throw her together with another loser blind date.

The shadow of guilt that darkened Jenny’s expression, combined with the sound of the doorbell confirmed Alicia’s suspicion.

“There are more guests now,” Jason said. “I’ll get it.”

He headed out of the kitchen and Jenny nearly ran into the back of him. “No, I’ll get it.”

As Jenny scurried from the room, Alicia turned to face Brian. They seemed to be even closer now that she was facing him.

“What’s that about?” he asked, tipping his chin toward the doorway.

“You want to bet that’s some guy she was going to try to fix me up with?”

He shook his head. “No bet, because you’re probably right.”

Alicia glanced at the door and then hissed low, “She accused me of hiring you off a website to pretend to be my boyfriend.”

Brian frowned. “Why would she think that? I thought we did a pretty convincing job.”

“Apparently, she thought you’re too perfect to be with me.” She scowled.

“Too perfect, huh?” He grinned wide, making her scowl deepen.

“Great. Just what you needed. An ego boost.”

His smile didn’t fade as he said, “In light of this development, are you still set against any form of PDA?”

His hands remained where they’d landed when she’d turned—resting on her hips lightly, keeping her pinned between his body and the counter—proof that he hadn’t been following the no PDA rule anyway.

Her hands remained safely braced on the countertop behind her.

She cleared her throat as her heart pounded from the contact.

Jeez. The way she was reacting to the tiniest of touches, it was like she was in some regency romance. Ready to swoon from the brush of a hand. Heart pounding from the heat of his body close to hers.

It was no big deal, she reminded herself. Nothing sexual. Just for show.

Even so, she wasn’t ready to abandon all of their rules quite yet. “I think we should play it by ear.”

He nodded and leaned low before saying, “Sounds good.”

The heat of his words brushed across the whorls of her ear before he straightened again.

She raised her gaze to him, hard to do given how closely they stood, and how he towered above her.

“What was that about?” she asked, her whisper sounding huskier than usual.

“Look,” he said low, before pivoting his head to glance at the doorway.

She did the same and saw her sister, her brother-in-law and a strange and no-doubt single man, all clustered at the entrance to the kitchen. All watching her with varied expressions.

Alicia ignored Jason’s amusement and the stranger’s frown and zeroed in on Jenny’s pursed lips and narrowed gaze.

Time to up the game. She wrapped her arms around Brian’s hips and slid her fingertips into the back pockets of his jeans, so she was essentially