He swung around to face her. “Because what I see is a woman who stood up for herself against some dude harassing her. A woman who works hard, who’s smart, funny, easy to talk to. Definitely not a ‘hick,’” he said, complete with air quotes, “or a ‘mess.’”
Blinking rapidly, determined not to cry, she whispered, “You don’t even know me. Don’t blow sunshine up my ass—”
“I’m not. I would never do that, ever. Ask anyone.” His grin lit up the night. “I don’t like bullshit, have never had time for it, especially as a K9 handler.”
Curiosity pricked her, made her ask, “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Because reading Bosch’s body language, his cues, is how I keep him, myself and my crew alive. Is there a buried explosive under that pile of trash? A bad guy in the ditch over there? I have to make split-second decisions, instant judgments, about situations and people, almost on a daily basis.”
His solemn gaze met hers.
“So no, I’m not blowing sunshine up your ass, not for one second, when I say that I see strength, not weakness, when I look at you.” He paused. “You just have to see it in yourself, too.”
The hot tears spilled over at last, and Lani wiped them away on her sleeve. Before the roaring in her ears could get too loud, Geo said, “Let’s walk.”
They were quiet as they made their way closer to the water, and the hard-packed sand there. The ocean roared around them, the waves surging to within inches of their feet.
“Fear isn’t your enemy,” he said at last. “If there’s anything being a SEAL has taught me, it’s that success in life has very little to do with the situation you’re in and everything to do with how you react to it. It’s what you do in spite of that fear.”
When he touched her shoulder, Lani glanced up at him. “Fear isn’t the polar opposite of courage. Just because you’re scared doesn’t mean you’re not also strong, okay?”
All she could do was nod.
“Assess, prioritize, eliminate what you can’t control and fix what you can. That’s your SEAL life lesson for today,” he said, smiling. “You’re practically one of us now.”
“But I don’t want to be a SEAL. I hate exercise.”
A pause, and then Geo threw his head back and laughed, the low, husky sound stroking along her nipples like a rough, warm tongue, hardening them painfully.
“God, you didn’t miss a single beat. I haven’t laughed like that in forever.” His incredible eyes were admiring as he gazed down at her. “You don’t have to be a SEAL if you don’t want to. We do exercise a lot.”
They continued on down the beach, and as they strolled, she thought about her friends—well, her former friends, the wives of the guys on Rhys’s team. From the beginning she’d felt out of step with them, with their Barry’s Bootcamps and CrossFit classes. Of course men who lived and breathed physical fitness would gravitate toward women who did the same, but for Lani, a night in with a cheese plate and a good book was infinitely more appealing than hours of lifting weights, yoga or Pilates.
Luckily, she’d found a kindred spirit in Sarah, the wife of one of her and Rhys’s oldest friends. While the guys were gone, the two of them delighted in spending their days searching out local eateries, gourmet grocery stores and funky little tea shops. They’d cook together, glasses of wine in hand, while they tried out different recipes and experimented with foods from all over the world.
I’ve lost her. Just like I’ve lost Rhys, and Tyler...
Tears sprang to her eyes again, and as unobtrusively as possible, she wiped them away. Still, Geo noticed.
“What’s wrong?” he asked softly. “Not feeling well?”
“Feeling alone.” The admission came easily, too easily, but Lani didn’t care. After tonight she doubted he’d spare her another thought. Right now she had his full attention, and damn if it wasn’t exactly what she needed. “My friends were all team wives, remember? So now that I’m not with a team guy anymore...”
“Ah.” He nodded. “Guess that means time to expand your horizons. Find friends outside the community. We’re all pretty much assholes anyway.”
She snorted. “Pretty much.”
“You’re better off without us. You really are.”
They snickered together, and she said, “I wish moving on was that simple, though. I was with Rhys for ten years.”
He glanced at her. “Wow. High school sweethearts?”
“Sort of.” She bit her lip. How could she explain to