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“What were you doing today?” Rami asked.
Autumn finished a bite of food and swallowed it before answering. “Nunya.”
“Nunya?”
“Nunya business.” Then, she took another healthy bite. She was rude, making everyone around the table laugh—except Ian, who looked worried.
“You don’t take a lot of time off.”
“I had a thing,” she said. “Plus, Adam threatened that his mother would no longer make me the fried rice I love. He was lying, but I didn’t want to take a chance.”
“You have to be threatened to take time off?” Rami said. “You need someone to teach you how to relax.”
There was no doubt from the tone in his voice what he meant. Rami had a different woman every weekend. He didn’t brag, butSeth had seen him with various women at clubs. He rarely went home by himself.
“I have batteries for that.”
Again, a beat of silence. Then laughter filled the air around the table. Autumn blinked as if she was confused by it. Not in a hurt way, just that she didn’t realize it was a funny response. Interesting that she didn’t pick up on Rami’s innuendo.
“Gross,” Ian said. Oh, yeah, they weren’t a couple. Seth couldn’t put his finger on it, but they weren’t a romantic couple.
“Are y’all on call this weekend?” Autumn asked.
“We’re always on call, for the most part, especially Morrison and Maya.” He nodded to his dog handler. Then, Autumn realized Maya was with them since Ryan was sitting the furthest away.
She immediately forgot about her food—a first for him to witness—as she stood and hurried around the table. Dropping to her knees on the pavement, she cooed the dog.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t see you here, sista.” Maya licked her face, and Autumn laughed. She kissed the dog’s head and then returned to her seat.
“Do you have a dog?” Seth asked.
She was still chewing her food, so she shook her head. Once she swallowed, she said, “I work too much. Not good for a dog to spend that much time alone.”
The way her mouth turned down told him that she wished she could. Or maybe he was reading more into it than he should.
“I have a few cats.”
“No, you feed a few strays. That’s not the same thing,” Ian said.
There was something in his tone, an undercurrent Seth couldn’t decipher. He would bet dollars to malasadas that they weren’t a couple, but there was a history there.
“Shut it, Mix. So, what’s everyone doing if you aren’t working this weekend?”
“You need to be careful with that Harrington,” Ian said as he drove her back to her apartment.
She glanced over at him. “Why? He’s a fellow team member, or rather, I don’t know what we call Team Bravo, but you know what I mean.”
He sped around a dilapidated minivan that looked like it would break down any minute, and her mind drifted to the team captain. Seth was…god, he was gorgeous. He had a way of looking at her with those grey eyes and all the ridiculous eyelashes around them. It was hard to understand why this man sent warmth throughout her entire body with just a look. Granted, he was a former SEAL, so his ability to hold his breath did intrigue her. But she had never really been infatuated with a man—not like this.
“He is not someone you can mess around with. I’m sure he would want to know all your secrets.”
She frowned and drew her attention away from the scenery. “Do you think he has anything to do with Joyous Wave?”
“God, no. That guy would never bow down to someone like Joseph. What I mean is that he’s not like us. He’s normal.”
She snorted to cover her hurt, but Autumn knew precisely what he meant. Ian had been raised to be a spy, and she had been raised by a narcissistic opportunist who wanted to sell her to the highest bidder after she turned sixteen.
“I understand.”
