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“No shit?” I had no idea about these things, but everyone had heard of the SEALs. “How come no one knows about them?”
Zoe laughed. “Most people do. At least, the ones that don’t spend their days sans a cell phone, knee-deep in wetlands.”
“You should try it sometime,” I said. “Getting out in nature. No cell. Completely disconnected. It does a person good.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Zoe said.
“Same,” Mazzie added. “Especially now with the wedding plans in high gear.”
Attempting to get the focus off my interest in a man I was most definitely not interested in, I encouraged Mazzie to update us on all things wedding. It would be small, just forty people or so with only a maid of honor and one bridesmaid, old friends of Mazzie’s. But having it overseas definitely made things a bit more complicated. And exciting too.
I snuck another peek.
Jax’s slow smile told me that not only had I been caught, but that he wasn’t shy about doing the same. In fact, it was almost as if he were daring me to look at him.
An Army Ranger.
I knew nothing about them, and hardly anything about the SEALs either, but I could guess that it meant he was highly skilled and much more disciplined than the average person. Knowing his profession, which I guessed took a fair amount of negotiation skills and gumption, added to the fact that he was an Army Ranger...a more complete picture was forming. And it didn’t necessarily bode well for me or my land.
“Earth to Natalie.”
It took me all of three seconds to realize I’d zoned out for a little too long.
“Oh my god,” Mazzie said. “She likes him.
“Natalie, you poor thing.” Zoe tried to hide a smile. “You poor, poor girl.”
“If by ‘like’ you mean ‘hate,’ then...” I tried to sound casual. “You’re onto something.”
“Two things can be simultaneously true,” Zoe said as we geared up for the next round of trivia.
I ignored her. “Not in this case. The guy is arrogant, clearly gives two shits about the environment and...”
My pause was long enough for Mazzie to pounce. “Hotter than hell, obviously very skilled and probably smart too. Although, I have to admit, another Army guy in our group might just be one too many.”
“Speaking of Army guys,” I said, anxious to change the subject. “Shouldn’t Charlee be here by now?”
The fourth of our friend group was also dating a former Army sniper—Nate the bartender’s partner when they were stationed in Africa.
“She should.” Zoe pulled out her phone. “I’ll text her.”
“Can you imagine if you two started dating?” Mazzie said. “Three out of four of us with ex-Army boyfriends. Weird.”
“Um, I think Natalie is pretty far away from boyfriend material with that one,” Zoe looked back at the bar. “Not to mention he’s only in town for a little bit.”
“Yeah,” I pointed out. “To take the inlet. Let’s remember the fact that his sole purpose here is to buy and sell land he has no right to touch. Asshole.”
“Whoa.” Mazzie pretended to be shocked. “Where’s our sweet little Natalie?”
The girls loved making a big deal out of me being the “sweet and nice” one of the group, and it might be mostly true, but not one hundred percent of the time. I liked to party with the best of them and, in cases like this, certainly had no problem pulling out my claws.
“She’s currently being stared down,” Zoe said. “He really hasn’t taken his eyes off you all night.”
Dammit. Why did she have to remind me? Sure enough, he was staring.
“That’s it,” I said. Jumping off my stool, I ignored Mazzie and Zoe attempting to talk reason into me. That was the thing with super-sweet girls. Once you made them snap, it was game over.
“What,” I asked as I approached him, “is your problem?”
