When he’d pulled away, it had nearly crushed her. She’d been so sure he was rejecting her. It shouldn’t have hurt one way or the other, but it had. More than she ever would have imagined. Then he told her why he’d hesitated, and it had been the sweetest, most romantic thing she’d ever heard. And for a woman who made a living writing romance, that was saying something.
She’d been so giddy afterward that it had taken forever to get to sleep. Instead, she’d laid in bed staring at the ceiling, trying to wrap her head around the idea that she and Noah could have something meaningful. A possibility made more amazing by the fact that a relationship with him wasn’t something she’d even known she wanted. Especially since she’d kept telling herself they were too different. But when he suggested they could be amazing, she knew it was something she wanted with all of her heart. And she wanted it immediately.
The noise from the crowded restaurant hit her all at once the moment Noah opened the door for her, and Peyton found herself questioning the idea of having a private party at a place this crowded.
“Don’t worry,” he said as he gave his name to the hostess standing at the front desk. “Sam and Nash reserved a private room in the back.”
Peyton nodded as they followed the hostess through the restaurant with its huge central bar and dozens of TV’s showing sporting events.
“So, Sam and Nash paid for all of this?” she asked, wanting to make sure she’d gotten that right. “I thought this was their promotion party. If that’s the case, why do they have to pay?”
“It’s a military tradition,” Noah explained as the hostess pointed out a wide archway in the back of the restaurant, telling them their group was at the end of the hallway. “When a sailor gets promoted, they always pony up the pay increase from their first month’s paycheck and throw a party for their Teammates. In this case, Sam and Nash pooled their money and paid for a private room and an hour’s worth of free booze, which is also part of the tradition.”
“They get promoted and have to pay for their own party?” she repeated, still not understanding. “It seems like a crappy tradition to me. Shouldn’t the person getting promoted be the one getting the free booze?”
“You’d think so.” He chuckled. “But this particular tradition is less about celebrating another sailor’s good fortune and more about using their newfound money to get drunk.”
Peyton was about to point out how crazy that was when they walked into a big room filled with half a dozen banquet tables and the small bar that Noah had mentioned set up at the far end of the room. There was already about twenty people and her stomach tensed a little when she realized she didn’t know any of them.
At Noah’s prodding, Peyton had invited Laurissa to the party, but her friend wasn’t there yet. Heck, she might not even come at all. Why would she want to hang out with her brother’s Teammates anyway?
It was crazy to think that a group this size would bother her when she’d been in front of crowds of thousands. But those people had been there to meet Peyton Matthews, the writer, not Peyton Matthews, the girl going on a sort-of date with a Navy SEAL. Those were two different people.
“It’s okay,” Noah leaned in and whispered as if reading her mind. “This is simply a group of friends getting together for a night out. I promise, everyone is going to love you.”
Peyton took a deep breath and steeled herself as some of his Teammates came over to give Noah a bro-hug and meet her.
“How’s the knee doing?” Wes asked after most everyone else had drifted away, leaving her and Noah with Wes, his girlfriend, Kyla Wells, and their Teammate, Sam. “No more setbacks while working as Peyton’s bodyguard?”
Noah jerked his head around, obviously checking to make sure no one outside their little circle had overheard. “Want to say that last part a little louder? I don’t think they heard you in Cleveland.”
Noah had warned her before coming to the party that they’d have to hide the whole bodyguard thing. Apparently, his boss thought he was spending his medical leave sitting on his couch playing video games. Noah had gone out of his way to make sure she understood how much trouble he’d be in if they found out he’d taken on outside employment. Peyton had promised not to say anything.
While Peyton chatted with Kyla, bonding over the fact that both of them had gone to San Diego State, she also listened in on the conversation Noah was having with Wes and Sam. A lot of it seemed to revolve around his injured knee, and from the way they were talking about it, she couldn’t help but think there was more going on than he’d told her.
Peyton remembered Laurissa saying something about her brother hurting himself playing volleyball, but she swore she heard Sam say something about him getting injured while over there. She’d watched Noah do some exercises earlier this morning in her workout room and seen him grimace in pain when he put too much pressure on it in the wrong direction. There was no doubt in her mind it was probably more serious than he let on.
She didn’t have a clue what SEALs did, but it wouldn’t be shocking to imagine he’d hurt himself on a mission. It was a little disconcerting to think of him lying
