Brianna's Navy SEAL Read Online Free

about the daily routine a bit more, then Cable stuffed his briefcase and walked her out. By the time they left the parking lot in their cars—hers a Chrysler Sebring convertible, his a Ford Expedition—he had accepted an invitation to dinner Sunday night.
* * * *
    Elyse Macgregor had a plan.
    Brianna could sense it before she'd even set foot in the house. The cars were wrong. Usually, her father and mother squeezed their cars into the cluttered garage, Kira and Sophie parked their SUVs in the driveway, and Brianna parked her little Jetta on the narrow street. But today, Kira's 4Runner was sitting by the mailbox. Brianna parked behind it, stepped onto the sidewalk, and saw why. A silver Expedition sat in Kira's usual spot. A silver Expedition just like Cable's. She hesitated, but decided it was coincidence and continued up the walk. No doubt a friend of her mother's was in town, one of the women she'd met on her annual “personal” vacations. She'd taken one just before Kira and Jake married, and it had changed her life.
    Certain she was right, Brianna opened the kitchen door and walked in with a smile.
    Of course, the smile froze as soon as she saw Cable chopping carrots at the counter. He wore a ruffled apron around his waist but looked as comfortable as he had in his classroom. Both were places he just shouldn't belong, but he did. And Brianna's system went haywire.
    She backed out of the kitchen and shut the door, hearing “Bee-Bee!” as the latch clicked. She grimaced, feeling terrible when the excited cry turned into a wail.
    She couldn't help her reaction, or her instinctive need to hide it. But she couldn't let her nephew cry, either.
    She hesitated two seconds, wondering how bad it would be to run back to her car. The “I wanna huuuggg!” behind the door told her it would be very bad.
    She sighed and went back inside, pasting a huge smile on her face and opening her arms wide.
    "Joey, baby! I'm here!"
    He didn't run to her this time, but kind of slid over into her arms, sniffling and ducking his head. He looked at her from wide, shimmering blue eyes that matched his mama's, and kept two fingers in his mouth. She folded him into her arms when he came close enough. “Shh, love. I'm sorry.” He let her stroke his hair for a few seconds, then babbled something about a ball and Cody, the dog, and ran off into the living room.
    "Well, that was unusual.” Her mother was watching her from the stove. “What did you do that for?"
    She glanced at Cable and blushed when she saw the look on his face. “I forgot something.” He knew, she could tell, and blushed harder. “Um, what can I do to help?"
    Her mother put her to work slicing bread at the island, back-to-back with Cable. The kitchen wasn't tiny, but it was close enough that she could feel his movements behind her, and for some reason, that felt intimate. Too intimate.
    Which was ridiculous. Why shouldn't she get intimate with Cable Addison? She had too many instinctive reactions to him, all conflicting, and it would be easier if she could just avoid the whole thing. Working together was bad enough, but at least they were in separate rooms most of the time. She kept finding herself peeking out the window to see if he was home, maybe doing yard work in his muscle shirt, but she didn't have to go outside herself. But here, with this forced proximity, both attraction and fear were building every time they touched.
    She took a deep breath, held it, and let it out slowly, forcing herself back to normal before anxiety got completely out of control.
    Her mother was talking to Cable about the kids in their classroom, mundane stuff about next week's lessons. Brianna relaxed and listened while she finished slicing the loaf and arranging it in a bread basket. This was familiar territory, and they soon drew her into the conversation, which continued, with Jake's input and Sophie's smart remarks, into dinner.
    Suddenly, without warning, she yawned. Mortified, she slapped