The Navy Seal's Promise Read Free Page B

with a magical
solution to her transport problems but not wanting to make him feel like crap
if he hadn’t.
    “Fast food, steak, ethnic…” Luke twisted around in his seat. “I wish I
could take you somewhere nicer, but I think we might have to pick by the
shortest line.”
    Saskia laughed. “I haven’t eaten good food in a long time. Where I’ve
been? Believe me, I’m not fussy.”
    “How about a good old fashioned steak then?”
    “And alcohol,” she told him. “I think we definitely need alcohol.”
    Luke bent toward her slightly, his eyes never leaving hers. Now she
needed that drink more than ever.
    “Just one drink for me. If I have any more I won’t be able to get you out
of here in the morning, will I?”
     His cheeky smile made her flush. So much for being confident around
men because of all the time she spent with them. “When you say get me out of
here…”
    Luke touched her hand, gave it a squeeze, his fingers a little rough
against her skin. “I’m not making any promises until the morning. But if I can
get you out of here to see your little man, I’ll do it. I gave you my word and
I meant it.”
    Saskia didn’t move. She was listening to him, smiling at what he was
saying, but inside she was terrified of the way his hand felt over hers. The
warmth of his hold. When he pulled away and stood up, she let out what must
have been her first exhale in a few long moments.
    “Thanks, Luke. For what it’s worth, I’m just grateful that you’re trying.”
And she was. Getting home would mean more to her than she could ever express,
but knowing someone had tried to help her meant something too. “So how about
that steak?”
    “Stay seated.” He stood and placed his hand on her shoulder as he passed.
“You save the table and I’ll rustle up some food that’ll make you remember why
you love being back here.”
    Sakia watched him walk away and shut her eyes for a beat. What the
hell was she doing? She’d sworn off men for good less than a year ago, and
now she was flirting with a stranger and enjoying it .
    Luke was gorgeous. Handsome. Fun. But could he really get her out of here
and to her family? She doubted it, but at least she could try to enjoy her
leave. Because soon enough she’d be back in the middle of nowhere, contending with
the desert and little else, and wishing she had something else to think about
than how guilty she felt about being separated from her son.
    “Good?”
    Saskia put up her hand as she finished her mouthful. “Oh my God, better
than good. It’s amazing.”
    Luke laughed and gestured for her to keep eating. “Unless you’ve served,
I don’t think you can explain how good a medium-rare steak, shoe-string fries
and ketchup can taste. Even at an airport.”
    He watched as she placed her fork back down and took a sip of wine. The
noise around them was deafening, way too many people crammed into not enough
space, but sitting here wasn’t half bad. Compared to going somewhere with him
and being alone? It was great.
    “You’ve spent your fair share of time off shore?” she asked him.
    “More than I’d like to admit. Sometimes I wonder when I’ll ever be able
to spend a decent stretch of time back here.” It was nice talking to a woman
from the military. Usually he downplayed what he did, but Saskia was different.
He’d always been honest with his wife about his work, but she’d been gone a
long time now and it was good chatting to someone who’d lived and breathed the
same kind of situations he had.
    “So where were you headed tonight?”
    Luke looked up. No more thinking about his wife. It had been three
years this Christmas and he needed to dump the guilt and try to move on.
    “Luke?”
    “San Diego. I live close to the Navy base there.”
    She nodded, looked like she didn’t know what else to say.
    “So tell me something I’d never guess about you.” Luke didn’t want to discuss
family or work right now, but he’d never been great at small