“So, how did you two kids meet?” Carson asked curiously, looking from her to Becker.
Jane shrugged. “In an elevator.”
The other men raised their brows. “In an elevator?” Carson echoed.
“Yep. We got stuck.” She didn’t look at Becker, scared that if she did, her expression would reveal exactly what they’d done while stuck. She forced the blush from her cheeks and glanced at the SEALs. “Actually, you guys all know my sister.”
Ryan’s eyes lit up with delight. “She has a sister,” he said to Matt O’Connor.
“You saved her life,” Jane added, rolling her eyes.
“Jane’s sister is Elizabeth Harrison,” Becker supplied quietly.
The mention of Liz’s name had the men going somber. “How’s Elizabeth doing?” Carson asked with concern.
“She’s fine,” Jane answered. “Completely recovered from her near-death experience. I’m writing a piece about it for the magazine I work for.” She suddenly remembered her editor’s suggestion. “Maybe one of you guys can give me an interview. Becker here has politely declined.”
“I’ll do it,” both Ryan and Matt said immediately.
Carson grinned at the other two. “She said interview, not sex.”
The sound of children’s voices came from the other side of the bridge. Becker rested a hand on Jane’s waist and turned to the other men. “Let’s keep moving before this hole turns into a parking lot.”
The six of them played the hole quickly. Well, technically, the five of them. Jane noticed Will, the intense one with black eyes, didn’t take a turn. Instead, he jotted down the other men’s scores and announced them when they reached the next hole.
“Okay, so as of now, O’Connor’s taken the lead, Carson is at a close second, and Evans over here…” Will smirked, “…is six over par.”
Becker glanced over at Will. “You came all the way here just to keep score?”
Will’s expression grew sullen.
“He’s not allowed to play,” Carson explained gravely.
Jane looked from Carson to Will, curious. “Why not?”
“Well, it all traces back to the putter-in-the-clown’s-mouth incident,” Carson said.
“Which is what?”
Carson grinned. “Exactly what it sounds like. He threw his putter in the clown’s mouth. It was quite childish.”
“Screw off,” Will grumbled at the man. He then fixed those dark eyes on Jane. “It really isn’t as bad as it sounds. Carson over-exaggerates.”
She choked down a laugh. “I’m sure he does.”
The next five holes went by far too quickly for Jane’s liking. Although Becker didn’t say much to the other men, she liked them immensely. Carson’s sarcasm was endearing, Will’s brooding made her laugh, and the two young ones were unbelievably entertaining. Ryan and Matt flirted up a storm with her, complimenting her, quizzing her about how serious she and Becker were, which elicited a frown from her date. But she knew Becker wasn’t angered by their behavior. He seemed to be fighting back laughter the entire time, as if Evans and O’Connor, as he addressed them, were harmless little siblings he didn’t take seriously.
After they finished the last hole, Jane took her bows as she was declared the official winner. Becker and Will headed over to the booth to return everyone’s putters and balls, leaving Jane alone with Carson, Ryan and Matt, who all eyed her with extreme curiosity.
“What’s he like?” Carson asked, lowering his voice despite the fact that Becker was completely out of earshot.
“Seriously,” Ryan added. “We’ve been trying to get a handle on the Lieutenant for a while now. He’s barely spoken two words since he joined the team.”
Jane felt her cheeks grow warm. What was Becker like? Intense, she wanted to say. She thought about the way he moved inside her body and added passionate to the list. Thoughtful, because he made her breakfast. But as she opened her mouth to respond, the only word she really wanted to say was mine.
She had no clue where it came from, this weird idea that Becker belonged to her. That she even wanted him to belong to her. All she knew was that, in the last five days, she’d started to really like Thomas Becker. They were almost polar opposites. He was serious, she was wild and outspoken. He considered each word carefully before speaking, she just blurted out whatever entered her mind. But sex...that’s where they were completely in sync.
“He’s sweet,” she finally said.
That got her three pairs of wide eyes.
“Sweet?” Carson wheezed out. “No way.”
Ryan nodded in agreement. “No way is Lieutenant Becker sweet. He’s prickly as hell.”
Jane laughed. “Yeah, he’s prickly. But he’s also…”
“Sweet,” Matt supplied, looking like he was holding back laughter.
“Yes,” she insisted.
“Whatever you say,” Carson answered with a careless shrug.
“So, about that interview,” Ryan suddenly said. His blue eyes swept over her face, the corner of his mouth quirking. “When and where?”
“You’ll really do it?” she said. “I thought you were joking before.”
“No, I’ll answer a few questions. But only if you don’t publish my name. Our commanding officer is pretty anal about that shit. He doesn’t like the team getting any publicity.”