A SEAL's Courage (Military Match #1)(7)

Lauren clenched her jaw to keep it from hitting the pavement. For a long moment, she could only stare at Trent’s outstretched hand. Was he serious or playing a cruel joke? The light blue color of his buttoned-up shirt suggested he was telling the truth. Her date was supposed to be wearing blue. But the color was common for this type of shirt. It could just be a coincidence.

Except Mandy had mentioned that Trent knew Karen. What Mandy distinctly hadn’t told her, though, was that Trent had signed up with Military Match, too.

She lifted her gaze to his. “You’re my date?”

Trent dropped his hand and glanced at the sidewalk, going silent for a moment. He’d changed since coming home. He’d always been a man of few words, but that side of him had grown since he’d gotten out of the service. He often drew into himself, as if his mind had wandered. Part of his PTSD, Mandy had told her once.

That wasn’t all that had changed, though. The military crew cut he’d worn for almost forever had grown out. His hair was now long enough to run her fingers through. He also seemed to be keeping a day’s worth of growth on his jaw. Scruff looked good on him. The black leather jacket, however, he’d had since she’d first met him. It was well-worn and soft.

Just as she wondered if she’d have to pull him back from his memories, Trent tucked his hands in his pockets and looked up at her again. “Looks like it. I was told the same thing, to meet my date here. So far you’re the only brunette I see wearing blue.”

What were the odds of that happening?

Her conversation with Mandy came rushing back. “I know a hot military guy who’d be right up your alley…”

The little rat had done it anyway. Mandy had signed her up for this stupid dating service knowing her brother had signed up, too, then played matchmaker.

Lauren folded her arms and diverted her gaze to the building on her right, praying it was too dark for Trent to notice her scorching cheeks. This didn’t get any more embarrassing. “I’m going to kill your sister.”

Trent’s brow furrowed. “What does Mandy have to do with this?”

Lauren dropped her arms. “She’s the reason I’m here. Military Match was her idea. She signed up the three of us, me, her, and Steph, and told me about it afterward. Clearly, she set me up”—she waved a hand in Trent’s direction—“with you.”

Trent studied her for a moment, blue eyes searching. Seconds later, his features sobered. “She couldn’t have.”

If she wasn’t so damned embarrassed, Lauren might have laughed at the irony. She’d have to fill him in. Of course, she could lie her way out of this, but she never ran from a fight. She believed in facing what God set in her path. Mary had taught her that.

Swallowing her pride, she sent up a silent prayer the right words would appear in her mouth, that he wouldn’t laugh in her face or she wouldn’t puke on his shoes.

Heart hammering like a freight train, she forced herself to hold his gaze. “She could have and it looks like she did. She knows I had a huge crush on you in high school.”

She pulled her shoulders back and waited. Yup. If that didn’t seal the deal on her humiliation, she didn’t know what would.

Trent didn’t react at all the way she’d anticipated. He smiled. Damn him. “I know.”

Her stomach rolled with nausea, and Lauren folded her arms. The gesture made her feel stronger at least. Not so much like she wanted to melt into the sidewalk. “Of course you do.”

He let out a quiet laugh. “Sorry, but you weren’t very good at hiding it. I’d look at you and you’d blush to the roots of your hair, then giggle. Lord, you two did a lot of giggling when I was around.”

The heat in her cheeks deepened, until she was sure her whole head had caught fire. God, it didn’t get any better than this. Having powers of invisibility would be fantastic right about now.

Desperate to play it off, Lauren waved a dismissive hand at him, but couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze. “It was the military thing. Guys in uniform have always done it for me.”

Apparently not done tormenting her, Trent nudged her arm. “What, you mean it wasn’t my charming personality?”

Lauren met his gaze. Trent’s eyes gleamed with playful impishness, and everything south of the equator liquefied. No way could she let him get away with teasing her, though. After all, she was here to get laid, right? Who better to practice her flirting on than a man she could never have? She and Trent were just friends. No doubt he’d laugh again and they could dismiss the whole notion.

The sooner he did, the sooner she’d stop feeling like she’d just told him she was from Mars, and the sooner they could get back the comfortable companionship they’d developed over the last year. Okay, so deep down, it wasn’t what she wanted with him. Not really. Spending time with him often left her feeling caught between a rock and a hard place. Knowing he thought of her as little more than another sister was painful at times, but it was better than nothing.

She let her gaze trail over him. “Nope. Definitely the uniform. You looked pretty hot in yours.”

There, let him chew on that for a while.

Trent tipped his head back and laughed. Despite knowing he laughed at her, the deep, husky sound still lit up her insides, shivering all the way down her spine and straight into her panties. She’d always loved that sound. Trent didn’t laugh often, but when he did, every pair of panties within a two-block radius melted. Hers included.