Protected By the SEAL (The Men of Ghost Security #3)

Chapter 1

KANE

You’re seriously telling me you haven’t locked that down yet?” Reed’s voice cuts through the conference room as our weekly meeting wraps up.

I lean back in my chair, ignoring the knowing looks from my teammates. Not this shit…again. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Bullshit.” Zane points his pen at me. “You turned down that redhead from the bar last week. Said you had plans.”

“I did have plans.”

“With Morgana.” Owen grins. “Like you do every Friday. And most Saturdays. And that Tuesday when she called about her car making a weird noise.”

“Her alternator was going out.” I cross my arms. “She needed help.”

Reed snorts. “Right. Because there’s no such thing as mechanics in this city. She could have gone to Rebel Autos and seen Mack.”

“And now you’re her date for a wedding?” Zane laughs. “Woman has you whipped, and you’re not even getting any.”

“Whose wedding?” Owen looks up from his laptop.

“Her ex’s,” I admit. “He’s marrying her cousin.”

“Holy shit.” Reed leans forward. “And she asked you to be her date?”

“I wouldn’t say I’m her date,” I correct, which only makes them laugh harder. “She needs someone to be a buffer between her and her family.”

“You’ve been in love with her since high school,” Jake says, crossing his arms and staring me down.

“We’re friends,” I say, my voice bordering on anger. We’ve all had this conversation before and it’s pushing my limits that they don’t listen to what I say.

Jake’s voice goes serious. “Friends don’t turn down every available woman in the city because they’re hung up on someone else. Everything you do shows how much more than a friend she is to you.”

“I’m not hung up on Morgana.”

“When’s the last time you went on a real date?” Owen challenges.

I open my mouth, then close it. Truth is, I can’t remember. I’ve tried, but it’s been a long time since I met a woman who really made me want to see her a second time.

“This is your shot,” Zane says. “Weddings are great for hooking up with chicks.”

I ignore Zane’s comment. One day that man will look at women as more than someone to fuck and dump.

“She asked me because we’re friends and she trusts me.

Plus, her family is objectively horrible.

I met some of them a long time ago, and all I can say is it’s a miracle people like that raised someone as grounded and kind as Morgana. ”

“She’s been in love with you as long as you’ve been in love with her,” Reed says. “Everyone can see it but you two.”

My phone buzzes. Morgana’s name flashes on the screen.

Are you picking me up, or should I meet you at your place?

The guys see her name and start making whipping noises. I flip them off and type back.

I’ll pick you up. Finishing up a meeting at work. I’ll be there at 2 pm.

“If you come back from this wedding still ‘just friends,’ we’re staging an intervention,” Jake warns. “I’m serious, Kane. Open your fucking eyes.”

When I pull up to Morgana’s apartment building, she’s already waiting outside, sunglasses on, hair pulled back in a messy bun that makes her look younger. She’s wearing shorts and one of my old Navy t-shirts she stole years ago. Everything about the sight makes my chest ache.

“Right on time.” She grins as I hop out to grab her bag.

“I can get that.” I take her weekend bag and toss it in the back with mine.

Once we’re on the highway, she relaxes into the passenger seat, bare feet up on my dashboard. I pretend to be annoyed.

“Feet off the dash, Morgana.”

“You love my feet on your dash.” She wiggles her toes. “Plus, I’m in love with this pedicure, and my feet deserve to be shown off.”

I laugh and shake my head, then turn on the radio.

“Tell me about the weekend again,” I say. “I want to be prepared.”

Her smile dims. “Right. The family gauntlet.” She takes a breath. “Okay, so there’s my mom. You’ve met her. Passive-aggressive champion of the world. She’ll have comments about everything, from my job, my weight, my relationship status.”

“What else?”

“Aunt Carol. No filter. Thinks being blunt and abrasive is an art form. Then there’s the cousin brigade.

Sarah, Jennifer, and Emma. All married with kids.

They haven’t seen me in years, but they’ll act like we’re close while making sure I know how behind I am in life.

I don’t know if my cousin Sophie will make it.

I adore her, but it’s been ages since we’ve been in contact. ”

I hear the stress creeping into her voice. I reach over, covering her hand with mine before I even think about it. She relaxes a fraction.

“And the bride?”

“Belinda.” Her voice goes flat. “My cousin, who can do no wrong. Valedictorian. Prom queen. The one my mom always compared me to. And now she’s marrying Victor.”

“Tell me about Victor.”

She’s quiet for a long moment. “We were together for three years in college, while you were serving. I thought we were solid, but then it fizzled out. Six months later, he was with Belinda.”

My hands tighten on the wheel. “He’s an idiot.”

“Kane…”

“Anyone who lets you go is an idiot. End of story.”

She reaches over and squeezes my arm. “Thanks. He didn’t treat me badly. It…we didn’t have that spark. And thank you for finally agreeing to be my date for this. I know you didn’t want to.”

I can barely admit it to myself, but it shames me that I hesitated to help Morgana out with this.

I know about her family, but there was something deep in me that hesitated.

Doesn’t take a genius to know that Jake would say something like I didn’t want to go because I didn’t want to admit my feelings about her.

He doesn’t get it that Morgana is my best friend.

I may have kissed her a couple of times when we were younger, but we’re friends. End of story.

“It’s no big deal. I should have agreed sooner. You know I’d do anything for you.”

Morgana smiles and reaches out to touch my arm, and it’s like being hit by lightning. “Still. It means a lot. I know the weekend will be significantly easier with you at my side.”

We stop for gas outside Sacramento. While I’m filling the tank, she disappears into the station. She comes back with a bag with beef jerky, peanut M&M’s, and a coffee fixed exactly how I like it.

“You didn’t have to get me coffee.”

“Shut up and drink your coffee.” She smiles and hands it to me. “We’ve got three more hours, and you get cranky without caffeine.”

My phone buzzes as we get back on the road.

Operation Lock Her In - Status Report Required

I ignore it, but Morgana catches me rolling my eyes.

“Who’s that?”

“The guys. They’ve decided this weekend is their personal mission.” I shift gears and focus on the road.

“What mission?”

I glance at her, debating how much to reveal. “They think there’s something between us. More than friendship.”

“And what do you think?” She looks at me cautiously.

“I think they need to mind their own business,” I say, not looking at her.

I spent a lot of the drive here thinking about what the guys had said during the team meeting and wondering if they were right.

Since basically when Morgana and I met, I swore she was too important to risk losing, if we dated and it didn’t work out, but now I’m wondering if I’ve had the love of my life right here with me this whole time, but I was too much of a dumbass to realize it.

The silence stretches between us, no longer quite comfortable. After a while, she turns up the radio and sings along to a song she likes, and the tension eases. By the time we reach wine country, we’re back to normal, or at least pretending to be.

“There it is,” she says, pointing to a sign for the winery.

“Not bad.”

“Not bad? Kane, this place is gorgeous.”

I grudgingly agree with her. Her ex must be loaded to afford all this.

We check in at the boutique hotel attached to the winery: two rooms next door to each other. I insist on carrying her bag up.

“Such a gentleman,” she teases as we reach her door.

“I do my best,” I tease back.

She laughs, but when we get to her room, her hands are trembling, and she nearly drops her key card.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine, but everything comes in waves. I’m over Victor, truly. But I know this is going to be an intense weekend with my family. It’s a lot.”

I step closer and steady her hands with mine. “Hey. You’re going to be okay. You’re not alone.”

She looks up at me, her blue eyes vulnerable. “Thanks.”

We stand there for a moment, closer than necessary, her hands still under mine. Then she steps back, breaking the spell.

“The welcome dinner starts in thirty minutes. I should get ready.”

“I’ll knock on your door in twenty-five.”

I head to my room and unpack. Everything about this place screams couples’ retreat. My phone explodes with messages from the guys.

Jake: Status report. You there yet?

Owen: Did you tell her how you feel?

Reed: Twenty bucks says he chickens out

Zane: Fifty says he doesn’t

I toss the phone aside and change into dark jeans and a button-down.

Twenty-five minutes later, I knock on Morgana’s door. She opens it, and my brain short-circuits. She’s in a sundress that hugs every curve, her brunette hair down and wavy. She looks nervous and beautiful.

“Too much?” She smooths the dress.

My mouth goes dry. Morgana is wearing a beautiful white and orange dress, heels that make her feet look like works of art, and she’s stunning beyond words.

I cough, confused at how my cock is responding to her.

It’s not like I haven’t seen her dressed up before, but seeing her right now sparks an unfamiliar set of emotions.

Are Jake and the guys right?