Read SEAL Of My Heart for Free Online Page B

question all of this? She knew all of her friends, especially Sheila, were over the top excited for her. Randy had long been the one whom every one of her friends had wanted to snag, and they’d all tried.
    Kate realized he’d chosen her probably because his family and background didn’t really impress her, and so she’d paid him little attention until he began courting her in earnest. This had surprised her as much as it dismayed her friends. Settling down hadn’t been on her radar, but once she got involved with Randy, things had escalated and before she knew it they were engaged. Everyone was jumping up and down with excitement.
    Kate had thought perhaps she’d get excited once it was closer her wedding day. But her fears and jitters were growing instead.
    And now this.
    Which is why it was so odd she’d made it all complicated and kissed Tyler. And wanted him to kiss her back. Yes, there was a physical attraction there, but her initiating the kiss had come from somewhere else. She decided to cleanse her head of that thought. It was unhealthy. Time to start living in the reality that was her life.
    She was going to marry Randy Heller in September like she’d promised, and all would be right with the world. And Tyler would come home from overseas, healthy and whole, to the waiting arms of some other woman.
    Not her.
    She felt her eyes burn with the beginnings of a cry forming. No way was she going to show that to anybody. She dismissed her melancholy mood as wedding jitters plus the upcoming visit with her vibrant, overbearing sister and three unruly kids.
    The Gremlin seemed to lose most of its power on the last long climb to the top of the knoll where Gretchen’s house stood. When Kenny turned off the ignition, a cloud of smoke burped from the rear, drifting over the top of the vehicle and out into the crisp afternoon air.
    The house was just as Kate had remembered from her last visit some three years ago. And true to form, there was a bike thrown onto a hedge by the front door and several bright plastic buckets scattered on the porch. Chalk designs made by little hands decorated the risers of the concrete stairs, holding fast despite the rain. The colorful artwork told the world that the kids were the center of this household.
    Tyler turned in his seat as they stopped. “Looks just like my sister’s house. Stuff every—”
    He’d stopped himself as a plea formed on his face.
    “She does the best she can,” Kate said with a smile. “I admire her. The kids are happy, even though I know it’s tough on her.”
    “My sister’s the same,” Tyler nodded. “Except she has a do-nothing ex-husband. But they don’t seem to mind.” He frowned. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply your sister…”
    “No worries. Sounds like your sister has her priorities straight, like mine does. Except mine doesn’t write smutty books.”
    Tyler nodded, got out, and pulled the front seat forward so she could squeeze out of the back. He’d taken her hand and kept holding it while he walked to the rear of the dirty green Gremlin. They stood close again. Tyler pulled her up against his chest.
    She wiggled her way out of his attempted embrace and frowned. She’d decided it would be best for her to forget the kiss, and the second kiss, and all the fantasies about what could come next, and the way her body felt. She wrestled herself back to feeling a proper blushing bride, even though the face of the groom in her fantasy was now hazy.
    Which bothered her.
    She heard a muffled “I’m sorry” at her back as she lifted the hatch and began hauling out her bag. Kenny appeared and brushed her hands away. He struggled, but got the big red suitcase out and walked up the stairs with it, Kate and Tyler following.
    At the top, Kenny dusted his palms together and grumbled something as he skipped back down the stairs to his waiting car. Tyler stood right behind Kate.
    It was one of the hardest things she’d ever done, to turn, which