Claiming Holly (Holiday Cove 1)

Holly shot me a questioning glance.

I dropped a quick look at Princess. “Her. You got claim on riding shotgun.”

I grinned as her cheeks flushed pink, realizing her mistake. “Right.”

Princess hopped into the backseat, and Hunter followed close on her heels, ignoring the fluffy tail that was waving in his face.

Holly and I both laughed as the dogs got settled. I pushed the passenger seat upright, locking it into place, and then stepped aside, allowing Holly to climb inside, before shutting the door and racing around to hop in the driver’s side, right over the door.

“Very smooth, Lieutenant,” she said, grinning over at me as I buckled in.

10

Holly

Jack and I were a handful of miles north of Holiday Cove, and I was still impressed with the way he’d managed to convince me to go along with him. Between his charming smile, light dose of persuasiveness, and the conversation with Rachel that was still in the back of my mind, it had been impossible to say no.

“This is a pretty sweet ride,” I complimented as Jack expertly shifted to get us up the winding curves in the road.

“Thanks. It was my dad’s actually. He bought it brand new right after he got home from boot camp.”

“Wow. Is your whole family in the military?” I asked, fighting off the leeriness that had almost stopped me from going along with him. My ex-husband had been a different person after joining the Marines. After our divorce, I’d made a promise with myself that if and when I started dating again, I’d never fall for a military man. I was a military wife long enough to know that it wasn’t the kind of life I wanted.

And yet, there I was, cruising up the 101 with a handsome stranger, who was not only in the Navy, but also a pilot and high ranking officer.

“My dad retired a few years back after thirty years in the Navy. He went out as a decorated Admiral. My younger brother, Cody, he’s a Marine stationed over in Hawaii right now. Lucky bastard.”

I laughed. “Sounds rough.”

“Yeah. I never got that gig.” Jack smiled over at me. “What about you? What do you do?”

“I’m a CPA. Not quite as exotic, but I’m kind of a number’s geek, so it works for me. I just started my own accounting business after years of working for a large corporate firm.”

“Congratulations. That must feel good, being the boss!”

I smiled at the way he said it. Most people complimented my success with the same, generic congratulations, but there was something warm about the way Jack said it that felt authentic and real, as though he were truly happy for me. “Thanks. Yeah, it’s about eighty percent awesome and twenty percent sheer exhaustion and stress.”

Jack laughed. “You really are a numbers geek, huh?”

A laugh burst from my lips, surprised by his witty comment.

“So, what brings you to Holiday Cove?” He asked before I could gather an equally smart retort.

I grinned over at him. “I’m celebrating the fact that I made it through tax season in one piece.”

Jack laughed again and the warm rumble of it washed over me, making me more aware of myself as I sat in the passenger seat. Due to the winding roads, he couldn’t glance my way very often, and I was almost thankful there wasn’t much eye contact.

Being around him was intimidating enough without his dark, soulful, eyes penetrating my defenses. They held a solid wisdom that made me comfortable but intrigued and intimidated all in one mixed up moment whenever they landed on me.

“What about you? I didn’t realize there was a base nearby,” I asked, wanting to shift the conversation back to him before he could get the chance to dig too deeply into my life.

“I’m visiting an old Navy buddy. He runs the Rosen Air Museum, up on the bluff.” He paused, his lips still parted, and I hung there, waiting for what would come next, but he seemed to decide against whatever it was he’d been about to add.

I turned to peek into the back seat and smiled at Hunter, who’d managed to curl into a ball and fall asleep on the seat beside Princess.

“How’re they doing back there?” Jack asked.

I turned back to look out the windshield as he adjusted the rear view mirror to see the dogs. “Looks like Hunter will be all charged up for whenever we get to this beach you’re taking us to. I swear he’s the king of power naps.”

Jack chuckled and flipped the mirror back to a neutral position. “It’s not too much farther.”

I nodded. We whizzed around a sharp corner and my hair billowed out in a tangled mess behind me. I yelped and frantically gathered it all back into a ponytail around my fingers, cursing the fact that I’d left the house without an elastic band.