Chapter 27

Jay’s phone rang way too early. He rolled away from Nichole and grabbed the device off the nightstand, swiping his fingers over the screen to answer as he stepped into the bathroom. “Hello?” He hadn’t looked to see who was calling, hadn’t cared. He’d just wanted the damn thing silenced so it didn’t wake Nichole.

They’d spent the night making love, which meant neither of them got much sleep. But who needed sleep when he had Nichole wrapped around him?

“Hey, it’s Sharp. We’re being called in.”

“Shit.”

“I don’t think we’ll leave the country, but we need to be there in about an hour.”

“Why didn’t I—” his phone vibrated, and he looked down, seeing the text telling him to show up at base. “Just got it.”

“Yeah. I’ll see you there.”

Jay stepped into the shower, not turning the water warmer just so he would wake up faster. The bathroom door opened about when he was finished.

Nichole wiped a hand over her eyes, her forehead wrinkled as she blinked against the brightness. “Hey, what’s up?”

He pushed the shower curtain back and grabbed a towel. “As much as I want to spend the day in bed, I just got called into the base.” Her eyes went wide, and he could see her mind working before she opened her mouth.

“What happened—scratch that. I know you can’t tell me, and you may not know. Just curious. Be safe, and text me when you leave base. I’ll put food together or something.”

He stepped from the shower and cupped the back of her neck, breathing her in. She was the best person for him. Other people may not understand why he would get involved with an investigative reporter, but she wouldn’t betray him. She wasn’t with him to dig up information about some scandal or look for info on an officer. Nichole cared for him, not what he could do for her.

“I’ll keep you informed if I can. We may not be released for a few days.”

“I’m here for at least a week. I’ll need to move your table so I can do interviews with a plain wall behind me, but otherwise, I don’t need anything different.”

“That’s fine.” He pulled on his clothes, wishing he could stay with her but knowing he had work to do. No question, he needed to head out, but he wanted to hold on to her for one more minute. Her arms wrapped around his body gave him exactly what he needed. She was the sail that steadied him.

She stepped back, her eyes full of love. “I’ll miss you. Do you need anything, food, or coffee, before you go?”

He groaned. “I, ugh…I need to get to the base, but I should grab a sandwich to eat on the way there.”

“Let me help.”

She took off for the kitchen, and he followed, glad she had come back the night before. If he’d missed her, he would be totally disappointed. At least they’d had a few hours before the Navy called him in.

It was odd being with her, knowing she would leave for assignments, too. Hopefully, they would have more time together later in the week before she took off for something new. He needed to figure out how often she headed out on assignments. That was the only hesitation he had about Nichole, but was that really fair?

He dropped everything, even sleep, just to head in to work this morning. The sun wasn’t even up and wouldn’t be for a few hours, and yet he hadn’t even considered ending his time as a SEAL and getting a different job because of the inconveniences associated with his chosen profession.

Nichole deserved the same respect. Her leaving for an assignment wasn’t a big deal. He liked her as she was and didn’t want to force her to be someone else. They could work their schedules out so neither of them felt taken advantage of. It would just take time and patience on both their parts to make this relationship work.