Read Online Contract with a SEAL (Special Ops: Homefront Book 3) by Kate Aster - Free Book Online
Authors: Kate Aster
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refill. “So, you took the cash.”
“I always did. I thought it would impress
them. And I was right. They worked in investments, so they were proud of me
when I did things like that. In fact, I took some of that money and bought
stock in a little company called Apple.” Her eyes gleamed.
“A little company, huh?”
Vi laughed. “How do you think I paid for
four years at Columbia University, and a down payment on a condo in Manhattan?”
“I’ll bet you never regretted skipping
the trip,” Joe said, refilling Vi’s coffee.
“Actually I did. Every day of my life.”
Vi reached for the cream. “Looking back, I feel like I missed out on so much.”
“Why were you so anxious to impress
them?”
Taking a sip, she looked up at him from
behind the steamy cup. “I was adopted. Did you know that?”
Joe gave a quick nod. “I confess, I did a
little reading up on you after the wedding. I was kind of curious as to what
makes Vi Owens tick.”
“More likely, from the way I acted that
night, you were curious about what made me drink like a lush.”
Joe laughed. “Maybe a little.”
“Yeah. Well, so anyway, Lacey was their
biological daughter, and she was always so much like them. I looked so
different. I always felt awkward in the family, like an outsider. But I figured
out at a young age that even if I couldn’t look like my parents, I could
act like them. And since they both worked in the investments field, that was
how I did it.”
Turning his back to her to put the
creamer back in the fridge, Joe frowned, imagining a much younger Vi so willing
to deprive herself from the things she wanted to impress her parents. He felt a
pinch in his chest—proof that even though his men might say their CO
didn’t have a heart, it most certainly was there.
He shut the fridge decisively. “That does
it, then. We’re going to Colonial Williamsburg for breakfast. Let’s spend the
day there. It’s really pretty nice. I took my nephew there last year when he
came to visit when I was home in between missions.”
Vi looked like she might resist.
He touched her hand, and was almost
knocked out by the need to hold her hand a little tighter, a little more
possessively. “Live a little. What’s the difference if you get home today at
lunch or later this afternoon?”
Vi narrowed her eyes, gazing into her
coffee mug. Lifting her head, a grin crept slowly up her face. “Not a damn bit
of difference. You’re right. Let’s go.”
Sipping the last of her coffee, she
headed straight into the bathroom for a shower. Joe did the same, assuming that
he’d be waiting at least an hour after he was ready. In his experience, women
took too long to prepare themselves for the day.
But if it had been a race, Joe would have
barely made it to the finish line first. Apparently, outside of her work
environment, Vi wasn’t the kind of woman to spend countless hours in front of
the mirror trying to transform into what society told her she was supposed to
look like. Instead, she slipped her hair into a ponytail, donned some jeans and
a sweater, and was ready to go.
He could get used to spending the morning
with someone like this. Joe had always thought it such a waste of time to spend
time primping in the morning. Maybe that was the SEAL in him. Always on call,
he had to enjoy every moment he could stateside, and never wanted to spend it
standing outside of a bathroom waiting for a perfectly coiffed woman to emerge
through the door.
Driving behind him, Vi followed Joe to Colonial
Williamsburg, a restored 18th-century Revolutionary town, where history is
reenacted by scores of costumed actors. Travelling in separate cars would slice
about an hour of time off her drive later in the day, but Joe had to admit, he
missed not being able to talk to her on the car ride up.
What was it about her that was so
intriguing to him? There was no questioning her looks—but there were
plenty of gorgeous women in the world. Why did this one in
refill. “So, you took the cash.”
“I always did. I thought it would impress
them. And I was right. They worked in investments, so they were proud of me
when I did things like that. In fact, I took some of that money and bought
stock in a little company called Apple.” Her eyes gleamed.
“A little company, huh?”
Vi laughed. “How do you think I paid for
four years at Columbia University, and a down payment on a condo in Manhattan?”
“I’ll bet you never regretted skipping
the trip,” Joe said, refilling Vi’s coffee.
“Actually I did. Every day of my life.”
Vi reached for the cream. “Looking back, I feel like I missed out on so much.”
“Why were you so anxious to impress
them?”
Taking a sip, she looked up at him from
behind the steamy cup. “I was adopted. Did you know that?”
Joe gave a quick nod. “I confess, I did a
little reading up on you after the wedding. I was kind of curious as to what
makes Vi Owens tick.”
“More likely, from the way I acted that
night, you were curious about what made me drink like a lush.”
Joe laughed. “Maybe a little.”
“Yeah. Well, so anyway, Lacey was their
biological daughter, and she was always so much like them. I looked so
different. I always felt awkward in the family, like an outsider. But I figured
out at a young age that even if I couldn’t look like my parents, I could
act like them. And since they both worked in the investments field, that was
how I did it.”
Turning his back to her to put the
creamer back in the fridge, Joe frowned, imagining a much younger Vi so willing
to deprive herself from the things she wanted to impress her parents. He felt a
pinch in his chest—proof that even though his men might say their CO
didn’t have a heart, it most certainly was there.
He shut the fridge decisively. “That does
it, then. We’re going to Colonial Williamsburg for breakfast. Let’s spend the
day there. It’s really pretty nice. I took my nephew there last year when he
came to visit when I was home in between missions.”
Vi looked like she might resist.
He touched her hand, and was almost
knocked out by the need to hold her hand a little tighter, a little more
possessively. “Live a little. What’s the difference if you get home today at
lunch or later this afternoon?”
Vi narrowed her eyes, gazing into her
coffee mug. Lifting her head, a grin crept slowly up her face. “Not a damn bit
of difference. You’re right. Let’s go.”
Sipping the last of her coffee, she
headed straight into the bathroom for a shower. Joe did the same, assuming that
he’d be waiting at least an hour after he was ready. In his experience, women
took too long to prepare themselves for the day.
But if it had been a race, Joe would have
barely made it to the finish line first. Apparently, outside of her work
environment, Vi wasn’t the kind of woman to spend countless hours in front of
the mirror trying to transform into what society told her she was supposed to
look like. Instead, she slipped her hair into a ponytail, donned some jeans and
a sweater, and was ready to go.
He could get used to spending the morning
with someone like this. Joe had always thought it such a waste of time to spend
time primping in the morning. Maybe that was the SEAL in him. Always on call,
he had to enjoy every moment he could stateside, and never wanted to spend it
standing outside of a bathroom waiting for a perfectly coiffed woman to emerge
through the door.
Driving behind him, Vi followed Joe to Colonial
Williamsburg, a restored 18th-century Revolutionary town, where history is
reenacted by scores of costumed actors. Travelling in separate cars would slice
about an hour of time off her drive later in the day, but Joe had to admit, he
missed not being able to talk to her on the car ride up.
What was it about her that was so
intriguing to him? There was no questioning her looks—but there were
plenty of gorgeous women in the world. Why did this one in
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