Brianna's Navy SEAL by Natalie Damschroder

pointedly looked at his watch. Ken gave a bit of a snort, and Cable wondered if he'd fallen asleep.
    Brianna jerked forward, as if to get up, then fell back into her seat with her arms folded tightly and a glower on her face. After a second, her expression smoothed out and she looked calmer, but resigned. The whole scene made Cable uneasy, and he wondered what had made him think he wanted to do stuff like this. Teaching was great. He had an even bigger sense of satisfaction when one of his kids mastered a concept or read a whole page than he had when his team completed a mission. But this community stuff ... he'd been looking for a replacement for that team, and this committee wasn't it.
    Darcy was starting to repeat herself, so as soon as she paused, he stood.
    "Thanks, Darcy. Good meeting. I'll see you Friday."
    Brianna was at the door before he'd finished speaking, and he shook his head. He'd never seen her be rude like this, and wondered what was going on. It couldn't all be about the letter.
    Ken waved at Darcy and Cable and joined Brianna at the door, saying something that sounded like the “defender file.” Brianna looked irritated, but walked out into the dark with Ken. Cable started to follow, but Darcy stopped him with a hand on his arm.
    "Can we use your truck on Friday? I don't think I clarified that."
    "I made a logical deduction. I'll pick you up here?"
    "No, my real estate office. I have a closing that afternoon.” She stroked his arm and moved closer. “I'm looking forward to it, Cable."
    She was obviously looking for more than a ride—or maybe, that was exactly what she was looking for. He didn't let his self-amusement show. It didn't look like Darcy would require much encouragement.
    "Friday night traffic in Boston?” he said mildly. “Not usually my idea of a good time."
    Darcy was undeterred. “It depends on the company, Cable. Bumper-to-bumper sounds good to me."
    He shook his head, said goodnight, and joined the others outside. Brianna looked like she was dealing with the same come-ons from Ken, though he doubted Ken was as smooth.
    "Brie, you ready?” he called, heading for the truck. She nodded, said something to Ken that Cable couldn't hear, and went around to the passenger side of the truck. Cable waited for Ken, parked behind him, to pull out of the driveway. He roared up the street in his little Honda. Cable figured he didn't like whatever Brianna had said.
    Cable drove more slowly. He saw no point in holding their conversation until they got to his house. Brianna would be all over the letter then, and he wanted to deal with her other issues, first.
    "What's bothering you?” he asked.
    She shrugged. “I don't like being the point of a triangle."
    He was surprised at her directness. “You mean me and Ken?"
    "That, too, but that's manageable. Ken isn't a threat to you. I'm talking about you, me, and Darcy."
    "You picked up on that."
    She glared at him. “I'm not stupid, Cable. But maybe you are. She's been after you since before we got this committee assignment. She orchestrated it. And now she's moving in."
    "I don't think she realizes we've been dating. We've been discreet, remember?"
    "Not that discreet, and she wouldn't care, and what she does and doesn't realize is irrelevant.” She unfolded her arms and looked at him, but he was navigating an intersection and couldn't look back. “I won't be involved in a triangle, Cable. Not again."
    "Brie, it doesn't matter what Darcy wants, it matters what I want, and I want you. I thought we'd established that.” He glanced at her and put his hand on her knee. He wished now he had waited to start this discussion. He wanted to touch her, to hold her, convince her he had no interest at all in Darcy Langlais. There was no traffic, so he stayed put at the next stop sign. “We haven't talked about the future much, but I hope you know what I'm looking for."
    "If you haven't said, how can I know?” she asked testily.
    "I want a family.” He