Touched By Midas (SEALs Going Hot Book 4) by Brenna Zinn

yours,” he said casually in between sips of coffee. “Where did you grow up?”
    She took a moment. Hand still shading her eyes, she gazed out over the beach.
    “I’m an only child. I guess you can say I grew up on the road. My father’s work had us traveling all the time.”
    “Kind of sounds like a typical military family. I was lucky. My parents met a few years before my dad retired from the Navy. We spent most of our time here and at a ranch near Austin.”
    Midas regarded Angie’s shapely legs while she continued to watch the tide roll in. Her bare feet looked soft, well taken care of. Bright red polish had been painted on her toes. Red. The lady wore red. A lucky color. A good omen.
    He shook his head, clearing the thought.
    “Was your dad in the military?” he asked.
    “No,” she said before rubbing her stomach. “You about ready for some breakfast? I’m starving.”
    After eating and shower sex that lasted long enough to empty the bottle of butano that heated his on-demand hot water system, Angie claimed the need to go home and finish grading some essays. Reaganomics. Those poor bastards still in high school.
    He pulled up to her house and they sat there, each looking at each other while the elephant also sharing the front seat waited to be acknowledged.
    His pulse quickened. She had to go to the concert. He had to get the other SEALs to start following his pre-mission routine and draw good fortune to their team. Every little bit helped when they were in the thick of a battle and enough bullets shot through the air to turn each of them into a human Swiss cheese.
    And he needed to see Angie again. One night and a morning wasn’t enough.
    “So,” he said turning to her, wishing his pulse wasn’t thumping in his chest. He’d asked out dozens of women. Why was this moment so hard? “Can I plan on picking you up for dinner on Friday before the concert?”
    “Midas—,” she started, her voice much more serious than he wanted. She shrugged and twirled a loose thread from the sweats he loaned her around her finger.
    He considered telling her she didn’t have to go to dinner with him, just the show, but decided she’d had enough time to figure out her answer.
    Why was this moment so hard for her?
    “I won’t be able to have dinner with you. I already have plans.”
    Her response struck him like a blow to the gut. She already had plans for Friday night? Why had she led him on and put him through the wringer the entire weekend?
    “But,” she added, “I can be ready for you to pick me up for the concert at seven-thirty.”
    Relief washed through him. She said yes. Yes! Now everything would work out perfectly. He was getting the girl and his guys were getting a bump in their protection. Not that getting the girl meant anything. And who was she going out with on Friday?
    Christ. Not this again.
    He walked Angie to her front door and noticed a penny on the walkway. The copper coin lay heads up, an omen of good luck. Midas picked it up and held it out to her.
    “Lucky penny for a good week, as well as a surprise at the concert.”
    She smiled and plucked the coin from his hand.
    “You really believe in that stuff, don’t you?”
    “It hasn’t let me down yet.”
    Before she slipped inside her home, he dipped his head and covered her lips with his. When they finally broke the kiss, they were both breathing hard.
    “Are you interested in coming over for dinner tomorrow?” she asked, her cheeks a soft pink. “I’ve been looking for an excuse to try a paella recipe.”
    And he’d been wracking his brain for an excuse to see her again before the show.
    “Sounds great. I’ll bring some wine.”
    So began the week that flew by as though it had a jet engine. On Monday, after a day of training with sailors from the USS Mount Whitney, Midas had dinner at Angie’s house, followed by a stroll through the Rota’s “walking streets” to search for the best ice cream and then an amazing fuck in her bed.