That brought Paige up short. Her breakfast abruptly turned to lead in her stomach. “Not that I’m interested or anything,” she said shoving her plate aside, “but what’s wrong with me?”
“It’s not you, it’s him.” Frankie broke off and studied Paige silently before saying, “Okay, maybe it is you.”
Paige didn’t know why the idea that Frankie thought she wasn’t good enough for Tyler Reese hurt so much. She should be used to being ignored, not pretty, sexy or popular enough, but the truth was, it would be nice to be a kick-ass girl they drooled over. Like Frankie—movie-star beautiful and built like an underwear model, only with attitude.
A lot of attitude.
“Oh, don’t look at me like that, honey. I only meant that you’re too open and generous for someone whose mother is the Wicked Ice Witch of the West. Believe me,” she continued when Paige opened her mouth to deny that she was interested in Ty Reese, “I’ve known him my whole life. At one time he, Nate and Jack were inseparable. They did everything together. Including try their stupid moves on everything with breasts. No, jeez,” she snorted. “Even before girls got breasts they were stealing kisses and breaking hearts.” She shook her head. “You don’t want to go there.” After a moment’s silence she said vehemently, “It’d be like stuffing your heart in a mincer and turning it on grind. You don’t deserve that. No one deserves that.”
Paige knew Frankie’s brother Jack had been an army ranger before being KIA a few years ago. She opened her mouth to ask about Nate but was distracted by the odd expression on Frankie’s face.
Concerned, she turned and followed her gaze in time to see three guys entering the diner. They were dressed in US coastguard uniforms and the hotness factor was enough to raise the temperature in the diner by a thousand degrees.
“Who’s that?” she asked curiously, when Frankie made a little sound of distress. She looked stunned. Kind of like she’d run into a wall.
“Huh?”
Paige jerked her chin at the newcomers. “Who’s that?”
Her friend took a deep breath, looking strangely flushed and panicked. “No one,” she muttered, lurching abruptly out of the booth. “Look, I gotta go. I’m teaching a first-aid class in twenty minutes.”
This was news to Paige. “I thought you were off duty for the next few days.” But because Frankie looked so rattled—a look Paige had never seen on her before—she didn’t pursue her sudden suspicion that Frankie knew at least one of the coasties.
Or was maybe running scared?
“JT bailed from the senior center program at the last minute so I said I’d take it. Don’t worry,” she said, when Paige opened her mouth to remind her of their plans. “I haven’t forgotten our hiking trip. Meet you at twelve?”
Paige nodded, her fascinated gaze moving beyond Frankie to the tallest and hottest of the trio and... Oh, wow... Her eyes widened. The tall dangerous coastie...he must be the one her friend was running from because the guy was staring their way, and the abrupt tension emanating from Frankie told Paige there was definite history there.
She must have made a sound because Frankie’s eyes widened and she looked spooked—like she wanted to bolt but was forcing herself to act cool.
“I really have to go,” Frankie said abruptly. “But a word of advice here. Stay away from those guys, Paige. They’re bad news. In fact, stay away from the whole male gender. They suck.”
And with that she spun on her heel and headed for the door.
Fascinated, Paige watched the tall, hot coastie looking granite-faced and dangerous as he contemplated her friend’s stiff departing back.
That’s one hot BAB, she thought, referring to her and Frankie’s name for bad alpha boys. Or was that badass boys? She couldn’t remember because they’d both been a little tipsy at the time.
She could feel the simmering testosterone and attitude from clear across the room. Then he turned and their eyes met. Yikes, she thought, a very bad BAB. And, boy, he had “military” badass written all over him.
Used to dealing with alpha males, Paige narrowed her eyes and mouthed a fierce “I’m watching you”, feeling invincible because just last night she had taken out an intruder with nothing but a flashlight and her awesome ninja skills.
After a long moment his mouth kicked up at one corner like he found her cute and amusing, and right there, in Sid’s Diner, Paige decided Frankie was right.
Men sucked and Paige was going to have no problem heeding her own as well as Frankie’s advice.
She was going to stay away from men—especially the tall dark cranky ones who broke into people’s houses as easily as they broke women’s hearts.
* * *
Ty was trying to dry himself one-handed after a shower when he heard pounding on the front door. Wondering if some of the crazy women he’d left LA to escape had tracked him down, he wrapped a towel around his hips and whipped open the bathroom door...coming face to face with—
“Aaaai-ya!”
He ducked just in time to avoid being beaned with a...frying pan?
Reacting without thinking, he shot out a hand and yanked the pan away before Paige Carlyle could take another swing at him.
“What the hell, woman?”
She let rip with an ear-piercing shriek and scrambled backwards, her expression one of shocked surprise. Before Ty could reassure her that he wasn’t a pervert hiding in her shower, the front door crashed open and heavy steps pounded up the stairs.
A large man appeared at the top of the landing in a fighter’s crouch, dark eyes hard and cold, ready to take down the enemy. In that instant Ty’s towel lost the battle and slid to the floor.
The newcomer instantly took in the scene and after a stunned pause visibly relaxed. His mouth kicked up at one corner as he rose to his full height.
“Well, now,” he drawled, hooking the arm of his aviator shades in the neck of his tee-shirt. “Am I missing something, T?”
Ty didn’t know who was more surprised by the frozen tableau on the landing, him, Paige or—
“Nate?”
Slapping a hand to her chest, Paige gasped furiously, “Omigod! What are you doing here?” and collapsed against the banister. She wrapped one arm around the landing rail as though to keep her from sliding to the floor. “I thought you’d left,” she squeaked, her tone rising into the stratosphere. “I thought you’d... Who is he?” She gestured wildly at Nate, nearly whacking herself in the head. “And what the heck is a m-military B-BAB doing in my h-house?”
He and Nathan Oliver—whom Ty had last seen just before he’d deployed to some hotspot six months ago—shared a confused look. “Military BAB?” Ty asked what was on both their minds.
She finally lost her battle with gravity and plopped onto the floor, breathing as though she’d run up the north face of the Olympic Mountains. “I’m still asleep, aren’t I?” she gasped, rubbing the heel of her hand against her chest and clearly on the verge of a coronary. Then she looked up and locked eyes with the part of him at eye level and gave a strangled squeak.
“Omigod!” she gasped, slapping a hand over her eyes. “My eyes.”
Nate snickered as Ty whipped the frying pan up to cover himself. He sent his friend a dark look and turned to apologize but Paige had drawn up her legs and dropped her forehead on her knees. She was breathing heavily and muttering to herself.
“This is just a nightmare, Paige,” he heard her mutter