Page 56 of Cowboy SEAL Homecoming

But she had no one. Except her mom, and that was a laugh.

She had to get back out there and… Unfortunately she didn’t know what she had to do. What she should do.

Becca blew out a breath, giving herself a stern glare in the mirror. She was almost twenty-five years old. She had no guy experience and next to no friend experience. Which sucked, but it wasn’t going to change if she didn’t change. Nothing was going to change if she didn’t do anything about it.

She walked back into the noisy bar and noted that Mac was sitting with his brother at the table in the corner. Alex hadn’t joined them in an effort to reconnect with his old friend. In fact, Alex was nowhere to be seen. Jack had returned to the bar, but Gabe was now missing. She frowned and went over to Jack.

“Where’d everyone go?”

“Well, Gabe disappeared with the waitress. Alex went outside to get some air. Which I take it had something to do with you.”

“No, it had something to do with Alex being an unrepentant ass.”

For the first time in their almost month together, Jack grinned at her. “God, he is an ass. Means well.” Jack gestured at her with his beer, and Becca looked at the line of empties behind him. He’d downed quite a few.

She decided to join him. She motioned for another drink, and the bartender complied. She sipped and glanced at Jack, who was just sitting there, drinking, watching the goings-on.

“Why aren’t you trying to hook up with someone?”

“My heart is still deeply wounded, Becca,” he replied, covering his heart with his hand in a mocking way, except she didn’t think he was really quite as cavalier as the alcohol was allowing him to act.

“I wasn’t talking about your heart.” Clearly, if she was making comments like that, this needed to be her last drink. But Jack grinned again.

“Why don’t you go hook up yourself?”

“Maybe I will. I have a hookup possibility.” Not that she would take it, but there was something kind of confidence boosting about knowing a guy was willing to buy her a drink and flirt with her.

“Is he about six two and an ass?”

Becca choked on the sip of a drink she’d taken. “No!”

“Well, that guy is outside ‘getting some air’ and brooding over you. I don’t know about this other guy.”

Becca knew she turned a bright, bright red that would be visible even in the dim light of the bar. “The other guy was being very nice until Alex ruined it all.”

“Of course he did. Jealous ass.”

Becca snorted. “Jealous of what?”

“Um, a guy showing interest in you, the woman he can’t seem to stop having interest in. I mean, don’t get me wrong—he’s gotta pretend he’s not. He’s Captain America, and you’re off-limits, but that doesn’t mean he’s not interested.”

She blinked at Jack, who was squinting into the crowd, closing one eye and then the other. She thought about this morning and Alex saying he didn’t want to sleep with her, but…how did that come up if he wasn’t thinking about sleeping with her?

Jack was drunk, obviously, but maybe she’d get better advice from drunk Jack than just about anyone else. “What am I supposed to do about that?”

“Well, you have two choices. You can go find the possible hookup to chat up and prove to Alex once and for all you don’t care what he thinks. That he can’t get in the way of your life, because he has no control over you. He’s not in charge of you, can’t order you around. It’s a good feeling, all in all, telling him where to shove his orders.”

“You are drunk.”

“As a skunk. But drunk Jack is infinitely wise.”

“Oh yeah, then what’s my other choice?”

Jack screwed his mouth up. “Hmm. Other choice. Hmm. Oh! You go out there and you talk to Alex the Great. God knows you’ve got the skills to make his commitment to truth, justice, and the American way a little hard for him.”

Again the blush washed over her face even though the first one hadn’t receded. Skills? What the hell kind of skills did she have? “Isn’t that Superman, not Captain America?” she managed.

Jack shrugged. “All the same, but you only get one life, Becca. So you’ve got to take the reins.”