Page 3 of Protecting Clove (Loved by the SEAL #5)

B ud couldn’t believe he was headed to Rider and Andie’s place to have dinner with his new neighbor, Clove. The woman was absolutely gorgeous, but he didn’t need to get involved. She had her life, and he had his.

He would go to dinner, but he wouldn’t get sucked in.

Andie was just being nice. She had such a huge heart and was kind to everyone.

A few weeks ago at the Navy ball, she’d ended up next to Admiral Dickinson and somehow made him laugh.

It was only weird because when they weren’t in uniform, they called him Admiral Dickhead because he was such a jerk.

Then Andie got Dickinson to sing karaoke and drink a toast with them.

Before she and Rider left for the evening, Dickinson had given her a hug and told her not to be a stranger.

Andie could bring out the best in everyone.

Bud had just turned off his street when he wondered if he should have offered to drive Clove and Neo over.

He hadn’t wanted this to seem like a date.

Surprisingly, she was already there when he arrived.

Andie had invited Kevlar and Remi over, too.

Great, now it was two couples and them. This felt way too much like a date.

Neo seemed to already have Kevlar and Remi looped around her fingers. The girl was precocious, smart as a whip, but probably a huge handful for Clove.

“Come here, Bud. Neo was just telling me how to calculate the reserves on a dive.”

Bud moved to them, listening to Neo doing some way advanced math for her age. She had to ask a few questions because she’d never done scuba before, but she had the math right for the question Kevlar asked. It had taken him a week of hard studying to get that question right.

“What grade are you in?” Remi asked.

“I start kindergarten next month. I don’t think I should have to go there. Mommy said she wanted me to play with the other kids, but that’s a waste.”

Bud tapped her on the shoulder. “You could see it as a waste, but it could also be interesting to learn how friendship works.”

Neo narrowed her gaze. “What do you mean?”

He shrugged, trying to make his answer not sound too adult-like.

“You’re obviously very smart, but learning how to deal with other people is important.

It’s one of the biggest parts of my job.

Maybe you could treat this year as an exploration of people.

Learning how they operate and how to interact with them. ”

Neo’s lips thinned, and after a moment, she nodded. “I’ll take it as a challenge. But humans are chaotic. Have you heard of chaos theory?”

Neo moved into a conversation about chaos theory with Kevlar, who was asking her questions about the theory and how it differed from string theory.

Bud glanced around and saw Clove deep in conversation with Remi and Andi.

They looked very serious. He hoped they weren’t bugging Clove.

He knew the women were great, but for some reason, he feared them pushing her on him.

He didn’t want a relationship. Maybe he needed to take them aside and get them to understand he didn’t want to be in a relationship with his neighbor.

He was about to move away from Neo and Kevlar when Kevlar turned to Remi. “Hey, Remi, what are you all discussing so seriously?”

Remi laughed and shook her head. “We’re talking about cakes.”

Clove lifted her hands and shrugged. “I’m trying to convince them that every cake that uses oil needs butter.”

Andie turned to them. “I told her I put oil in the cake I made.”

Rider moved to Andie and pulled her into a hug. “I like your cake.”

Andie chuckled and slapped playfully at his hand. “Hush. You’re going to get yourself in trouble.”

Bud watched as Clove’s cheeks turned pink.

He shouldn’t be watching her. She wasn’t his, and he wouldn’t even try to make her his, but she looked really good.

She had on a blue shirt that wasn’t low cut, but it made her breasts look amazing.

Her shorts almost hit her knees and might have been a bit long, but then again, this wasn’t a club, and she had her daughter with her.

No, he didn’t need to watch Clove or think about how nice it would be to put his arms around her and pull her close before brushing her lips with his.

He spun around, stopping the thought. That was how it started. He couldn’t spend his time putting them in situations in his mind that never would happen.

Clove had been trying not to let her gaze swing to Bud too often, but like a moth to a flame, her gaze was drawn to the man. He seemed to have excellent command of his body, moving so smoothly, even with Neo racing around them.

Dinner had been perfect. She lied and said the cake was wonderful, but it lacked the moisture and flavor she would get with butter.

It tasted okay, but it wasn’t outstanding.

Then again, she’d spent years studying how to manipulate recipes to make them perfect.

Her day job was teaching at the culinary school.

The drive was far, but she needed the lower cost of living here if she ever wanted to build something for her and Neo.

She had the suspicion that soon enough, she would have to send Neo to a private school.

Public school wasn’t going to be enough for her daughter, and she didn’t think she would qualify for a scholarship.

After the cake, she thanked Andie and gave Remi a quick hug, promising to stay in touch with them.

It probably wouldn’t happen, though. Remi and Andie were these guys’ wives, and she was just the next-door neighbor to Bud.

Neo seemed to like them all, which was a plus.

Still, it was too much to hang out with this crew as a fifth wheel.

Bud wasn’t her boyfriend and never would be.

She was just some stranger who they were being nice to.