Page 137 of Protecting Peyton

“Almost as good,” Serena countered.

I stopped the argument with an admission. “He said I was his. I mean, with those exact words.”

“Ah,” Serena sighed. “The SEAL has claimed his woman.” She got a dreamy, faraway look in her eyes. “I remember the day Duke claimed me. Best day of my life…until he proposed, of course.

“Yeah,” Grace mumbled. “I remember the day Terry said that too.”

Serena sighed once more, and then pulled herself together. “How do you feel about starting with blueberry scones?”

After the scones, we baked corn bread, an odd choice, but it was what Grace wanted.

Serena said all of Hawk was coming here for dinner and a planning meeting. She and Grace decided chicken tikka masala and chicken piccata would be the entrees. Two entrees struck me as odd, but Serena was adamant that giving them a choice was the best way to go.

I decided it was her way of keeping me busy withcooking therapy. They’d brought all the ingredients, from lemons for the piccata to garam masala for the Indian dish.

As we baked and then cooked, the banter with the girls was just the stress relief I needed. When we’d finally finished with the entrees, salads, pasta, and rice, I’d relaxed and put the day’s horrible events behind me.

CHAPTER 32

Peyton

When we setthe table for dinner in the Presidential Suite, I’d thought it was going to be way too much food. But the Hawk crew surprised me and devoured almost all of it.

I was bummed when Lucas had insisted that Zane sit with him, Jordy and Yates during the meal to discuss the merger of Yates’s group into Hawk Security. That left me paired with Constance, across from Duke and Serena, and just down the table from Terry and Grace.

The badass ex-Secret Service agent was sweet as could be. I looked over at my man, but he was occupied with what his boss was saying.

“He’s a really good guy,” Constance whispered when she noticed me looking toward Zane for the millionth time. “He’s not ignoring you. He just has to pay full attention to what Lucas has to say. It’s his job.”

I nodded. “I know.”

“Personally, I think you hit the jackpot,” she added.

I nodded again and pulled in a deep breath. “Yeah.” Then, a shiver ran down my back.

We’d been forced together because it was his job to protect me.It’s his job. Those words rattled around in my head as tears pricked at my eyes.

I’d been watching and listening to two couples who were so obviously in love, I’d realized I wanted that when this craziness ended. I wanted what Serena and Grace had. I wanted Zane to look at me like their mendid them, to stick around and treat me like their men did them. I wanted this thing between us, whatever it was, to last beyond the job of protecting me from the Strangler.

“What’s wrong?” Constance prodded. She’d sensed my worry.

“Nothing.”

Placing a hand over mine, she pressed on. “Don’t try to kid a kidder.”

“I’m worried about the future,” I admitted.

“Zane?”

I nodded.

“I was told he’d claimed you, said you were his. The only thing you have to worry about is, can you handle that? These SEALs are full-throttle men, so you dive in and hang on for a wild ride. You have to accept that part of them. At times they’re bossy and argumentative, and they’re always overprotective, but it comes from an honest place. There’s not a single Milton Milquetoast among them.”

I giggled at her description. Her confidence that Zane wouldn’t go back on saying he wanted me warmed me to my core.

“King Arthur had his knights of the Round Table. We have SEALs, Delta, Rangers, Omega, and the like,” she said. “They’re our present-day knights of the Round Table.”

“Omega?”