protein shake. “It worked!” She dropped the papers onto the table.
“What worked?” Piper took the shake with a grimace. What she wouldn’t give for a rasher of bacon and eggs.
“The visit to the children’s hospital. And your date with the SEAL. The press has gone wild speculating about your affair. They’re saying you must have reformed your bad-girl ways since this hero is dating you.”
Piper read one of the headlines. “Oh, no.” Her stomach cramped.
“What do you mean, oh, no?” Ragi sat down on the other chair, scrolled through her mobile and then thumbed a short text message to someone before looking up. “This is what we wanted.”
“Ragi, this paper says that we’re lovers. How is that good?”
Ragi waved away the concern. “As long as they don’t have naked pictures of you two together or—” she gave Piper a meaningful glare “—another sex tape, it’s all good.” She pointed at one newspaper. “This one says that’s why you visited the children’s hospital, because this guy is a good influence on you. The PR firm is already spinning the story of you dating a navy SEAL. Trust me. Now, what time are you seeing him tonight? I’ve just scheduled you to visit the veteran’s facility this afternoon, isn’t that perfect? The press will be there, so be sure to find a navy vet and—”
“No.”
“Get your pic—what?”
“Ragi, I won’t exploit men and women who’ve been wounded in the service of their country. I’m not going.”
“It’s not exploitation. It’s bringing attention to their plight.”
“And I’m not going to see Neil again.”
“But your PR people want you to. This could be better for your career than a dozen charity events.” Her assistant acted as if the subject was settled.
“Ragi, it’s not fair to use him to fix my career. Besides, I have that lingerie shoot in Sweden next week. I thought we were leaving for the UK tomorrow. Won’t the press just label me a callous heartbreaker again?”
“Not fair to him how? He’s a senator’s son. I’m sure he’s accustomed to handling a little publicity. And we can stay in Miami for a few more days. Get some sun, repair your rep here. That’s the beauty of having a SEAL for a boyfriend. If he’s always away on a secret mission, how can they blame you for not being with him?”
“Boyfriend? Ragi, this is barmy.”
“Look, I’m only quoting the PR firm you hired, and for now they want you to keep seeing him. I’m sure Lieutenant Barrow will be more than happy to be seen escorting you around town.”
Piper made herself drink her shake. Could it be true? Would her appearance at this facility really help raise awareness for injured soldiers? At least the visit to the children’s hospital yesterday had been to raise money. And would Neil not mind the horrible headlines? A thought occurred to her. Maybe he’d asked her out for this very reason. To get his name—or his father’s—in the papers.
She pictured him sitting across the dinner table from her last evening. Listening to him talk about his training, watching how his jaw had clenched when he told her about earning the gold pin, and the sincerity in his eyes when he’d talked about honor.
No one should ever make you feel stupid.
She glanced over at Ragi. “I would like to see him again...”
“Good.” She snatched up Piper’s phone and extended it to her. “You said he gave you his number. Call and invite him out tonight.”
Piper accepted the phone. “Out where?”
With an I’ve-got-this-covered grin, Ragi produced two tickets from her leather satchel. “Courtside seats to a Miami basketball game.”
NEIL TURNED THE WHEEL, tacking the sloop, while Clay adjusted the rigging.
“If only we could’ve gone through BUD/S in this kind of water, huh?” Clay called over the flapping sails and slapping waves.
Neil huffed. “Yeah, we could’ve gotten tans instead of frostbite.” He grinned as Clay gave him a look that only someone who’d been through BUD/S would understand. They wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. It had made them who they were.
However, it didn’t stop them from appreciating today’s balmy weather. Heading out to open sea, Neil basked in the warmth of the sunshine and the cool spray of salty water. He was leaning over to grab a bottle of water when his phone buzzed. Motioning for Clay to take the wheel, Neil relinquished the helm and then pulled out his cell.
Hav tix to basketball game. Want to go?
“What is it?” Clay asked.
“Piper.” Neil sent Clay a smug grin. “She wants to see me tonight.”
A slow smile spread over Clay’s face. “You dog!”
Neil wasn’t sure what to make of the invitation. After those ridiculous headlines, he figured she’d be upset and he’d never hear from her again. On the other hand, maybe any publicity was good publicity for a supermodel. A professional basketball game wasn’t exactly low profile.
Neil hit Reply and thumbed, Pick u up at 5.
Within a couple of seconds she texted back, Meet u in lobby.
He shoved his phone into his pocket. “Better catch your big one pronto, bro. And I need a rain check on wingman duty tonight.”
Clay looked outraged. “Hey, man! That’s not right—”
“Okay.” Neil moved toward the bow and started releasing the line. “I’ll let the gorgeous model who wants to take me to the playoffs know that I can’t go ’cause I have to babysit my poor, pathetic...”
Clay swore. “Fine, but you owe me. I flew all the way down here on my weekend off just so you wouldn’t be lonely.”
Neil scoffed. “Yeah, ’cause you’re selfless like that.” Checking the line, he trimmed the jib sail. He and Clay had been assigned to different teams after BUD/S, so they’d never served a mission together, but he knew Bellamy would always have his back. He motioned toward the fishing rods. “Let’s catch us a big one.”
* * *
TURNED OUT THEY didn’t catch anything, but they weren’t exactly putting much effort into it. Fishing was more of an excuse to relax on the water, to sit back and shoot the breeze. Neil returned to his hotel room with time to shower and dress for dinner.
At Piper’s hotel, he’d had to shove past the swarm of paparazzi, but as soon as he strode into the Saint-Tropez’s enormous lobby, he scoped her like a sniper honing in on his target. She was standing next to a small woman in a colorful sari. The closer he got to them he could see that Piper’s companion was younger than he’d first assumed and that one side of her face was disfigured by a jagged scar.
When Piper’s gaze met his, he saw nothing except her light green eyes. She gestured toward the smaller woman. “Lieutenant, may I introduce Ragi Bhagat, my assistant?”
The woman bowed from the waist. “Lieutenant Barrow.”
Neil matched her bow and looked up in time to see the approval in her dark brown eyes. Had he passed inspection?
Piper was dressed casually tonight in pressed black jeans and an off-the-shoulder top that revealed burnished dark golden skin. She held up two tickets. “Ragi has secured courtside seats for us.”
“Sounds great.” He looked at Ragi. “Aren’t you coming, Miss Bhagat?”
Her eyes flared in surprise, but she quickly recovered.