“Cool beans.”

Fortunately, neither Cash nor Dylan pressed him about why he might not be available, and a moment later, the duo waved goodbye and hopped into Cash’s SUV.

Jackson had caught a ride with Seth that morning, so he slid into the passenger seat of Seth’s Jeep and waited for his buddy to start the engine.

“So, you excited?” Seth grinned, then went on in a singsong voice. “Jackson and Gardener sitting in a tree, K-I-S—”

He promptly slugged the other man in the arm. Hard.

“And that’s enough of that,” he said, rolling his eyes. “You’ve been spendin’ too much time with the twins.”

Seth sighed. “I know, right?”

“And her name isn’t Gardener. It’s Mia.”

“Gee, I’m so sorry. Jackson and Mia sitting in a—”

Another hard punch shut Seth right up.

“You’re no fun today,” the other SEAL mumbled. “I’m simply showing some enthusiasm over your impending love connection, ass**le. Not only that, but you should be thanking me. Because of you, a strange woman is currently puttering around in my yard. What if she decides to snoop inside and finds my  p**n  stash?”

Jackson had to laugh. “One, she’s not gonna snoop around on the job. Two, why do you still have a  p**n  stash? I thought married men threw their  p**n  away once they tied the knot.”

“No way.” Seth steered the Jeep toward the security gate across the lot. “Miranda demanded I keep it all. We watch that shit together, bro.”

Somehow that didn’t surprise him.

As they drove off the base, Seth proceeded to tell him about the various  p**n ographic movies he and his wife enjoyed, which, again, came as no surprise. Jackson had once thought it strange and oddly incestuous how easily the other guys talked about—and shared—women. Folks in Abbott Creek didn’t talk about sex, God knew he’d found that out the hard way, but here in California he’d learned to go with the flow. Threesomes weren’t really his thing, mostly because of that strict small-town mentality he’d endured growing up, but he appreciated that his teammates trusted him with their secrets, no matter how depraved.

One of these days he might even reciprocate, but he’d yet to find the balls to confide in his friends about the kinds of depravities he liked to indulge in.

His palms grew unusually damp the closer they got to Seth’s place. Seth must have sensed his growing agitation because he glanced over with his trademark smirk.

“Relax, Texas. You’ve got this. Believe in your dreams, think outside the box, there’s no ‘I’ in ‘Team’, etcetera, etcetera.”

Jackson stared at his friend. “Are you just spitting out random inspirational sayings to pump me up?”

“Yep.”

“I honestly don’t know why I’m still friends with you.”

Seth turned onto his street, drove fifty yards and pulled into the Mastersons’ driveway, where a familiar sky-blue pickup was already parked.

Jackson’s pulse promptly sped up.

She was here.

“I’m going straight to bed,” Seth told him as they got out of the Jeep. “Wake me up when you want me to drive you home.”

“Thanks, man.”

They walked into the house together, but while Seth made a beeline for his bedroom, Jackson continued down the hall toward the kitchen.

This was it. His second and last chance to persuade his sassy gardener to go on a date with him, which meant he couldn’t screw it up.

He approached the glass sliding door that led out to the yard and straightened his shoulders.

Time to unleash his God-given Southern charm and do some serious wooing.

Chapter Three

She was wearing those cute denim shorts again. That was Jackson’s first observation when he stepped onto the stone patio. The fact that she was oblivious to his presence gave him ample opportunity to admire her petite body, and dang, he totally appreciated the view.

With a pair of earbuds popped in, Mia bobbed her head to the music as she raked the fresh layer of dirt in the empty flowerbeds lining the fence. When Jackson glanced around, he was impressed by how much she’d already accomplished today. The jungle-length grass was freshly mowed, all the monstrous weeds had been pulled out, and the beds around the perimeter were dug out and topped with new soil.

He took a step forward and cleared his throat, but Mia’s back stayed turned. Her arms and shoulders were bare, and her golden-brown tan shimmered in the sunlight. Lord, she was pretty. He couldn’t take his eyes off her.

A few more steps and his scuffed-up combat boots met the grass, but Mia still didn’t turn around.

Sighing, Jackson raised his voice and called out, “Afternoon, sugar.”

The rake clattered out of her hand, a loud shriek escaping her lips as she spun around in surprise. The movement was so quick that her sneaker-clad feet got tangled together, her arms windmilled and she went down like a stone.

Right on her ass.

Fuckin’ hell.

“Oh my God! You scared the living crap out of me!” she yelled, her green eyes burning with annoyance. “Who sneaks up on people like that? Who?”

Despite himself, Jackson laughed, which only made those mesmerizing eyes burn brighter.

Mia yanked out her earbuds and shot to her feet, advancing on him like a predator. “Don’t do stuff like that! What if I had a heart condition? And what if—wait a sec. What are you doing here? Oh man. Did you follow me here?” Her breaths came out in pants. “I’m flabbergasted right now. Jackson, was it? I’m flabbergasted, Jackson.”