Finding Kenna (SEAL Team Hawaii Book 3) Read online

  “Which just means everyone else is smart enough to realize you were in the ocean for a reason and that you weren’t actually drowning,” Kenna said.

  Everyone chuckled, and he could see Kenna visibly relax.

  “I’m Jag,” his teammate said, making Aleck realize that he needed to introduce Kenna to the rest of his friends. But when he turned, he saw that Jag wasn’t looking at Kenna.

  He was staring at the other waitress.

  “I’m Carly,” she replied, staring back at Jag as if they were the only two people in the restaurant.

  Knowing he’d give Jag shit later, Aleck quickly introduced his other friends to Kenna. “This is Mustang and his wife Elodie. That’s Midas and his girlfriend Lexie. Jag already introduced himself, and that’s Slate and Pid,” Aleck told her.

  “Hi,” Kenna said, waving a little self-consciously before turning back to Aleck. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

  “Of course,” he said without hesitation. As if it was the most natural thing in the world, he reached for her elbow. There wasn’t much privacy in the busy restaurant, and Aleck heard Carly asking the others what they wanted to drink as he led Kenna into a small hallway that connected the dining area to the reception podium.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I worked here,” Kenna said without hesitation. “I wasn’t trying to mislead you or anything. Honestly, you threw me off guard by asking me out, and when you asked when and where, Duke’s just kind of popped out. Probably because I’m here a lot.”

  “It’s okay,” Aleck told her. “I’m sure you didn’t expect me to show up with all my friends either. But when I told Midas that I was meeting you here tonight, he invited himself and Lexie along. Lex told Elodie, and the next thing I knew, everyone had invited themselves to our date.”

  She blushed again, and Aleck had to force himself not to reach up to cup her cheek.

  “I wish I could hang out and get to know everyone, but I really am working tonight,” she apologized.

  “It’s okay. We’ll just have to plan something for another night,” Aleck said, the words coming easily and naturally. He wasn’t just saying them to be polite; he really did want to see her again.

  “I think I’d like that.”

  “Good. Me too.”

  “Kenna! Table thirty-five wants their check,” a man said from the end of the small walkway they were standing in.

  “I’ll be right there, Justin. Thanks,” Kenna told him.

  The man waved and disappeared into the dining area once more.

  “I guess I need to go take care of that,” she said, looking up at him.

  “Okay.”

  “If it’s all right…I’ll stop by to talk as much as I can.”

  “It’s more than all right,” Aleck said.

  “And…at eight-thirty, I get a fifteen-minute break,” she added. “If you’d be interested in hanging out with me?”

  “Definitely.”

  “Okay.”

  “Okay,” Aleck echoed.

  They stared at each other for a long moment before Kenna chuckled and scrunched her nose. “This is weird. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not. It’s fine,” Aleck reassured her. “Elodie and Lexie were thrilled to have a girls’ night out. I’m guessing they’ll bail on us guys at some point and go hang out at the bar.”

  “Paulo will love that. He’ll probably grill them about all of you. I don’t suppose any of your friends are gay?”

  Aleck laughed. “Sorry, no.”

  Kenna shrugged. “It’s probably better. Paulo is kind of a man-whore. In a good way, of course.”

  “Of course,” Aleck agreed, even though he had no idea what that meant.

  “And now I’m babbling. Anyway, thanks for coming tonight. It’s nice to see you.”

  Aleck knew his gaze was raking her from head to toe, but he couldn’t stop himself. He’d gotten an up-close look at her ass that morning as she’d climbed up the rocks to get out of the ocean, and he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t admired the view. But somehow, seeing her in a pair of khaki shorts, a Duke’s T-shirt tied in a knot at her waist, and a sensible pair of tennis shoes was even more of a turn-on than her running shorts and sports bra had been.

  Shaking his head slightly, he realized that he’d been staring at her without saying a word. “You intrigued me this morning,” he said. “I wanted to see you again.”

  “And now you know I’m a simple waitress who sometimes doesn’t think before she acts,” Kenna quipped.

  “And I’m even more intrigued,” Aleck admitted. “Go on,” he urged, knowing he could stand in the hallway and talk to her all night, which would surely get her in trouble. “You’ve got people waiting on you.”

  Kenna took a step backward. “Thanks for being cool about tonight,” she told him.

  Aleck nodded and watched as she turned and walked away from him.

  He stood there for a moment longer, then headed back to the table. Things weren’t turning out as he’d expected tonight, that was for sure. He’d planned on asking if Kenna wanted to sit at a table away from his friends, so they could get to know each other before joining the group again. He hoped she would get along with Elodie and Lexie, as well as his team.

  While he was disappointed he wouldn’t get to talk with her like he’d hoped, he couldn’t be upset about spending the evening with his friends.

  “So?” Pid asked when he returned to the booth.

  “So, what?” Aleck asked.

  “What’s her deal? She’s obviously working tonight. Did you know she’s a waitress? Are you gonna get to talk to her at all?”

  “Jeez. I had no idea you were that interested in my love life,” Aleck quipped.

  “I’m not,” Pid protested. “It’s just weird that you asked her out and she suggested you come here, and now she can’t spend time with you.”

  “It’s not weird,” Elodie said, breaking into the conversation. “It’s smart. I mean, think about it.”

  “Yeah,” Lexie agreed. “I think it’s hilarious how you guys met, but you’re still a stranger. And having you come here, where she knows everyone and you don’t, is much safer than meeting you at a random restaurant.”

  Elodie nodded in agreement.

  “It’s fine,” Aleck said. “She said she’d pop by as much as she could. Besides, now I get to hang out with you guys.”

  Jag rolled his eyes. “Right, because we haven’t gotten to see each other in soooo long. It was, what, an hour between when we last saw you on base and when we met up to come here?”

  “I wonder how long it’s gonna take for food to come out. It looks pretty crowded,” Slate muttered.

  Everyone laughed at his mild grumpiness. It was hilarious how their friend was so impatient about everything. Even his food.

  “I’m sure you won’t waste away,” Elodie told him with a smile. “Carly will be back with our drinks soon. We’ll order some appetizers to tide you over.”

  Aleck tuned his friends out as he watched Kenna, who smiled at a couple as she passed their table on the other side of the restaurant. She moved quickly and gracefully and seemed to be in her element. Her body language definitely showed that she enjoyed her work.

  As he was watching, she glanced in his direction. Aleck gave her a small chin lift, and she smiled at him in return, before turning her attention to the patrons at another table.

  Damn. He may not be sitting next to her, but seeing her in action and observing from afar was kind of fun. And Aleck couldn’t help but love that her gaze kept straying to him. There was something to be said for flirting like this. It was…interesting. And different. Kind of like Kenna herself. He definitely liked it.

  Chapter Two

  “Oh my God, you guys are giving off enough sexual tension to make me all hot and bothered,” Carly teased Kenna a while later.

  Kenna did her best to hide her grin, but failed when Carly rolled her eyes. “He doesn’t seem too upset that I didn’t tell him I woul
dn’t be able to hang out with him much tonight,” she said, fishing for more information.

  “I don’t think he is,” Carly said, assuaging her fears immediately. “I mean, every time I go over to the table he’s super friendly.”

  Kenna was relieved. And happy that he was nice to her friend. Carly was amazing and awesome, but she was still dealing with her asshole ex, so her thoughts about men in general were pretty low right about now.

  Without thinking about it, her gaze flicked over to the table where Marshall and his friends were sitting. And like the other five hundred times she’d done it, she found him looking at her already.

  “See? That’s what I’m talking about,” Carly said with a sigh. “But I wouldn’t be a good friend if I didn’t warn you…”

  Kenna tensed a little and looked back at her friend. “About what?”

  “That’s how Shawn started out too, and I thought it was about him being protective. Watching me all the time. Wanting to keep me in his line of sight. Remember that first night he came here and sat at the bar all night? We all thought it was swoon-worthy that he got all pissed when that tourist guy hit on me?”

  Kenna did remember that. But if she recalled the situation right, Carly had been the one who was all swoony. Paulo and Kaleen had told her later that they thought Shawn was creepy. And it wasn’t cool of Shawn to practically start a fight in the middle of the restaurant. It was obvious Carly hadn’t been interested in the tourist she was serving, and Shawn should’ve realized it.

  But she knew Carly’s heart was in the right place, and she’d much rather have a friend who was honest with her than one who got all googly-eyed over a guy. “I know, thanks,” Kenna told her.

  Carly nodded.

  “What about the rest of his friends? Do they seem cool?” Kenna asked.

  “Oh yeah. The two girls are hilarious. Lexie spilled her entire drink on her boyfriend, but he didn’t get pissed at all. He just laughed and ordered her a new one.”

  Kenna would’ve pointed out that someone accidentally tipping over a glass wasn’t cause for anyone to get pissed, but didn’t want to bring down her friend’s mood. Shawn had done a number on her, and tonight seemed to be the first time in a long while that she was mostly back to her old self.

  “What about Jag…that’s his name, right?”

  “The guy who looks like he could kill someone with just the intensity in his eyes?” Carly asked.

  Kenna smirked.

  “What?” Carly asked.

  “Nothing. He’s nice too?”

  “Yeah. They all are,” Carly said. “Your break is coming up, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Cool. I’ll watch your tables for you so you can take a bit longer if you want.”

  “That wouldn’t be fair,” Kenna said.

  “Screw fair,” Carly said. “Look, I might be done with guys for a very long time, but that doesn’t mean you are. And Marshall seems nice. Not impatient that he hasn’t been able to talk to you much tonight. He just watches you with those smoldering brown eyes of his and a half smile on his face. Kenna, you’re one of the nicest people I’ve met here. You’ve been really supportive and you always help me out with my tables. So helping you for an extra fifteen minutes isn’t that big of a deal.”

  “Thank you so much,” Kenna said, reaching out and pulling the younger woman into a hug. “Seriously.”

  “Whatever,” Carly said. “When you guys get married and have a dozen babies, you can thank me.”

  Kenna laughed. “Now if I could just get the assholes at table twenty-seven to eat faster, my night would be perfect.”

  “What’s up with them? The women are being total bitches, and the guys they’re with aren’t saying anything.”

  “I know. I swear they’re making stuff up to make my life harder. The last time I went by to see if they needed anything, the blonde asked for a new fork since she dropped hers—again—and the brunette wants more napkins. She said it’s ridiculous to assume she could eat her wings with what I’d already brought her.”

  “Which would be a valid argument if she was actually eating them, not the guy with her, and if you hadn’t already given her like twenty napkins,” Carly commiserated.

  “I better get going and take care of the princesses, I wouldn’t want them to make a scene. Thanks again for giving me the extra time with Marshall.”

  “Anytime,” Carly said.

  Kenna headed for the kitchen to grab another fork and more napkins before heading back to table twenty-seven. She passed the booth where Marshall and his friends were sitting on her way to deal with the difficult guests, and stopped for just a moment. She’d been doing that all night, finding excuses to walk by their table and stopping to say hello. She wished she could sit and really get to know everyone, because honestly, they seemed like a fun group of people.

  “Hey. Everything okay?” she asked.

  “It’s great!” Elodie told her. Her cheeks were flushed and it was obvious she was more than enjoying the mai tais she’d ordered. “After we have dessert—that hula pie thing—Lexie and I are gonna head to the bar and pretend our guys aren’t here.”

  Kenna eyed the woman’s husband and Lexie’s boyfriend, and saw nothing but amusement on their faces.

  Lexie leaned over the table, and Midas quickly moved her plate so she didn’t get food all over her chest. It was a little thing, but Kenna had observed countless couples over the years, and this guy’s attention to his girlfriend was to be commended. “I would never be able to do what you do. Those women over there are such bitches!” she whispered loudly.

  Kenna blinked in surprise. She knew the women weren’t nice, of course, but she hadn’t really let it get to her much. She dealt with all sorts of assholes in her job, but preferred to concentrate on the nicer patrons. She shrugged. “They’re not so bad.”

  “Not so bad?” Elodie exclaimed. “You’ve been running back and forth to their table the entire time they’ve been here. But don’t worry…Lexie and I have a plan.”

  Kenna frowned. “A plan?”

  “Don’t ask,” Marshall said quietly.

  Kenna glanced at him. The moment their gazes met, a jolt of electricity seemed to go through her once more. It had been like that all night. Every time she looked at him, goose bumps broke out on her arms. The chemistry they seemed to have was surprising.

  “Nothing bad, promise,” Lexie said, getting Kenna’s attention.

  “I need to get back to work, but…” She looked at Marshall again. “I have a break in ten minutes, and Carly said she’d cover for me so I could take a bit more time.”

  “Great news,” Marshall said with a wide smile.

  Kenna felt as if she was in junior high school all over again. She was giddy with excitement and definitely looking forward to getting to know this man.

  “If we’re not here when you get back, we’ll be at the bar,” Elodie’s husband said. “Watching over Elodie and Lexie.”

  “I think I’m gonna get going,” Pid said.

  “Same,” Slate agreed.

  “You can stay as long as you want,” Kenna told them. “It’s not a problem. We don’t usually get large groups this late, so we won’t need the table.” She didn’t want the guys leaving if they truly didn’t want to go.

  “We’re good,” Midas said.

  “I think I’ll stick around. Someone has to make sure these guys don’t get into trouble,” Jag said with a chuckle. He was referring to his friends, but his eyes were focused on something behind her.

  Kenna turned to see who he was looking at and saw Carly coming toward the table. She inwardly smiled. It was more than obvious Marshall’s friend was interested in Carly. She didn’t have the heart to tell him she’d sworn off men for the foreseeable future.

  She looked back at Marshall. “Meet me in ten minutes by the podium at the front of the restaurant?”

  “I’ll be there,” he told her.

  Kenna gave him a shy smile, then turned
to deliver the fork and napkins to table twenty-seven. She’d missed the two women getting up and heading her way, so when she turned, she ran right into the blonde, dropping both the fork and the napkins she’d been about to deliver.

  “Watch it!” the brunette exclaimed, then she and the blonde giggled as they walked toward the restrooms.

  Sighing, Kenna knelt to pick up the mess she’d made—and realized Marshall was right there next to her, reaching for the napkins.

  “I’ve got it,” she told him.

  “I know,” he said, not standing up or returning to his seat.

  It was a little thing, but she appreciated his help even though it wasn’t a big deal to pick up the items. Ten seconds later, they’d collected all the napkins before they could blow away from the slight breeze coming off the ocean.

  “Bitches,” Marshall muttered as they stood, and he handed her the napkins he’d picked up.

  “It’s fine. Trust me, they don’t even rate on my asshole-patron scale.”

  “I’d say I’d love to hear stories, but I have a feeling hearing how you’re treated would just piss me off,” Marshall said.

  “Ten minutes?” she asked again, holding the napkins to her chest.

  “Excuse me, gotta use the restroom,” Elodie said with an edge to her voice.

  “Oh shit,” Pid muttered as he moved out of the way so Lexie and Elodie could scoot out of the booth.

  The women headed in the same direction the blonde and brunette had gone. Kenna glanced at their men. “Should I be worried?”

  “No,” Midas said.

  At the same time Mustang said, “Maybe.”

  “Ten minutes,” Marshall said, lightly touching her arm.

  Kenna nodded, then turned to head back to the kitchen. She dumped the dirty napkins in a bin inside the door. Making a split-second decision, she headed for the bathroom. She didn’t really know Elodie or Lexie, but she didn’t want them to get in trouble because of her. She’d been dealing with people like the blonde and brunette for years, so nothing anyone said or did ruffled her feathers anymore.