“Don’t do this to me, man.” Navy SEALs Captain Nick Gates hated the way his voice sounded almost like he was begging. He held the beer in his hand in a death grip, palm almost going numb from the cold bottle.

“Sorry, bro. You offered yourself to Kayla and this is what happens.” Ryan Mitchell, his friend and former SEAL unit member, chuckled.

Ryan’s wife had cornered Nick at their previous get-together and asked for his help. Sure, he was glad to help in any way he could. She smiled devilishly at him and said thanks. He hadn’t heard back until now. “I didn’t realize she meant I was going up for auction.”

Ryan’s laughter echoed around the yard. Though it was winter in New York, at Golden Island fifteen hundred miles due south, the weather was warm and beautiful. Sun shone through the tall palms and wind propelled the salty ocean breeze toward the beach house.

It was the guys’ weekend, Kayla had insisted. She’d invited the entire unit to stay. Matt and his fiancée Jessie almost hadn’t made it due to a bad storm. Jessie was a good friend of Kayla’s and the two women were happy to entertain each other while the men hung out. Nick watched Matt bring Jessie a glass of wine. She smiled, curled an arm around his waist, and turned back to her conversation with Kayla.

“Do the others know?” He watched some of his other friends get roped into Kayla’s ministrations.

Ryan shrugged and drank from his beer. “If they don’t, they will soon enough. She’s going to make sure everyone knows what’s up by the end of this trip.”

Nick sighed and slipped cold fingers through his still wet hair. Kayla was masterful. She’d made sure that she’d invited all of Ryan’s old combat unit down to Golden Island off the Florida Keys while the weather was crazy in New York. Made it easy for everyone to agree to go. It also made it easy for her to get her way.

“Listen,” Ryan met his gaze with a cheeky grin, “all I know is that my wife is in charge of the hospital’s annual event to raise funds for the burn unit. That means she and Jessie are going to get each of you single men to strut your stuff for our donations. How can you say no to helping a good cause?”

Fucking hell! He couldn’t. Nick couldn’t say no to any of the females in his family. How could he say no to Kayla, the woman who had brought happiness into one of his best friend’s lives? He couldn’t.

“I have to get a tux, huh?”

Ryan grinned. “Yeah. A tux, and it’s from this one store where she has had me buy a few suits. The owner and his sons are amazing. They work magic and can make you look great in a suit.”

Nick gave his friend a look of disdain. “You sound like you’re enjoying this too damn much.”

Ryan chuckled and drank his beer. “Look, you might as well get a nice suit and sit back and enjoy all the ladies putting their money up for you. I mean, you’re the one we’re sure can get the most money,” he told Nick. “Kayla is counting on your good looks to make women open up their checkbooks and go crazy.”

Nick frowned. “As long as I don’t have to take anything off.”

Kayla and Jessie turned to face him at that moment.

Kayla gave him a wide grin and shook her head. “I can’t believe I’m hearing that come out of your mouth, Nick. I would never want you to feel pressured into anything just because some woman bought you for the evening.”

Jessie snorted. “Oh, please, Nick. You’ll have most of those women fighting for a few hours alone with you. You can’t tell me that would be so bad.”

“I’m not interested in hooking up with anyone,” he said, making his feelings clear. Nick hadn’t dated since he’d been brought back half alive from a bad explosion. He’d been lucky not to lose any limbs, unlike Ryan, but he never felt comfortable removing his clothing anymore. The multiple surgeries had taken a toll on his physique. He’d ended up with multiple scars all over his torso. He also had burn marks on his body and one giant scar from when he’d been opened to remove a piece of steel.

Kayla nodded solemnly. “I get it. All I expect is for you to plan an outing that involves spending time with your winner. What you decide to do is up to you.”

“As long as we understand each other,” he said and walked off to put his empty beer bottle in the recycling bin. He stared off at the waves lapping hungrily at the sand.

It felt like forever ago that he’d been planning to be there with his fiancée, Gracie. But when he’d been injured, the first call he got after days of surgery was from her. She wanted to break up. She was afraid that he’d been disfigured to the point she wouldn’t be able to be with him.

He hadn’t bothered explaining to her that his body was still in one piece and he’d eventually walk, though he’d need months of physical therapy first. No. Instead, he’d hung up and shut out that part of his life. He wasn’t Ryan or Matt. He didn’t expect to meet a woman who would love him despite all his surgeries and the massive hernia repair he’d gone through. Nick wasn’t sure he’d trust any woman to love him looking this way. To understand the nightmares and the reason he closed himself off.

“Hey,” Matt said, walking up to him and putting an empty bottle in the bin. “You okay?”

Nick was the latest one to be done with physical therapy. He’d already gotten a job offer from a security company Ryan had started. They could do different types of protecting.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Listen, Kayla and Jessie, they mean well. They just want to help you all meet women and raise money for a good cause. She’s not going to play matchmaker on a large scale if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I was, yes,” he admitted. “I’m not interested in romance.”

“You don’t have to be. Just have a good time and help out the charity.”

Nick nodded. He would. That charity had helped many kids and knowing how insecure he felt about his looks, he could only imagine a kid having to go through it. He’d go. He’d get a suit and he’d smile and help raise money. But he wouldn’t allow any woman to get ideas about romance. He wasn’t looking for love. Not now, not ever.