I had a brutal week of training out at San Clemente Island. My Team was flown out of Coronado up the coast to spend some time blowing up buildings and practicing raids. We even trained on a full-scale replica of Osama Bin Laden’s compound. Honestly, I had a blast and couldn’t believe that I was lucky enough that this was actually my job. Most days, I felt like I was living in a video game. But even so, I missed Aria.

Reception sucked, and Wi Fi was nonexistent. I’d explained this to her before I’d left and she was cool with it. I was so grateful to meet a girl who understood my job—my last girlfriend would always get upset when I couldn’t call, text, or email. Not that I had a choice—I was married to the Teams.

I flew back into Coronado on Sunday and called Aria. She invited me over to her place, but first, I had some shopping to do.

I walked down Orange Ave and went to Holland’s Bicycles. I spent around twenty minutes browsing different bikes before I chose an Electra Cruiser in Sea foam.

I paid for the bike and a helmet. The shop girl eyed me. “Wow. Nice bike. Must be a lucky lady.”

I smiled. “She’s not the lucky one; I am.”

I left the store and walked the bike to Aria’s place when my phone rang. It was that potential client.

“Hello, Mr. Johnson. How are you?”

“Fine, Erik. Just fine. The CFO will be in town next weekend. I want him to meet you. I was wondering if we could have dinner together next Friday.”

I had to ask Aria to accompany me. “Of course, sir.”

“Wonderful. I’ll make reservations at Addison for 6:00.”

I tried not to laugh. Addison was the same place my mom suggested I take Aria out for a first date. “Wonderful, sir. I’ll be there. Do you mind if a bring a date?”

“No, Erik. Not at all. We will be bringing our wives. I’ll see you next week.”

“Thank you, sir. I’m looking forward to it.”

I hung up the phone, excitement racing through my chest. Mr. Johnson was a huge potential client who ran a biotechnology firm. I’d met him at a fundraiser for the Naval SEAL Foundation. Snagging him could take TritonFix to the next level.

I’d ask Aria tonight.

I turned down her street and opened the gate to her yard. Flounder greeted me with a sloppy kiss, and I rubbed his ears. Aria emerged from the house, and her eyes immediately focused on the bike.

“Erik, you didn’t.”

I leaned the bike against the fence and went in for a kiss. She tasted even sweeter than I remembered. “I did.”

“Did you buy it or rent it?”

“I bought it, champ. It’s all yours.” I attempted to read her face. She bit her lip, and her brow contorted. What was she so afraid of?

I gave her another kiss. “Come on. You don’t trust me?”

“No. That’s not it. I do.” She exhaled. “Okay . . . I’ll give it a try.”

“Good girl.” I kissed the tip of her nose and took her hand in mine. Yet something felt…off. Once again, I experienced the gut feeling that she was holding something back from me. Some grand plan that she didn’t want me to know. That was fine on our first date, but now that we’d slept together, I needed more. I wanted to be with someone who was open and honest with me.

“Let’s walk over to my place and get my bike. We can start the trail from there.”

We strolled by the beach as the tourists whizzed by us in their bikes. I often wondered how many of them were aware that Navy SEALs trained less than a mile away from their vacation.

She touched my arm—her delicate fingers sending spikes of heat through me. “So, what did you do this week?”

“A bunch of training evolutions. There’s like a full city built out there. It’s like a special forces Disneyland.”

“Wow. That’s so cool. I’d love to visit the island one day. I’ve read so much about it.”

I eyed her. “Well, you can’t. The island is restricted to the military. Unless you are a biologist. We occasionally have environmentalists come out to examine our impact on the native ecosystem. There are a couple of endangered species there—the San Clemente loggerhead shrike and the island fox.” Leaning down, I pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. “The entire island is really breathtaking. I’ll show you pictures.”

We made small talk as we headed to the parking garage under my condo to grab my bike. Then we walked to the trail in front of the Del.

“Hop on, champ. You have perfect balance. I’ve seen you pop out of the water on one foot.”

She bit her finger nails. “It’s different in the water.”

“Get on the bike. I got you, babe. You’re fine.”

She strapped on the helmet, climbed on the bike, clutched the handle bars, and put both feet on the ground instead of the pedals. Waddling like a duck, within a few minutes, she maintained an awkward glide.

“That’s it.”

She stopped and just glared at me. “This is ridiculous. Everyone is staring at me.”

I looked around, and a few tourists were gawking, but maybe they recognized her. “Forget about them. Get back on the bike.”

She exhaled and then gave me a dirty look when a boy of around six lapped by her. But she mounted the bike again and placed her feet on the pedals. Though a bit wobbly at first, she slowly began to ride.

I hopped on my own bike. “See, you’re a natural. It’s easy.” I yelled, but by now she was in front of me.

We biked through the neighborhoods and cut into Star Park where we passed L. Frank Baum’s former residence, a two-story yellow house. I stopped on the sidewalk and showed her the Wicked Witch peering out from the side of the home and the Wizard of Oz sign hanging above the front door.

Her face beamed at the sight. “I loved the Oz books when I was a little girl.”

“Yeah. He wrote Wizard of Oz here and based the Emerald City off the Del.”

“I didn’t know that. That’s so cool. Thanks for showing me this.”

We got back on the bikes and continued down the path. Aria had no problems keeping up with me at all. We headed to the North Island Naval Base, and we stopped in Bayview Park for a break.

She dismounted her bike and took a swig from her water bottle. We sat on a bench in the shade. I put my arm around her, drawing her close, and we gazed at the beautiful San Diego skyline.

“I can’t thank you enough for forcing me to overcome my fear. It’s been this secret of mine for years. I feel free. That was so much fun.”

I grinned down at her. “It’s hard for me to believe you are afraid of anything.”

“My entire identity is wrapped up in being an Olympian, Erik. At being the best. I often feel like people only like me for my accomplishments.”

I leaned over and gave her a kiss under a towering tree. “I don’t like you because you are a champion. That drew me to you at first, but you are so much more than your title. You are a beautiful woman. And you are adventurous and sexy.” I tilted my head, and she leaned in to meet my lips. This wasn’t our first kiss, but this time everything felt different. More intimate. The kiss was slower, yet laced with longing. When her hand reached behind my neck, a tingle shot through my body. With that jolt came a realization.

She was beginning to trust me.

Her hand gripped my upper thigh, and my cock ached for her.

I wanted to fuck her right there on the bench. But a chill took over me. I had to ask her if she would accompany me to dinner with my client next week. When I’d met her, getting her to help me with my business had been a goal. But now, I was falling for her.

I hoped I wouldn’t erase all the progress we had made together by asking her for a favor.