His Secret Son. Brenda Jackson

gaze. “I thought your name was Laramie.”

      He smiled again and she tried not to feel weak in the knees. “It is. My real name is Laramie Cooper. They call me Coop.”

      “Oh.”

      “Let me introduce everyone,” Laramie said. “First off, guys, this is Bristol,” he said to his friends.

      “Hello, Bristol,” they all said simultaneously as they stood to their feet, showing they had manners.

      “Hello.”

      “I’m Bane,” one of the men said, extending his hand to her.

      She smiled at the very handsome military man as she shook his hand. “Hi, Bane.”

      “Is that a New York accent?” Bane asked.

      “Yes, you would think after being in France for almost four years it would not be so easily detected.”

      Bane’s smile widened. “Some things you can’t get rid of.”

      “Apparently,” she said, chuckling.

      “I’m Flipper,” another one of the guys said, offering his hand. He was definitely a hottie, with blond hair and the bluest eyes she’d ever seen. The color reminded her of the ocean and she wondered if that was why his nickname was Flipper.

      “Nice meeting you, Flipper,” she said, shaking his hand, as well.

      “Same here, Bristol.”

      “I’m Mac,” another one of the men said, leaning across to take her hand. This man appeared older than the others by at least three or four years.

      “Hi, Mac.”

      “And I’m Viper.”

      She glanced at the man who introduced himself as Viper. He was taller than the others and just as handsome. His eyes seemed sharp and penetrating. “Hi, Viper,” she said, shaking his hand.

      “Hi, Bristol,” Viper returned, smiling.

      “And you know me,” Laramie said, taking her hand.

      And just like before, a spike of heat hit her. “Yes, I know you.” She quickly pulled her hand away. “It’s nice meeting all of you and I like all your nicknames,” she said as the men all sat back down.

      Bane chuckled. “They aren’t nicknames. They’re our military code names.”

      “Oh. And what branch of the military?”

      “We’re navy SEALs,” the one named Flipper said, grinning proudly.

      He had every right to feel that way. She’d heard about navy SEALs. Some considered them the American government’s secret weapon against any enemy force.

      “So, Laramie, I’ll start with you. What will you have?” she asked, getting ready to write on her notepad.

      “For now I’ll take a juicy hamburger, a large order of French fries and a huge malted strawberry shake.”

      For now? She wondered what he planned to have later. From the way he was looking at her, she had an idea. And why didn’t realizing this guy evidently thought she was on his menu bother her?

      Bristol went around the table and took everyone’s order. Apparently all five were big eaters and she wondered where they would put all that food and how they stayed in such great physical shape. After turning their orders in to the cook, she began waiting on other tables, but felt the heat of Laramie’s gaze on her the entire time. Every time she glanced over in his direction, he was staring at her. Blatantly so.

      Maybe it hadn’t been a good idea for her to agree to have a drink with him when she got off work. She knew nothing about him, other than his name was Laramie Cooper, his military code name was Coop, he loved juicy hamburgers and he was a navy SEAL.

      She delivered their food a short while later and watched them eat all of it. She could tell that the five were more than just members of the same military team. They shared a close friendship. That much was obvious from the way they joked around with each other.

      Mac was married and had no problem showing her pictures of his wife and kids. It was evident he was proud of them. Bane, she’d discovered, was also married, but from the way the others teased him she could only assume he hadn’t seen his wife in a while, which meant the two were separated. Like Laramie, Viper and Flipper were single and from the sound of things they intended to stay that way.

      At the end of the meal when they paid their bill, she was shocked at the tip they left her. She would not normally have earned that much tip money in a week. “Thanks, guys.”

      “No, we want to thank you,” Flipper said standing, like the others. “It was nice meeting you, Bristol, and the food was great.”

      The others shared the same sentiments as they moved to leave the café. Laramie hung back. “I’ll be here when you get off work.”

      She knew now was a good time to tell him that she’d changed her mind about that. However, there was something about Laramie Cooper that made her hold back from doing so. It might have been his smile, or the way he was making her feel, or just the fact that she deserved to have some fun for a change.

      For four years she had worked hard at the art academy and come spring she would be graduating. The café would be closing for the holidays and she had the next ten days off work. As far as she was concerned, there was nothing wrong with Laramie being there when she got off. They would just grab drinks at one of the pubs nearby. Besides, after today, she probably wouldn’t see him again.

      “I’ll be waiting,” she heard herself say.

      She didn’t have to wait. Laramie arrived a half hour before she was due to leave work. He ordered a croissant and coffee while he waited for her. She hung up her apron, wished everyone a Merry Christmas and then headed toward the table where he sat. He stood, smiling down at her.

      “Ready?” he asked her.

      “Yes” was her reply, although she wasn’t sure what he had in mind and if she should be ready or not.

      He surprised her by taking her hand, as if they both needed to feel the sexual chemistry between them. He led her through the doors and onto the sidewalk. Holiday decorations were everywhere. It was hard to believe tomorrow was Christmas Eve. Last year she had gone home for Christmas and had taken her best friend, Dionne, with her. But not this year. Her aunt Dolly had died in her sleep four days into the New Year.

      She needed to stop thinking that she didn’t have any living relatives when she had two brothers and a stepmother. She knew they’d only tolerated her while her father was alive and now, with him gone, they had let her know—by not returning her calls or letters—that they didn’t have to put up with her anymore. That was fine. She’d adjusted to being a loner. At least she had Dionne and Dionne’s family. The thought had even crossed Bristol’s mind that she should not return to the United States after graduation and make Paris her home.

      “Which pub are we going to?” she asked the man who was walking beside her and still holding her hand.

      He smiled down at her. “Which one do you suggest?”

      “Charlie’s is a good one. It’s right around the corner.”

      They didn’t say much as they walked to the pub. They talked about the holidays. He told her that he and his team would be headed out in four days and they were in Paris for a little R and R.

      “Your friends are nice,” she said.

      He smiled down at her as they continued walking. “They said the same thing about you.”

      She smiled at that, while trying to ignore all that desire she saw in his eyes. She figured if they kept talking it would go away. “The five of you seem close.”

      “We are. In fact, we’re like brothers. Viper, Flipper, Bane and I attended the naval academy