Hot SEAL, April's Fool by Becca Jameson (smart books to read .txt) 📗

Rodney nodded again. “Just try to stall him. I’m working on it.”

“Thank you.”

Rodney finally turned his attention to April. “How you doing? It’s been a while.”

“Fine. Good.” She stepped even closer to Cole. He didn’t think she realized how hard she was gripping his arm.

Rodney stared at her for several moments, his brow furrowed. Finally, he sighed, glanced again at their connection, and then blew out a breath. “Good.” He handed Cole a card. “Okay, well, text me at this number so I’ll have yours, and I’ll keep you updated on what I know.”

“Thank you. Appreciate it.”

“Again, I’m sorry for your loss.” He stepped toward the door.

“Thank you,” Cole repeated, holding back.

April took a small step in the direction of the exit, but when Cole didn’t move, she stopped.

Rodney nodded toward both of them and slipped from the room, shutting the door behind him.

Cole blew out a long breath, his shoulders dropping. “Jesus.”

“Yeah, what a mess.”

He turned his gaze toward April, unable to resist asking. “And what was that between you and Rodney?”

She winced. “We dated for a while.”

He lifted a brow. It shouldn’t have bothered him. He’d left ten years ago. It wasn’t his business who she dated after he left. But it hurt anyway. And more importantly he needed to know if Rodney had played a role in her decision to pull back from Cole. He’d been devastated when Violet had told him April hadn’t wanted him to propose, but at no point had it occurred to him that April might have been interested in someone else. He pulled in a breath and asked the burning question, “When?”

She sighed. “Do you really want to talk about my dating habits right now?”

“No. Sorry.” He tugged her around in front of him and kissed her, feeling possessive, his body finally relaxing as she leaned close and let him deepen the contact. It was probably inappropriate. They were at a funeral home. For his own father’s funeral. But fuck it. He needed to feel alive, and that’s what April did for him.

When he finally broke the kiss, she smiled at him. “We better head into the service before someone comes looking for us.”

He lifted a hand and brushed a stray lock of hair from her forehead. “Thank you,” he murmured. “For everything.”

“Of course.”

Chapter 6

April knew it was going to be a long day, but she hadn’t expected quite the level of crazy that kept piling up. When she spotted Violet Chamberlain sitting with her father a few rows back, she nearly tripped over herself. The audacity of that man to pretend to pay his condolences. And Violet? She and Cole had never been friends.

Violet had been nothing more than a thorn in most people’s sides in high school. She’d been the class gossip, and not in a good way. On top of that, April had always suspected she had her eyes on Cole. Violet-the-girl had never been a threat to April, nor would Violet-the-woman be one today either, but she’d made her interest in Cole known more than once back in the day.

A surprising number of people filled the seats, but April realized many people knew Cole’s father. The man ran the mechanic’s shop. He may have been an asshole at home and gambled too much on the side, but he was well-liked in the community. He did good work.

Amanda made it clear every chance she got that she didn’t appreciate April sitting with Cole in the row designated for immediate family, but April ignored her. She felt guilty for not noticing how many issues Cole had dealt with ten years ago. If his stepmother and half-brother were even half as rude back then as they were today, no wonder Cole had joked around so much. He’d needed the escape.

The funeral itself was nice. Several people spoke. Amanda played the sad widow. Jacob and Cole were both pallbearers, along with four other guys who were old friends of his father. No one could have suspected that behind the scenes, there was extortion happening and that one of the brothers was the black sheep of the family.

While Cole greeted people on their way out the door, April stepped into the hallway to give him some space. It didn’t take long for Violet to stroll toward her. The woman was wearing a deep purple dress and matching heels. Her black hair was as silky as ever and hung over her shoulders. Between that and her pale skin, April had secretly always thought of her as a vampire. She certainly sucked the life out of people.

Violet pasted on a fake smile. “I didn’t realize you and Cole were so close or even still in touch.”

April wasn’t about to feed the rumor mill. “What do you want, Violet?”

Violet flattened a hand between her breasts, pasting on a shocked look now as if April were hurting her feelings. “What do you mean? I don’t want anything. I’m just here to pay my respects.”

April lifted a brow but didn’t respond. Less was best when dealing with this vulture.

“I heard that old car of yours broke down and Cole rescued you yesterday. Why do you drive that old thing?”

April flinched. The audacity of this bitch. Just because she was made of money didn’t mean everyone else was. “My Honda is reliable. All it needed was a starter. It’s all fixed now.”

“Oh, what a relief,” she cooed. “Good thing it didn’t break down while you were showing homes to someone. That would have been embarrassing.”

Violet was not wrong. April had worried about that possibility several times. Cole had assured her when one of the guys brought the car back that they’d looked it over and nothing else needed attention. He hadn’t let her pay for the work, but she’d accepted the help because she honestly didn’t have another choice.

Cole suddenly showed up at April’s side. He slid a hand around her waist and held her possessively. Bless him.

Violet smiled. “Awww. You two were always so