But when they drove away from the cemetery, Griffin didn’t head back toward Coronado. Six months ago, she would have asked where they were going. Now, she just leaned back to see where they ended up. She definitely took life more as it came, after the past several months of training. Not to mention, she trusted him.

Griffin turned off the highway and followed a narrow tarmac road to a high, white gate. He punched a number into a keypad and drove through when the gate opened.

It turned out to be a marina.

He led her down a long dock to a large motor yacht in pristine condition. It was named Easy Day.

She grinned. One of the SEALs’ unofficial mottos was “The only easy day was yesterday.”

“What’s this?” she asked.

“Home sweet home.”

“You live on a boat?”

“I don’t really live anywhere. I’m deployed a whole lot more than I’m stateside. But this is where I hang my hat when I’m not overseas somewhere, going balls to the wall—” He broke off. “Sorry.”

She laughed. “I live and work with a bunch of sailors. Trust me, I’ve heard a lot worse.”

He handed her aboard. The interior was as tidy as the exterior, cozy and comfortable. However, her heels and formal dress were wildly out of place.

“Do you have some sweatpants and a T-shirt I could borrow?” she asked him.

He jogged down a short stairway to what was undoubtedly his bedroom, stripping off his uniform jacket as he went. He emerged in a minute, wearing jeans and a Reaper T-shirt and carrying another Reaper T-shirt and a pair of gym shorts.

Sherri went belowdecks to the stateroom she found there and changed. She emerged into the living room barefoot and wearing his clothes, which were baggy on her, but blessedly comfortable. A rumble started beneath her feet, and the dock started to retreat. He was taking the boat out!

She went upstairs to the bridge and stood beside him as he expertly steered the vessel out of the marina and into open water. The Pacific Ocean stretched away in a dark sheet of glittering sunshine. The skyline of San Diego retreated behind them as they cruised north along the shore.

The boat picked up speed, and she raised her face to the warmth of the sun and the cool caress of the salt spray. Man, she needed this.

They cruised in companionable silence for perhaps an hour. Then Griffin cut the engines and steered the Easy Day into an inlet tucked in among the rocky hills of the California coast.

“Can I interest you in a picnic?” he asked.

“You’re a god.” She sighed.

He grinned. “I am, but give me a little time to prove it.”

“Can I help with lunch?” she offered.