An hour later, warmed up and cleaned up, Sherri stood over her footlocker, glaring at its meager contents. It wasn’t as if a sexy little black dress had been on Kettering’s packing list.

Which was a crying shame. She would have loved to shake up Griffin Caldwell. The man totally deserved it.

She had one nonsports bra in her possession that she’d worn under the summer whites she’d arrived here wearing, and she dug that out. Might as well give the man a little cleavage to contemplate over supper. After all, Kettering had lectured the women that very morning on how SEALs should use every weapon at their disposal to defeat the enemy.

So be it.

She settled on a pair of clean khaki cargo pants that fit her more snugly than her other pairs and a white tank top with a low scoop neck. It left her arms bare, and if she wasn’t mistaken, the definition in her shoulder muscles was sharper these days. She threw a zippered hoodie over it for warmth, but left the jacket open to show off her cleavage. It was getting cold in the evenings as Christmas approached.

Funny how the concept of holidays, or of time passing, evaporated in this place. How long had they even been here? She frowned, trying to count the weeks. More measurable were the changes in herself. New personal bests in timed runs and counted exercises. She was generally quieter these days, biting back the sarcastic comments that sprang to mind when Griffin and the others were being particularly nasty. And she felt a new self-confidence from learning a host of survival and combat skills.

Honestly, she hadn’t stopped long enough to really look at herself in a mirror for a while. Had she changed outside, too? Her hair was longer now, past her shoulder blades, bleached almost platinum blond by long hours in the sun and surf. The angles of her face were sharper, her cheekbones more defined, her jawline leaner. Her face had lost any hint of roundness, taking on more of a heart shape, and her eyes looked even bigger and bluer against the deep tan she’d developed.

If only she had her full makeup kit here and could hit Griffin with a full beauty-queen broadside.

Still, she did have a tube of mascara and some tinted lip balm with her, plus a blow dryer and a round brush. She did the best she could with the tools at hand, and took a critical look at herself. She wasn’t pageant-ready, but she looked decent relative to being covered in mud or sand, with no makeup, hair straggling, and bags of exhaustion under her eyes.

“What’s the occasion?” Anna exclaimed as she and Lily came back from the showers.

“Damn, girl. You look hot,” Lily added.

“Griffin asked me to have dinner with him tonight.”

“Holy shit. As in a date?” Anna yelped.