Page 32 of Snow

At those words, the group stood and started chatting quietly amongst themselves, including Mr. Sexy Blue Eyes.

She really needed to stop calling him that.

Picking up her backpack, she slung it over her shoulder. As she walked toward the door, she heard Derek call her name.

“Ms. Hart.”

She turned as he approached.

“Commander, please drop the formalities. Just call me Nova.”

Derek grinned. “All right. Nova it is.” He gestured toward the door. “I’ll walk you out.”

They walked outside, and when they got to the car, Derek turned toward her. “I wanted to say something off the record.”

“Okay.”

“You’re stepping into a situation most people would run from. Granted, you weren’t sold at the beginning, but in the end, you accepted the challenge. That tells me a lot about you.”

“I think you know a lot more than that about me,” Nova laughed.

Derek chuckled, “While that is true, you need to understand that I need to make sure that my team is protected and prepared for anything they could be walking into, which includes the people they’re walking in with. I know we’re putting you in a situation that’s probably uncomfortable for you. But I want to personally thank you for stepping outside your comfort zone and trusting us enough to help with this.”

“I’m happy to help. And I wouldn’t expect anything less from a leader. But Commander, just because I wear heels doesn’t mean that I’m made of glass. I can assure you that I’m tougher than most people think I am.”

“I can see that. And I wouldn’t have asked you to do this if I didn’t believe you could.”

Those words surprised her.

“Well, at least you have confidence in me, unlike others,” she told him as she glanced at the door that separated her from the team.

Derek smirked. “Listen, don’t read too much into the guys, especially Snow. You have to remember these guys are trained for battle and are not used to outsiders invading their territory. They have a lot of trust issues. I’m pretty confident that he’ll warm up once you two get to know each other more.”

Yeah, she wasn’t counting on that. Not with the way he acted in that meeting.

“Well, I promise that I’ll try to play nice.”

“That’s all I can ask for,” he said, looking amused.

Harry approached right at that moment. “Are you ready to head to the hotel, Ms. Hart?”

“Um. Yes. Thank you, Harry.”

She then looked at Derek. “Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Derek nodded, and she slid into the car. As she set her backpack down by her feet, a strange feeling passed through her, making her glance out the window.

Sure enough, a few of the guys were gathered near the open door, but it was one pair of eyes that held hers.

Those vivid blue eyes locked on her like he was trying to read every thought in her head. She quickly looked away, shaking her head like it would knock some sense into her.

“Stop,” she muttered to herself. She had enough on her plate as it was. She didn’t need to be having any Navy SEAL fantasies, especially about one in particular who was making it known that he didn’t want her around.

She sat back in the seat and closed her eyes as they pulled away, completely unaware that saying yes to this assignment was about to change more than just her career.

◆◆◆

When the meeting broke, Snow’s attention lingered on the doorway where Nova had disappeared a few minutes earlier with Derek.