A SEAL Always Wins
by Holly Castillo
Publication Date: 2/25/2020
About the Book:
She manages to surprise him in every way that matters…
Elite Navy SEAL Enrique “Phantom” Ramirez is trained to
expect the unexpected, but his growing feelings for brilliant horse trainer
Elena Garcia catch him completely off guard. Phantom needs Elena’s help to
maintain his SEAL team’s cover—more critical than ever now that they’ve
identified a conspiracy of mysterious power brokers in both Mexico and the U.S.
But how can he get her to train the ranch’s quarter horses without revealing
who he really is? And without revealing his need for this woman whose
indomitable spirit has captured his heart…
Purchase
Links:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2HPO543
Apple: https://apple.co/31RkTmz
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2HbupHM
IndieBound: http://bit.ly/2Smfv85
Bookshop: http://bit.ly/2HfAP8K
Read an Excerpt:
The sound of boots on the hardwood floor drew their attention, and
Anya’s eyes lit up as Stryker came striding into the room. At first he had eyes
only for Anya, but Elena saw his gaze flick over to her briefly. He leaned down
and pressed a tender kiss to Anya’s lips and she leaned up into the touch, her
hand resting on his chest for a moment.
“Stryker, I want you to meet my best friend, Elena Garcia.” Anya
gestured toward Elena, and she smiled brightly. So this was the man who had
claimed her best friend’s heart. Elena had interacted with him months ago when
he and his friends first bought the ranch and began remodeling the outdated
ranch house into the beautiful home it had become. Their conversations had been
limited to her work with the horses.
Elena stood and extended her hand. He smiled at her. “I seem to
remember you lurking around when we were remodeling this place.”
“‘Lurking’ isn’t the term I would use,” she replied with a smile.
“I was working quite hard.”
“That was around the time you won the Grand Champion trophy in
Corpus, wasn’t it?”
Phantom’s voice came out of nowhere, gentle, and could that be
with appreciation? He hadn’t made any noise to alert her he had come into the
room. She turned and found him leaning against the dining room wall. How long
had he been there?
“Yes, it was,” she said, watching his face for a reaction. If she
wanted him back as a client, she needed him to fully understand how good she
was with his horses. Knowing that he had seen the trophies she had won was a
step in the right direction.
He watched her for a long moment, finally breaking eye contact to
glance over at Anya and Stryker, who seemed to be in their own world. “When you
have a moment,” he said, returning his gaze to her, “I’d like to take you out
to the barn. It won’t take very long.”
Had he finally decided he needed her on the ranch after all? Was
she about to get her client back? Elena’s heart pounded with hope. She glanced
over at Anya, but she seemed fixated on Stryker. “I’m going to step out to the
barn for just a bit,” she said, though she doubted Anya heard her. Spying the
sugar cubes still on the table for their coffee, she grabbed a few and stuffed
them in her pockets as she stood.
She smiled to herself. Anya had fallen in love, something she’d
never thought would happen. From the looks of it, she was beyond happy, which
made Elena happy. She only wanted the best for her friend, and if Stryker
brought that look of joy to Anya’s face, Elena would support her no matter how
crazy it seemed.
Elena looked up to find Phantom watching her intently, measuring
every expression on her face. Nerves kicked into high gear in the pit of her
stomach. Hope could be a dangerous thing. He turned and led her out of the
house and toward the barn.
“You seem to be very close to Anya.”
Was he trying to have a conversation with her? The day had been
full of surprises already, and he seemed to be the lead instigator of most of
them. She crossed her fingers that the surprises continued to be positive ones.
“We’ve been best friends since we met in college. We’ve been through a lot
together.”
“I can understand that bond.”
“Do you have a best friend?” she asked, then realized how lame
that must sound. “I mean… Well, surely you must have a best friend. What I
meant was—”
He glanced sideways at her and flashed her a
smile—a real smile—and it took her breath away. The warmth in that smile turned
his tanned skin a deep, molten bronze. The short haircut couldn’t hide the
slight wave in his hair, which made his face look less severe and intense. His
dark-gray eyes—a color she’d never seen before—lit up and softened, the steel
becoming magnetic and drawing her in. The corners of his eyes crinkled when he
smiled, adding an extra layer of humanity she had thought he lacked. The man
made of stone suddenly seemed more approachable than she would have imagined.
“What are you saying? You think I can’t make friends? I know we
didn’t get off on the best foot, but do I strike you as that
unpleasant?”
“No! I mean, of course not. Just because you don’t like me or, um,
didn’t need me…um…” Hell, she was making a total mess of the conversation. She
became annoyed with herself—and with him. He had put her in the predicament to
begin with.
“I never said I didn’t like you.”
“You didn’t have to,” she replied, then nearly
bit her own tongue. If her goal had been to win him back as a client, she was
doing an exceptional job of mucking it up.
“I have a handful of friends I consider my brothers,” he said,
returning to the original topic. “I would die for them if I had to.” His smile
had vanished, and his serious demeanor had returned.
“Are they your business partners? Are Stryker and Snap your
do-or-die friends?”
He didn’t answer her as they walked into the barn. The scents she
loved washed over her as a welcoming balm—fresh hay, oats, leather, and horses.
She walked quickly up to the first stall and a tall, red sorrel mare strolled
up, knowing Elena was bound to have a treat for her. She pulled a sugar cube
from her pocket and chuckled as the mare’s lips moved along her flattened palm,
finding the cube and licking it off her hand.
“So is that your trick to get them to like you?”
***
Excerpted from A SEAL Always Wins by Holly Castillo. © 2020 by Holly Castillo. Used with
permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks
Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved.
Holly Castillo lives on an eighty-acre ranch, surrounded by cattle during the day and hearing the howl of coyotes by night. She has endless inspiration for her writing. Holly’s romantic suspense series about heroic Navy SEALs is set in her own backyard of south Texas. She lives with her husband and two children just south of San Antonio.
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