Second Chance with Her SEAL

by Gillian Blakely

  “I know we're only here for a few days, but I unpacked the suitcase. Your stuff is on the right side of the dresser.”

  “Thanks.” He retrieved his pajama pants and went into the bathroom to get ready for bed.

  “Did you guys have a good talk?” Sabrina asked, stepping into the bathroom a few minutes later.

  “Yeah.”

  He felt tongue tied as she wrapped her arms around him from behind, pressing her body against his.

  “Any big plans in the works?”

  He huffed out a laugh. “Not quite yet. But he's got a lot of projects in progress.”

  “The man's a dynamo.”

  “That he is.”

  For a moment, he had trouble reconciling the fact that he was in Allen Croft’s Miami mansion. Or that his childhood friend was the gorgeous woman pressing kisses down his spine.

  Life just felt so surreal lately. He expected to wake up from the dream any moment.

  “He seems really happy about the baby,” she said, coming around to sit on the counter next to him while he brushed his teeth.

  “He said they’d been trying for a while.”

  “I’m thrilled for them.” She pressed her hands together and squeezed them between her knees.

  “You ever think about having kids?” Back in the day he’d seen her with a family, a couple of kids and a couple dogs.

  “No. Not really. You?”

  “Nope.” He shoved the toothbrush in his mouth and started sawing at his teeth.

  “I like kids,” she continued, glancing out the window at the midnight ocean. “I just don’t want them for me, you know. It’s a lot to be responsible for a person. I’d rather just be an auntie Sabrina.”

  He could see her as an aunt. She had a youthful exuberance that children would adore.

  “You’re going to make a great uncle,” she said, studying his profile. “I bet kids treat you like a jungle gym.”

  He grunted past the toothpaste.

  Why had he started this topic? He should have kept his mouth shut.

  But at least they were on the same page.

  “What do you want to do tomorrow?” he asked as he turned out the light.

  “Lay on the beach?”

  The idea of Sabrina in a bikini sent his blood racing south.

  He pulled back the covers, slid into bed and held his arms out to her. “Sounds like a plan.”

  “So, I’ve been thinking,” she said, propping her chin against his chest.

  “Me too.” Probably not about the same thing.

  “There’s no reason I have to be in Atlanta this winter. And it would probably be a little warmer in New Orleans. Maybe I could rent a little studio. Layla and I are already good at working remotely.”

  “I like it.” The idea of her moving in with him should have scared him or at least given him pause. But it didn’t. In fact, his heart gave a happy squeeze. She was thinking of ways to keep them together. To prolong their time. “A lot.”

  She smiled and blew out a sigh. “Good. I was afraid you would think I was crazy or moving too fast.”

  “I think it’s just right.”

  For the next while they chatted about things to see and do. Haunted tours were at the top of their list. As they started to fall asleep he wondered how the hell he’d gotten so lucky. And to think, he’d been pushing her away, trying to protect himself. He’d have missed this, missed her.

  Her enthusiasm was contagious and made him want a second chance at life.

  18

  The next morning, after her run on the beach, Sabrina found everyone gathered around the patio table on the veranda. David gave her a warm smile that did crazy things to her insides, especially her heart. She dropped a kiss on his lips, loving the pleasure in his eyes.

  “Morning,” he murmured.

  “Good morning.”

  A separate table held an enormous bowl of fresh fruit, already sliced and ready to eat. She skipped the carbs and helped herself to a yogurt.

  “This is paradise,” she told Marissa as she sat down. “The view, the buffet. Do you guys want to adopt me? I’m potty trained and I do my own laundry.”

  Everyone laughed.

  “Gladly.”

  “How are you with babysitting?” Allen asked with a grin.

  She shook her hand in a so-so gesture. “But I suck at changing diapers.”

  “Any day now we’ll get to try our hand at it, right sweetheart?” Marissa reached for Allen’s hand.

  “So soon?” Allen joked. “Seems like yesterday you snuck into my office with a box full of baby shoes.”

  They shared a smile and then a nervous laugh. Parenthood would no doubt come with new trials but of all the couples Sabrina knew, these two could handle it.

  David’s question about having kids had taken her by surprise last night but she was glad they were on the same page. Especially at this point in the game. While she felt young and healthy, she wanted to enjoy the life she’d carved out for herself, not be responsible for someone else.

  Taking care of Ethan and then Jakob had cured her of the need and she felt zero maternal twinges.

  Sabrina finished off her yogurt and helped herself to some fruit. As much as she enjoyed designing invitations and announcements, heck, she’d even been approached about a bedding line for nurseries; she couldn’t imagine having her heart walking around every day in a clumsy toddler’s body.

  And that’s exactly what having a kid would mean. Her soul, her heart, her flesh and blood, walking around unprotected. Learning to fall, to get back up, to handle peer pressure and so much more. It was enough that David had a thing about explosives, but from what she could tell, he was terribly cautious. Those first few weeks they’d been together had been rough on him since his supervisor wasn’t nearly as careful.

  But at least that project was finished. Jill’s Halloween Bash seemed like a lifetime ago. And now Thanksgiving was approaching. They hadn’t discussed any plans yet and she sort of liked the day-at-a-time approach. She had enough structure in her life thanks to Layla.

  Marissa sighed and rubbed her belly. “I’m ready to meet this little one. I know I’ll be up late with feedings—”

  “And diapers—” Allen inserted dryly.

  “But at least he won’t be sitting on my bladder.”

  “I think we’re going to be hopping on the raincoat train again. You need a break.” Allen gave his wife the sweetest look and Marissa blushed.

  Sabrina’s heart squeezed. Allen was adorable and caring.

  “You might need to keep your…self to yourself, mister. Condoms aren’t one hundred percent,” Marissa scolded with a smile.

  Sabrina laughed at Allen’s look of alarm, but Marissa was right. While she wasn’t sure about the percentages these days, it’d been drilled into Sabrina’s head since high school health class that condoms didn’t always prevent pregnancy.

  David ran a hand over the back of his neck, concern pinching his brows. She’d become so used to his laid-back, easy going style that the sudden tension in him sent a tendril of unease through her.

  She sent him a questioning look. He met her gaze and offered a smile. A smile that didn’t meet his eyes.

  Come to think of it, he acted weird whenever the subject of babies came up. And yet, the way he talked to Marissa, the questions he asked…it was almost like he had experience with them.

  He didn’t have to worry about having kids.

  She’d made her feelings very clear last night. And they’d been using protection every time.

  Condoms.

  Condoms weren’t one hundred percent reliable.

  Sabrina mentally counted the days since her monthly frenemy had visited. That couldn’t be right. Could it?

  She downed the orange juice and tried to ward off her rising panic.

  Marissa said something about shopping and Sabrina agreed. Suddenly the morning sun felt too warm. She needed to check her phone and make sure she’d miscalculated. That’s all
this was.

  “Have a good time,” Allen said as Marissa bent down to kiss him goodbye.

  “See you on the beach later?” Sabrina asked David. Hopefully he didn’t see the anxiety she felt. He seemed to have enough of his own; she didn’t need to add to it.

  If only her stomach would calm down.

  “You bet.” This time his smile was genuine and seductive.

  After telling Marissa she’d be down in fifteen minutes, she made a bee-line for the guest room. Plucking her phone from the charger, she scrolled to her tracker app.

  “No. No. No.”

  Just as she’d thought. She was late. A dozen reasons why raced through her mind.

  Most obvious… all the sex she’d been having with David.

  Hot, delicious, wonderful sex.

  Sabrina closed her eyes and sank down onto the bed. This wasn’t what she’d expected out of this weekend. Staring out at the gorgeous blue water and the mega ship floating by, she worried her lower lip.

  Maybe her schedule was shifting for some reason. Maybe it was stress or something. But the biggie kept coming back around. She’d have to take a test.

  After a quick shower, she slipped into a light weight sundress. Trying to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, she touched up her lipstick and slipped into her favorite sandals. Her world might change tomorrow. And maybe she was in denial, but nothing was going to change between now and the time she got back to Atlanta.

  Ethan’s voice filled her head. “One step at a time, S. Don’t put the cart before the horse.” He’d spoken those words a dozen times over the years, regarding her weight loss and even his cancer relapse. And more often than not, he’d been right.

  For now, she was going to enjoy a glorious weekend with friends. There was no use buying trouble. Tomorrow would be here soon enough and with it, a pregnancy test.

  * * *

  After a long day of shopping, basking in the sun and splashing in the waves, Sabrina donned the royal blue romper she’d purchased on her outing with Marissa. The one shoulder design made her feel young and sexy.

  The sun was setting as they met the men on the veranda. Candles and landscape lights dotted the luxurious space; it was something out of a dream. David and Allen each had a beer in hand as they manned the grill.

  The look in David’s eyes as he studied her made her insides clench. In a single word, it was predatory.

  Beside her, Marissa snickered. “Someone’s getting lucky tonight.”

  Heat rose in Sabrina’s cheeks and she gratefully accepted a glass of white wine from the cook. Herbs and spices combined with the salty sea air to make her stomach growl with appreciation.

  “I’m lucky every day,” Sabrina said. It was true. After Ethan’s death, she’d made a conscious effort to look at every day with a grateful heart, to have a good attitude and meet problems head on, as Ethan had.

  But since David had come back into her life, she felt more content, like her soul was finally able to rest and relax.

  “That is so sweet,” Marissa cooed. “I’m pretty lucky myself.”

  She shot Sabrina a brilliant smile as she rubbed her belly.

  “We’ve both lucked out,” Sabrina agreed.

  David slid an arm around her waist, pulling her against his side. He seemed utterly relaxed and comfortable in a pair of navy shorts and a soft gray button up. She was glad to see no signs of his earlier anxiety.

  “What are you two ladies talking about?”

  “How lucky we are.”

  “And hormonal,” Allen teased, and kissed the top of Marissa’s head before turning his attention back to the meats and vegetables sizzling away.

  “What can I help with?” Sabrina asked, snuggling into David’s embrace.

  He was so big, so warm, she loved being in his arms. Close. Safe. She belonged there.

  “Not a thing, Sabrina. We’re almost done. Chef has prepared everything else.”

  It wasn’t long before they were gathered around the table. Allen and Marissa’s chef doted on them. It was exquisite to relax in such an idyllic setting, not tethered to her phone, no worries.

  Well, one worry, but with David, she felt like she could conquer anything.

  Somehow, she steered her thoughts away from a pregnancy test and to Marissa's sweet chatter. Despite being surrounded by Hollywood types, the redhead kept her sense of humor.

  “My car was getting new tires, so I took Allen's car to my appointment. When I came out, there were panties tucked into the door handle.”

  Sabrina's jaw dropped at the ballsy move.

  “How'd they know what he drives?” David asked. Leave it to him to wonder about security.

  “We never did figure that out,” Allen inserted.

  “So, I take the panties, and the note, and call her.”

  “Right then?” Sabrina asked, shocked that Marissa would bother. Allen only had eyes for his wife. There was no need to confront a fan, a stalker, a crazy panty-leaving-fem-fatale when your husband looked at you the way Allen did Marissa.

  “Right there in the parking lot.”

  “What'd she say?” David asked.

  Allen just shook his head and laughed. “She didn't get a word in edgewise.”

  “I told her that Allen Croft is happily married and the only panties he's interested in are mine.”

  “You told her, honey,” Allen said and reached for his wife's hand.

  “I did,” Marissa said with a saucy nod.

  Everyone laughed and finished off their dinner over tales from the war zone, actor antics, and Sabrina's one Bridezilla.

  Sabrina felt light and bubbly when the chef brought out a rich chocolate cheesecake.

  “I think I've died and gone to heaven,” Sabrina murmured. And for the first time in a decade, she didn't count the calories or tabulate how much more exercise she'd need to do the next day. Instead, she slid her palm across David’s rock-hard thigh beneath the table.

  He shot her an amused look.

  “So, you're all settled? In Atlanta?” Marissa asked, reaching for her water glass.

  “For now.”

  “What? You're moving again?”

  Sabrina shrugged, not sure but seeing no use in being coy. “That depends on David.”

  Marissa beamed. “Ohh... sounds serious.” She let out a giggle that kept the mood light.

  Sabrina didn’t deny it and neither did David.

  * * *

  That night, after a few rounds of cards, they said their good nights and Sabrina followed David up the stairs. Hand in hand, they made their way down the hallway to the guest room. She liked this, just being with him. Doing coupley things.

  In their room, he started undoing the buttons of his shirt. Desire speared her. He was magnificent. All man. So beautifully masculine, he took her breath away.

  “Everything okay?” He sat on the end of the bed and kicked off his flip flops.

  His deep voice rolled over her like warm honey.

  She stepped between his thighs and ran her hands over his shoulders. “You ask me that when we’re half naked in paradise?”

  “I know it can’t be easy seeing friends from the west coast, now that you’re out here.”

  She raked her fingertips over his chest, glorying in the ability to touch him, to be with him like this. It still blew her mind that the boy who knew all her childhood secrets was this gorgeous man. A man who knew just how to touch her and drive her wild. A man who was sweet and gentle with her when she needed him to be.

  “That doesn’t really bother me,” she answered honestly.

  “What is bothering you?”

  “I could ask you the same thing.”

  His arms wrapped around her, pulling her closer to his massive chest. Would there ever be a time when simply being near him didn’t rev her engine?

  “Not a thing, gorgeous. Not a thing.” He stared up at her, his expression earnest.

  She recognized that he didn’t talk much about his p
ast and she couldn’t help but wonder if there were secrets or skeletons lurking there. It was the only reason she could think of that would sometimes put that far off look in his eyes.

  But right now, he was all in. Completely relaxed, completely absorbed.

  “I love when you look at me like that,” she whispered, tracing his jaw with her fingertips.

  “Like what?” He tugged at her outfit.

  “Like I’m your whole world. Like nothing else exists outside of us, outside of this room. Like there’s nowhere else you’d rather be.”

  And for the moment, she could believe that herself. She could push aside the worry about being pregnant, the anxiety of taking a test. Tomorrow she’d worry about how to tell him, what he’d say.

  “There is nowhere else I’d rather be. I thought I’d been making that clear.”

  The top of the jumpsuit puddled around her waist, thanks to his insistent fingers.

  Sabrina sighed. “You say the best things.”

  When he bothered to speak.

  “So you’re really going to come to New Orleans with me?”

  He tugged the elastic waist-band down over her hips and let it fall to the floor. His big hands skimmed up and down her thighs.

  “If you want me to.”

  Hell, at this rate, she’d follow him to the ends of the earth if he’d keep touching her.

  “I want you to. I want you in my bed and in my arms from now until forever.”

  “That can be arranged.” The words came out breathless and needy as his hands stroked her everywhere he could reach.

  * * *

  When the plane rolled to a stop at their gate in Atlanta, David decided he needed to ask the obvious question. Something had changed since they’d fallen asleep last night. He couldn’t pin point it but Sabrina had grown quieter the closer they’d gotten to home.

  He took care of grabbing their luggage and then followed her outside to the parking deck. Years ago, he’d learned to heed the intuition telling him something was wrong.

  He just couldn’t imagine what it was. They’d had an incredible time. The weather had been perfect. He’d gotten to hang out with his idol and two beautiful women. They’d shopped till they’d dropped. Almost literally according to Marissa’s security detail.