by Shauna Allen
Okay, so I’d never been one for convention, and I was obviously not about to start now. I had my first official girlfriend (high school bullshit and one-or two-night stands didn’t count in my book) and she was already pregnant and about to be living with me before we’d even had our first real, honest-to-God date. We never did make it out that first night all those months ago . . .
Well, we may have been doing things a bit backwards in our relationship, but maybe we’d still end up in the same perfect place.
After lunch, we headed out to her doctor’s appointment, and I have to admit I was more than a little bit excited. I wanted to learn all I could learn about my growing child and hear its tiny heart beating. I’m sure Carissa thought I was crazy, but that’s okay. I had decided to embrace Tito’s words and let my choices define me and to embrace every last emotion I could wring out of the experience. Was I still scared? Sure. Did I still have a few doubts? Absolutely. But was I determined to give this my best shot? You bet your ass.
I took her hand as we made our way into the medical building and let her lead the way into the doctor’s office. We checked in and when she was called back, she did her thing with then nurse and we waited for the doctor.
I have to admit I was a bit surprised when a young blonde who looked no older than us walked in wearing light-blue scrubs. “Hello, Carissa. How are you today?”
“Good.”
“That’s good to hear.” She turned to me. “And you must be dad?”
“I am. Cody Wilbanks.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Dr. Xavier.” She sat with a laptop and got down to the business of baby, going over lab work, and discussing Carissa’s morning sickness and next visit. “So, I know we did an ultrasound at twenty weeks, but we weren’t able to get all of the measurements I needed, so I’d like to schedule you for another ultrasound soon to get a better visual and a more complete check on baby.”
Carissa’s grip on my hand tightened as something like fear gripped my heart. “Is everything alright?”
The doctor’s face gave nothing away and her smile was relaxed. “Yes, I think so, but I like to be thorough.” Her gaze darted to me then back to Carissa. “Everything so far tells me we have a perfectly healthy pregnancy and baby, so I don’t want either of you to worry. This is just a precaution. Plus, you can find out the sex if you would like to at that time since they weren’t able to at your last scan.”
Carissa looked to me, her eyes bright. “Do you want to know?”
“Do you?”
Her nose crinkled with a cute little smile. “Kinda.”
“Then yeah.”
“Okay.”
“Shall we listen to the heartbeat now?” Dr. Xavier asked.
Carissa turned to me.
“Yes,” I answered for both of us.
The doctor smiled knowingly and reached for her equipment. She pulled up Carissa’s shirt, and I marveled at her smooth, round belly and perfect white skin. I’d touched her stomach a few times, but never her naked flesh and my fingers ached to feel it now, but I kept my hands to myself as I listened to the static of the machine when the doctor turned it on.
Then, eventually, there was a steady bomp, bomp, bomp that was so fast it sounded unnatural. The doctor grinned up at me.
“That’s it?” I asked in wonder.
“That’s your baby.”
“Wow.”
The doctor let us listen a few moments longer before we finished up and scheduled her next visit and ultrasound.
When we stepped back outside into the sunshine, Carissa glanced up into my face. “So? What did you think?”
“That was pretty amazing,” I admitted. “Thanks for letting me come.”
She leaned into me, lacing our fingers as we walked back to the truck. “Thanks for coming.”
I opened the truck door for her and helped her inside, glad she didn’t seem overly worried after the doctor reassured us again on our way out that the next ultrasound was just a routine precaution. Before I shut the door, I caught her looking at me funny. “What?”
“Nothing. It’s dumb.”
“Well, now you have to tell me.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Yes, you do. It’s an unwritten rule. When you tell someone you held back because you thought it was dumb, you have to share and let them decide for themselves.”
“That’s not a thing.”
“Wanna bet?”
“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes. “I was just thinking that out of all the men in the world, I wouldn’t want anyone else to be the father of my baby.”
Well.
Damn.
I wasn’t expecting that one.
Pride and gratitude unfurled in my chest in a warm rush as I leaned in and brushed a kiss across her lips. “Thank you, baby. That is definitely not dumb, and I will try my damnedest to live up to that honor.”
Well, Tito might’ve given me the day off, but after I dropped Carissa back off at the café for her afternoon shift (I tried to talk her out of it, she insisted) I went in to HQ anyway to see what was up. I told her I’d be by her apartment that evening to collect her and the rest of her things. She was spending her first night at my place. No more avoiding it.
I pulled in and parked next to Red’s truck and loped up to the front door. Inside, Dude, Abe, Benny, Lucky, and Maverick were milling around the lobby area, shooting the shit. Most of the rest of the teams were in an adjoining room, their heads bent over some paperwork on the table.
“What’s up, guys?”
Lucky glanced up, obviously surprised to see me. “Hey, man. I thought you weren’t coming in today.”
“I wasn’t, but I had some time to kill so I thought I’d stop by. Anything new?”
He tilted his head toward a closed door. “A little bit. Tex, Tito, and Wolf are in the office going over some intel now.”
“Brianne?”
“Yeah. Her and Tex have chatted sporadically. I guess they’ve got her pretty locked down. He thinks they’ve got her in Central America somewhere, but even she doesn’t know where she is exactly. He’s working with her on a way to ping the location right now, but she thinks they’re getting ready to move.”
“Anything new about the embassy bombing threats?”
“She says arms are still moving, but she’s not sure which embassy. They obviously only tell her the bare minimum.”
“Or she only tells us the bare minimum.” I plopped down into the closest chair. “Fuck.”
“I don’t think so, brother,” Lucky said, championing his girl’s best friend. “She’s been on the up and up pretty much this entire time. Everything she’s done has been because the cartel has forced her hand.”
“Well, I sure hope we can get something useful out of her soon.”
“You and me both, brother,” Dude replied, his voice low and gruff, memories of the last embassy bombing and all the victims heavy in the room.
Suddenly, the meeting room door opened, and Tito and Wolf appeared.
Tito paused when he spotted me. “What are you doing here?”
“Just stopped by to see what’s new. They tell me Brianne’s in Central America?”
“We think so. We did also piece together that the embassy Shadeek will target will possibly be somewhere either in Central or South America. Brianne’s last message shared some downloaded shipping logs for the arms and bomb materials they’re selling, and he’s not shipping them any farther than that, so it’s a fairly safe bet, at least at this point.”
“It’s at least a place to start,” Benny said with a nod.
“Tex can get us a list of all the embassies and we can—” Abe started.
“Already on it,” Tex interrupted with a smirk and a folder in his hand. “Wolf, Tito, and I are going to get with the commanders to discuss the best way to go about handling this because there is way too much ground to cover for just our two teams, especially since we have no idea which embassy they plan to target or when. Hell, th
ey may even change their plans. We have to be ready for any contingency.”
“Oorah,” Tito said with a half-smile.
“Oorah!” the rest of us echoed.
Well, the rest of us, as in my team.
Wolf, Tex, Dude, Benny, Abe, Cookie, and Mozart simply stared at us with varying degrees of smirks.
“We’re not Marines,” Wolf finally deadpanned. “We don’t ‘oorah.’”
Tito raised a brow, smirking right back. “Is it beneath you, SEAL?”
“A little bit.”
“Well, you feel free to go sing your seamen songs, or whatever it is you guys do then.”
“Fuck off. Let’s just get back to work.”
“Right.”
And that’s what we did . . . right up until my phone buzzed with a text message.
Carissa: Sorry to bother you, but can you come pick me up? Pete’s back and he’s acting kinda weird. I don’t want to walk home by myself.
Something much more than a mere protective instinct bubbled and burned through my veins as I punched out my reply and shoved out the door with a cursory goodbye for my team.
Me: I’m coming. Don’t move.
Carissa
I’m coming. Don’t move.
I felt a bit silly texting Cody like I was some damsel in distress, but something about Pete was making me nervous. He never came in twice in one day, and the way he stared me and Cody down that afternoon before slamming out of there, on top of the way he was staring at me now, was just . . . off. It could’ve just been my over-active, pregnancy-hormone-laden imagination—hell, I hoped it was—but I couldn’t be sure, and I’d never been one to ignore my instincts.
Rebekah was busy with customers plus her usual business of running the café, especially now that Scarlett was out on maternity leave, so I didn’t want to bother her with it, so I’d caved and texted Cody.
When I couldn’t avoid it any longer, I swallowed and made my way back over to Pete. “What else can I get you?”
He eyed me up and down. “Why won’t you go out with me, Carissa?”
“I . . .” I swallowed hard. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you, Pete.”
“I thought we got along well.”
“We do. That’s not it.”
“Then what?” He demanded, his voice low. “Is it because you’re pregnant? You think I’m offended that you have some other man’s bastard child in your belly?”
I snapped back, shocked.
His grip was suddenly on my wrist like hot steel. His eyes bored like lasers into mine. “Because I’m not, Carissa. Your indiscretions don’t deter me. I’m a forgiving man.”
I tried to yank my arm back, but his hold tightened. My gaze flew around the café, but no one seemed to be paying us any mind. I opened my mouth to call for help, but suddenly, he was ripped backwards and tossed to the ground like a ragdoll.
Cody seethed above him like a raging Thor, and I’d never been happier to see anyone in my life. I wilted against the counter in relief as Pete scrambled to his feet, his eyes murderous as he took in Cody.
“You touch her again, and I will end you,” Cody murmured, his voice low but deadly in its intent.
“She’s free to choose,” Pete spouted, backing away slowly, his eyes pinging back and forth between us.
“Yes. She is,” Cody agreed. “And you see that baby in her belly? That’s proof that she chooses me, motherfucker. Now get the fuck out of here before I break your hand for touching my girlfriend.”
Pete’s eyes narrowed at the word ‘girlfriend’ just as Rebekah appeared.
“What is going on here?” she demanded.
“Nothing,” Cody said, his eyes glued to Pete. “He was just leaving. Weren’t you, Petey?”
Pete said nothing and slammed out the door for the second time that day.
Cody finally faced me, his expression softening instantly. “Are you okay, baby?”
I nodded, still a little shaken up. “I’m okay.”
“What in the world happened?” Rebekah asked again.
I let Cody pull me into a hug then told her the quick version. She looked just as confused as I felt. This was just not the quiet, unassuming Pete we’d come to know over the past few weeks.
“Well, if he comes in again, you steer clear of him,” she said. “If he acts like that again, I’m banning him from the café permanently.”
I nodded and let Cody lead me to a seat.
“You almost done here?” he asked.
“No—”
“Yes,” Rebekah interrupted. “Go home, Carissa. You’re off the rest of the day.” She shook her head when I tried to argue. “Go.”
Cody stood and offered me his hand. “Come on. Let’s get you home.”
My stomach fluttered when he said home, knowing he would be taking me back to his condo. I had no reason to go back to my apartment other than to sign the final papers now.
I took his hand and let him lead me out to his truck, not missing the way his eyes scoured the parking lot for signs of Pete.
We drove in silence for a minute then he glanced over. “You sure you’re all right?”
“I’m fine.”
“If he comes in again, I want you to call me right away. He’s a fucking creepster, and I don’t want him anywhere near you.”
“It’s a public place, Cody. You can’t keep him away.”
He shot me a killer glare. “He laid hands on you, Carissa. Watch me.”
“Well, after the way you threw him down and threatened him, I doubt he’ll be back anytime soon,” I mumbled.
“He’s lucky I didn’t do worse.”
I simply stared at his profile, confounded by this new side of him that I’d had no clue existed.
He glanced over. “What?”
“Have you always been this much of a caveman?”
“Caveman?”
“Yeah.”
“You mean protective of my girl and baby?”
My stupid girly heart trilled. “I . . .”
He turned back to driving, his stare intense as he gripped the wheel tightly. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never had this before. But you bring out the protective instincts in me, and all I know is I will do anything to protect you both and I want to take care of you, so if that makes me a caveman, then yeah, I guess I’m a caveman. Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.” Now I felt like a jerk. I glanced down at my belly and silently told our baby how lucky we both were. “I’ve never had this either.”
His hand found mine across the console and squeezed, reassuring me without a word that we’d figure it out.
Once we got there, he led me into his condo and showed me around. I was immediately struck by three things . . .
The place smelled of him. All him. That masculine mix of earth and ocean and just plain Cody that I recalled so viscerally from our one night wrapped up in each other, and it was nearly enough to bring me to my knees.
He already had some of my boxes unpacked and my bed made in my room. The man worked fast—he said it was his Marine training, but I was inclined to think it was just him.
The third bedroom was empty, save for one thing. A tiny white onesie hanging in the closet with the USMC insignia that read: My Dad is a MARINE. What Super Power does your dad have?
I turned to face him, biting my lip against a smile. “Seriously?”
He shrugged. “I couldn’t help myself.”
I spun around and took in the bright room. “So, this is the nursery?”
“Yeah, I thought it would be nice. It gets a lot of sunshine.”
I faced him and studied him as he studied the space, and I realized in that moment I was already a heartbeat away from falling in love with him. Heck, I think I had been since the moment I’d met him. I’d never been the girl to believe in fairy tales and love at first sight, but something about Cody made those things seem so very real.
He caught me staring. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“Still thanking your lucky stars that I’m your baby daddy?” he asked with a sexy, lopsided smirk.
“Something like that.”
“Get over here.” He opened his arms.
I rushed over and let him hold me, basking in this moment of perfection that I never thought I’d get.
He pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “I’m thanking my lucky stars, too.”
Cody
I’d never lived with a woman before, but I had to admit, our first week living together was pretty fucking amazing. I didn’t ask her to, but Carissa cooked for me, she made the place smell nice, and—good God—she walked around in these little short shorts and tight tank tops.
Braless.
Was she trying to kill me?
Baby belly or not, she was sexy as hell, and this separate bedroom business was torture. As it was, my right hand was living with a perpetual cramp as I tried to take care of business for myself, but it was not helping. At. All.
The only bright spots were in the evenings when we’d sit and talk about our days like a normal couple. So far, it sounded like Petey boy had learned his lesson and was staying away from the café.
That first Friday night, as she cleaned up the dishes after we ate a dinner of chef salads—her craving—she asked, “How was your day?”
“Fine.” No need to mention the live-fire training exercises we’d done or that we’d gotten word that Canadian special forces had captured Mohamed Mahiir, Shadeek’s second-in-command, and were going to arrange extradition to the United States for interrogation next week. “Routine.”
She glanced over, her dark eyes sparkling. “I spoke to my Aunt Linda today.”
“Yeah? How is she?”
“She’s good. She wants to meet you.”
“I’d like that.”
“You would?” She seemed surprised.
“Well, sure. She’s important to you.”
“She is.” She took a step in my direction. “So are you.”
I hooked her hip in my palm and drew her closer. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Because I’m this one’s daddy?” I ran a thumb over her round belly.
Her fingers feathered through my hair, but she didn’t respond.