His Baby Secret - A Second Chance SEAL Romance (Once a SEAL, Always a SEAL Book 1)

by Layla Valentine

  The surge of regret nearly left him breathless. “I’m sorry I left you in the first place.”

  “Dom, don’t.” She shifted, and now she held his face in her hands, her blue eyes endlessly deep. “You didn’t know. There was no way for you to know. I didn’t tell you. That’s why you didn’t know.”

  “Even before you knew you were pregnant with Kira.” This was so important for Dominic to say. He had to get it right. “I’m sorry I didn’t think about staying with you. I should’ve. I never should’ve left Tucson.”

  “No.” Hannah shook her head. “You left to pursue your dreams, and that was right. You wanted to be a Navy SEAL, and you achieved that. You did good work.”

  “I was able to pursue my dreams at the cost of your dreams.” Dominic combed his fingers through Hannah’s blond hair. “And that stops now.”

  “Dom, I don’t want you to give up on your dreams.” Hannah’s eyebrows drew together in consternation.

  “That’s just the thing. My dreams have changed. I don’t want to be in the Navy anymore. That’s why I came back to Tucson. Why I’m working on the police force.” Dominic took a deep breath and let it out. “I love you, Hannah. My dreams now are to be with you and Kira for as long as you’ll have me.”

  Dominic watched as Hannah grappled with that, as she opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to formulate a response.

  “You don’t have to say anything back,” he said quickly, hoping she wasn’t struggling with any sort of pressure he put on her by admitting his feelings. “I just wanted you to know for certain, if you had any lingering doubts about anything, that I love you. That I want to do this for you. That it doesn’t feel fair, that I got to pursue my dreams with the Navy, and now I’m asking you to let me pursue my dream to be with you and Kira.”

  “You’ve always been my dream, too,” she said finally. “I wanted you in my life, Dom. I wanted Kira to have her father.”

  Was it as simple as that? Could they both want to be with each other, just like that? Dominic wanted to be sure—had to be sure.

  “You always said you wanted to leave Tucson,” he said. “When we graduated high school, I mean. You said you wanted to leave this city in your rearview mirror.”

  Hannah smiled at that memory. “Tucson’s not so bad as long as you’re surrounded by good people.”

  “What would you be doing differently now, if you could?” he asked. “What dreams did you have to defer? What do you want to change in your life as it currently is?”

  Hannah gave a small shrug, and Dominic kissed her shoulder. “I always wanted to be a teacher,” she said slowly.

  “Done.”

  She laughed. “If it were that easy, Dom, I wouldn’t be the secretary at the school.”

  “I mean that whatever you need, whatever support system is required, whatever money or time is needed for training or classes, that you have it.”

  Hannah stared at him. “Are…are you serious?”

  “If your dream was to be a teacher, and you didn’t get to do it because you were raising our daughter alone, then it’s going to happen,” he told her. “Whatever you need. Help with tuition. With living expenses. With after-school care for Kira. Anything. Everything.”

  “Sold.” Hannah’s eyes were bright with excitement. “This makes me happier than you’ll ever know.”

  “What else?”

  She blinked. “What, are you kidding? How about we take it one step at a time?” She laughed. “You tell me you’re going to help make my dream of being a teacher come true, that you want to be there for Kira and me, and then you ask what else I want?”

  “Well, yeah,” Dominic said. “I want to do everything for you that I missed out on doing for you before, when I was gone. I want you to have everything you’ve ever dreamed of. I want to make love to you nonstop, until neither of us can take any more.”

  Hannah spluttered a little. “I mean, I could see that last one coming true tonight. We have some making up for lost time to do.”

  Dominic kissed her, unable to keep from smiling against her lips. “I was kind of hoping you’d say that.”

  Chapter 25

  Hannah

  Six Weeks Later

  Hannah blinked blearily, not sure what had dragged her out of her slumber. She’d slept well, and deeply. The kind of sleep she always hoped for and so rarely received, worried about Kira’s wellbeing and waking up late and screwing up school and work and everything else. Had she remembered to pay all the bills on time? Was she actually late?

  Her pulse quickened a little as she lifted her head to check the time on the bedside alarm clock. It was late, but wait—it was Saturday. The weekend. Nowhere they needed to be, right? No birthday parties for classmates Kira needed to attend that she’d forgotten to get a present for? No, it wasn’t anyone’s birthday today, except for Hannah’s.

  She smiled and huffed a quiet laugh at herself, letting her head drop back down into the pillow. Happy birthday to her. She’d actually slept in—even if the rest had been interrupted by the worry that she was missing out on something.

  She heard muffled shushing sounds in the hall, just beyond the closed door to the bedroom. Aha—that had been what had woken her up, Kira and Dominic plotting together.

  She didn’t have time to wonder about what before the bedroom door burst open and Kira bounded in, dark curls messy and wild, pajamas still on, singing “Happy Birthday” at the top of her lungs as she jumped onto the bed, the kinetic weight of her bouncing Hannah nearly off the mattress.

  Hannah laughed. If this latest growth spurt was any indication, Kira was going to have her father’s height.

  And there was Dominic in the door, handsome and grinning, singing along with Kira even as he entered the bedroom at a slightly more sedate pace than their daughter. Hannah smelled the reason why before she saw it. A steaming, aromatic omelet—Hannah’s nose picked up on basil and mushrooms and onion—was arranged artfully on a tray, along with a glass of orange juice, mug of coffee, and a single red rose in a crystal vase.

  “Happy birthday, Mom!” Kira bellowed in Hannah’s face, clearly overexcited. “Did we surprise you?”

  “Surprise me? I’m downright stunned—I was fast asleep!” Hannah captured her daughter’s wriggling body and dragged her up for a kiss. “The two of you are sneaky! I’m going to have to watch out for that in the future. I can already tell.”

  Kira laughed, delighted, before scooting away to make room for the tray that Dominic eased down over Hannah’s lap. “I told you she had no idea.”

  “You did—you know how to surprise your mom,” Dominic said, kissing Hannah lightly on the lips. “Hi. Good morning. Happy birthday.”

  “Good morning.” Hannah couldn’t stop grinning. She loved that Dominic had involved Kira in this little escapade. Kira loved plots and planning. And Hannah loved seeing father and daughter working closely and effectively together. “This smells great.”

  “I helped with that, too,” Kira informed her. “Not the part with knives, though. But I got to put all the ingredients into the skillet very, very carefully.”

  “We were very careful, because the skillet was very hot,” Dominic agreed. “Thought it might be fun to have a throwback breakfast for your birthday.”

  “Throwback?” Hannah asked, a little confused.

  “To the first family dinner we had,” Dominic said. “When I proved to Kira that breakfast is indeed delicious at dinnertime.”

  “I like omelets,” Kira said, leaning conspiratorially close to Hannah. “And we already had our omelets for breakfast before yours.”

  “So you could sleep longer,” Dominic clarified.

  “Well, thank you,” Hannah said, suddenly choked up. “For the delicious omelet and the chance to sleep in a little longer than usual.”

  This was more meaningful than she’d realized. She remembered Dominic striding purposefully into her kitchen, nicely filling out a police uniform, dead set on making her and Kira ome
lets for dinner instead of resorting to one of the frozen pizzas she had squirreled away to soothe Kira’s picky palate.

  It was hard to eat the omelet now, even as delicious as it was, filled with all of her favorite flavors. This was so special, and such a wonderful reminder of the last six weeks, of Dominic being a constant presence in both Hannah’s life and the life of the daughter they shared.

  But Hannah was hungry, and Dominic really was good at making omelets, so she polished it off without shedding any of the tears of joy that welled in her eyes. She sipped her coffee and smiled at the way Dominic teased Kira, making her laugh and scamper around. Hannah didn’t even mind the coffee that slopped over the brim of the mug and onto the sheets as their play got wild.

  It was enough to see her daughter happy—and the man she loved, the man who had given her Kira, here for both of them.

  “This is a wonderful birthday present,” Hannah announced, placing the tray and its empty dishes on the bedside table. “Thank you both so very much.”

  Kira stared at her for a long moment, clearly gob-smacked. “Mom, that wasn’t your present.”

  “What do you mean? Breakfast in bed is so luxurious. You made me feel like a princess.”

  Kira chortled. “You have another present. A real present.”

  Hannah looked to Dominic for confirmation, who nodded. “Kira’s right. There is something else.”

  “I don’t need anything else,” Hannah protested. “Dom, we talked about this. We’re supposed to be saving money right now.”

  “We are,” he said. “But I don’t want you to go another birthday without being able to celebrate properly. Kira? You know our hiding spot. Would you go get your mom’s present?”

  Kira’s answer to that was launching off the bed and dashing down the hall.

  “Dom, really,” Hannah said quietly. “Breakfast in bed that you and Kira made? All of us just being here together? That’s more than enough.”

  He lifted her chin softly and kissed her. “It’s just a little something, Hannah. Let me spoil you a little to make up for lost time, won’t you?”

  She was about to mount another argument, but Kira made her grand entrance into the bedroom, holding a small box over her head with triumph.

  “See?” Dominic cajoled. “Just a little something.”

  “What in the world could this be?” Hannah wondered, eyeing Dominic as she reluctantly accepted the package from her daughter. She shook it gently, experimentally, hearing the dull thud of something rattling around inside. “I have no idea. Kira, do you have any clues for me?”

  “He wouldn’t tell me!” Kira exclaimed, clearly scandalized by that decision. “I begged and begged. I promised I’d keep it a secret.”

  “And now that I know how good you are at keeping secrets—like the secret birthday breakfast—I’ll let you in on things in the future,” Dominic promised her. “But I liked this being a fun surprise for both of you.”

  Kira mulled this over. “You mean Mom’s present is also for me?”

  “In a way, yes,” Dominic said. “That’s why I didn’t want to tell you what I got her.”

  Hannah was completely baffled, but Kira had already lit up like a thousand-watt bulb. “I think you better open up that present, Mom.”

  “I don’t know,” Hannah said, trying not to smile. “Maybe I better take a shower and get ready for the day, first. Do some chores around the house, run some errands…”

  “Mom!”

  Hannah couldn’t help but laugh at Kira’s impatience.

  “Fine, fine, you’ve convinced me,” she said. “I’ll open it.” She shook the package again. “Is it breakable?”

  “I hope not,” Dominic said, his eyes shining. “You’re shaking it enough to break something.”

  She cringed. “Oh, God, was I not supposed to?”

  “Just open it,” he urged her.

  “Open it! Open it!” Kira nearly bounced off the bed with excitement. “I wanna see what it is!”

  “Whose birthday is this, anyway?” Hannah joked as she slipped her finger under the seam of the paper and ripped. The box beneath was fairly nondescript—no telltale markings or brand names—and when she opened it, wondering what, exactly, Dominic considered to be spoiling her, she saw another box. “Oh, very funny—the box within the box trick. Let’s see—oh.”

  The next box she pulled out was small and velvety, and—oh. Hannah knew the kinds of presents that came in small boxes, especially small ones made out of velvet.

  Her breath caught in her throat as she looked over at Dominic for confirmation. That this was really happening. That her assumption about what generally lay hidden inside small, velvet boxes was correct.

  He was on his knees beside the bed. “Open it,” he whispered.

  The sparkle of the enormous diamond in the middle of the ring made Hannah gasp. She hadn’t known she was that kind of person, the kind who gasped at gigantic diamonds. Then again, it wasn’t as if she really had that much experience with oversized gemstones. She supposed she’d just surprised herself, but, then again, this entire thing was a surprise.

  Spoiled, indeed.

  “It’s beautiful,” Kira said, positively transfixed. “Look, Mom. It makes rainbows.”

  Kira was right. There were so many facets cut on the main stone that whenever it caught the sunlight, it threw rainbows around the bedspread.

  “It’s so beautiful,” Hannah agreed, hardly trusting herself to speak. As it was, her voice quavered. “Just beautiful, Dom.”

  “Kira, I have a question for you,” Dominic said, taking Hannah by surprise yet again. “I was wondering if it might be okay if I married your mom.”

  Kira blinked, just as bewildered as Hannah was. “Shouldn’t you ask her that?”

  “I’m going to, definitely,” he said, nodding, “but here’s the thing. If I marry your mom, I wanted your permission to try and be your dad. Do you think that would be okay?”

  Kira looked to Hannah, the dark eyebrows she’d inherited from Dominic shooting up nearly to her hairline. And, crap, even as Hannah had tried to keep her composure before, there was no helping her tears, now. It was everything she wanted. Dominic. A family for Kira. Everything.

  “Dom asked you a question, Kira,” Hannah prompted, wiping impatiently at her own tears. “What do you say? Think he’s cut out to be your dad?”

  “Yeah!” Kira said, launching herself into Dominic’s arms. “You can be my dad! This is so cool!” She pulled away just as quickly, pointing a threatening finger at Hannah. “You’d better say yes!”

  “How about it?” Dominic said, the light in his dark eyes dancing. “Want to marry me, Hannah?”

  “More than anything,” she said, hardly noticing the exaggerated gagging sound Kira had taken to making whenever she noticed the two of them kissing.

  Kira would just have to get used to it, because Hannah wasn’t about to stop kissing Dominic. Not now. Not ever.

  Chapter 26

  Dominic

  “You look nervous.”

  Dominic eased his grip on the steering wheel. “I’m not nervous.”

  Hannah laughed gently at him. “You don’t have to hide it. It’s my brother. He carries a gun on a daily basis. The last time you saw each other, he almost kicked your butt. It’s okay to be nervous.”

  “Your brother wouldn’t have won that fight,” Dominic said, tapping out a rhythm on the steering wheel. “He’s too scrawny.”

  “Okay, word of advice: if you’re dead-set on fighting him, you should definitely say that to his face.”

  Dominic winced. “I’m not going to dinner at his house with you and Josie present to fight with him. I’m really not. This is to clear the air.”

  Hannah smoothed a hand down his arm. “I know. I’m just saying it’s okay to be nervous. I’m nervous, too.”

  “No reason to be nervous,” Dominic said, painfully aware that it sounded like he was trying to convince himself of that fact.

  “I
t’s going to be fine.” Hannah smiled. “Though, if you wanted to do a last-minute cancellation, I would fully support that. We could pretend we had stomach flu, and go out for pizza instead.”

  “Don’t tempt me,” he warned her. “Pizza sounds delicious. As does avoiding this whole thing.”

  “You know you’d feel bad if you didn’t do this, and I hate it when you act all guilty.”

  “I know. We’ll get through this and see what happens.”

  Dominic had coached himself through the best- and worst-case scenarios already. Best-case scenario: he’d somehow find a time machine in between here and Harvey and Josie’s house, and be able to clamber in it and go back in time to when he and Hannah were eighteen and do everything the right way.

  Reflecting on that, though, Dominic often couldn’t decide what the right way would be. Would it include using a functioning condom? Waiting until they were older? Dominic not enlisting in the Navy? Eighteen was young to have a kid, but Kira was so great that it was hard to imagine life without her. Could that time machine ensure that even if he and Hannah held off on getting pregnant, it would be Kira who would be created when they finally did decide to have a baby?

  It was probably for the best that time machines didn’t exist.

  And the worst-case scenario? Josie would have to make an off-duty arrest on her own husband when Harvey lost his mind at Dominic for not only having the audacity to love Hannah, but the stupidity to let her raise Kira on her own—even if Dominic didn’t have any idea that Kira even existed until he was in town for Harvey and Josie’s wedding.

  It wasn’t a fair situation, or one that was pleasant to think about, but Dominic accepted it. He wouldn’t do anything to defend himself if it came down to that. He deserved whatever Harvey thought he should dole out.

  “Josie told me they were making steak,” Hannah said helpfully as they turned onto the street where Harvey and Josie lived. “That’s something to look forward to.”