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

by Layla Valentine

  “Definitely.”

  Dominic, for the life of him, couldn’t manage to drum up an appetite. He knew that he wanted to make things right between him and Harvey, especially since Hannah and her brother were so close. He had never wanted to drive a wedge between them, even if that was exactly what he’d accidentally done.

  And it hurt knowing that he didn’t currently have the support of his other best friend. But coming clean with Harvey now, along with trying to make him understand what had happened, represented the secrets Dominic had kept from Harvey all the way back in high school.

  And Dominic was nervous about exposing those secrets, even if Hannah had his back on it.

  “Let’s do this,” Dominic said as they parked the car on the street.

  “Can I ask you something?” Hannah gave him a very small smile. “Is this your scariest mission to date? Anything like this compare to the Navy SEALs?”

  “That’s classified,” he said, kissing her hand. “But no. This is, by far, the scariest mission I’ve ever been on.”

  “It’s just Harvey,” Hannah reminded him. “I bet Josie even hid the key to the gun safe.”

  “I don’t want to screw it up,” Dominic admitted. “You’re so important to me, Hannah. And Harvey being so angry complicates things.”

  “We’ll get it figured out,” she reminded him. “Together.”

  “Together,” he agreed. Solidarity was important, he figured, as they rang the doorbell.

  Josie came to the door with a grin that was just a little too nervous to be welcoming.

  “Hey, guys. Welcome! Well, Hannah, welcome back. Dom, welcome for the first time. You haven’t really been by to see the place, have you? Not really much of an opportunity after the wedding and…everything.”

  “It’s a really nice house,” Dominic said immediately. “Very pretty. Good neighborhood, too.”

  “I mean, it’s in one of the best school districts,” Josie said. “Probably a little too early to be thinking about things like that, but here we are.”

  “Never too early,” Hannah said with a knowing grin. “Life can come at you pretty suddenly.”

  “Very true,” Josie said, then leaned close. “He’s been quiet all day, guys. I don’t know what to tell you, or how to gauge how this is all going to go down.”

  Dominic reached out and squeezed her shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll get it figured out.” Somehow, it was easier to comfort Josie than it was to ease his own troubles.

  “Hey, there they are,” Harvey said, strolling from the kitchen with what sounded like forced jocularity. “What’s on the drinks menu? We’re having steak, so we got a couple of bottles of red wine. I can’t really say I’m a wine man, though. I prefer beer, so we have both. Can I get anyone anything to drink?”

  “I think we ought to have a chat before we get too deep into the drinks,” Dominic said, steeling himself. That’s what they’d come over here to do—clear the air between him and Harvey. He didn’t want to put it off any longer.

  “Okay, well, we’ll leave the two of you to it,” Josie said abruptly, grabbing Hannah and dragging her away. “We’ll be out on the patio with the wine—bye!”

  The door slamming shut just a couple of seconds later told Dominic they either had a deceptively small house, or Josie and Hannah had fled at a run.

  “Well, I supposed that’s for the best,” Harvey said, deflating a little. “Now we don’t have to be polite. Are you sure you don’t want to do this over drinks?”

  “All I’m sure of is that I want to apologize to you,” Dominic said. “I feel like I put a damper on your wedding, and that’s not fair to either you or Josie. I’ll apologize to her, later.”

  “Hey, man, pro tip,” Harvey said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Josie confided in me that if she heard one more apology from you for that, she was going to tase you.”

  “Ha, I’ll keep that in mind. I wanted to extend my apology, though, to you. I know that you were just trying to protect Hannah.”

  “It’s hard to, though, when she’s so busy protecting herself.” Harvey gave a rueful grin. “It’s like, I realize that we’re 25. That we’re all adults now. But when I look at her, she’s always the little girl who was getting picked on in the orphanage. The one who cried about not having real parents. And if I’m being perfectly honest, here, I needed her as much as she needed me. There’ll always be that thing neither of us can really explain. That no one can really understand, not having anyone but Marnie growing up, and before that, nobody.”

  “I never, ever wanted to come between the two of you,” Dominic said. “But you should know that I’ve been in love with Hannah for a long time. Since high school, at least. And that I didn’t know about Kira until she told me after the wedding. Didn’t even suspect that she could’ve been mine. Hoped. But didn’t think.”

  “I don’t blame you,” Harvey said. “Well, I did. Not anymore, though. I remember just how shocked you were at the rehearsal dinner to hear about Kira, and I guess that makes sense, now.”

  “If I’d known…”

  “I know.” Harvey chuckled. “Hell, if I’d known it was you, I would’ve dragged you back from whatever jungle or desert you were operating in to get you to take responsibility.”

  “That was one of the biggest reasons why we wanted to come see you both tonight,” Dominic said. “I wanted to make sure you knew I was prepared to take responsibility. That I love Kira and Hannah so much. That my single greatest regret was that I haven’t been here for them, but that all changes, now.”

  “Now that you’re back in Tucson for good?” Harvey confirmed.

  “That’s right.” Dominic swallowed hard. “And that I asked Hannah to marry me, and she said yes.”

  There was a long, tense moment where Dominic was afraid Harvey could go either way—hugging him or punching him. Then, Harvey grinned—which didn’t completely tell Dominic he was in the clear.

  “You’re good with Kira,” Harvey said finally. “And I know you’re good for Hannah, too. I’ve hated seeing her struggle all these years. Even if she was too proud to admit it, I knew she found it tough.”

  “She’s not going to struggle anymore,” Dominic vowed. “At all.”

  “You’re going to be a good father,” Harvey predicted. “And, honestly, there’s no one I’d rather have as my future brother-in-law.”

  He hugged Dominic, then, and Dominic almost sagged in relief. Even though he wasn’t old-fashioned himself, and was pretty sure it wasn’t that important to Hannah, it was sort of like getting permission from a father before marrying his daughter. Harvey had dedicated himself to Hannah’s happiness and security for 25 years. It felt good to have his approval.

  “Well, we’d better go outside and let Josie and Hannah know we’re still alive,” Dominic said, pounding Harvey on the back as they separated.

  “We should start screaming and yelling just for fun,” Harvey said, still grinning. “Scare them a little.”

  “No way. Hannah was as nervous as I was coming over here. We’re going to go out there and tell them everything’s fine.”

  “Yours is the better idea,” Harvey agreed. “Josie is tired of begging our supervisors to schedule you and me on opposite shifts so we’ll not run into each other. Being friends is a lot easier than enemies, isn’t it?”

  “Definitely.” It felt like a weight the exact size and shape of Harvey had been lifted from Dominic’s chest. “I’ll take that beer, now, though.”

  “Thank God. I thought you’d never ask.”

  They walked out onto the back patio just as Josie was gripping onto Hannah’s hand and gushing about the glittering engagement ring on her finger.

  “Some detective you are,” Josie said, two spots of blush high on her cheeks as she addressed Harvey. “How did both of us miss this absolute rock on Hannah’s hand when they got here? It’s enormous!”

  “Do you really have to show me up in everything?” Harvey muttered. “That thing’s lik
e twice the size of Josie’s.”

  “I had a lot of lost time to make up for,” Dominic reminded him. “And a lot of savings.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “Everything straightened out, then?” Hannah asked, her eyes darting back and forth between Dominic and Harvey. “We can go back to normal?”

  “No,” Harvey said, his tone making Dominic draw up short. “We can’t ever go back to normal again.”

  What? Dominic had been so sure they’d unpacked everything that had gone wrong. He wouldn’t have agreed to go outside with Harvey if he’d thought there would be a possibility that the argument would continue.

  “Seriously?” Hannah asked flatly. “You can’t just be happy for me?”

  “Not when you think you have to hide everything from me,” Harvey said. “That’s what I’m talking about. If normal was you refusing to tell anyone who Kira’s father was, and refusing to accept help from anyone, then I never want to go back to normal. We need to define a new normal, and that’s all of us being honest with one another.”

  “I think that’s really nice,” Josie said. “And true. We’ve always been there for you, Hannah.”

  “And always will be,” Dominic said, drawing her up from her seat and kissing her.

  Hannah blinked back tears and smiled against Dominic’s lips. “Careful,” she said. “Or Harvey will see us.”

  “You can feel free not to do that while I’m around,” Harvey said, covering his eyes with his hand as Josie laughed. “So my brain doesn’t explode.”

  “There is something kind of sweet and sexy about secret romances,” Josie said.

  “No, no more secrets,” Dominic said. “All I want to do is shout how much I love Hannah from the rooftops.”

  “That’s pretty romantic, too,” Josie admitted.

  “I didn’t know how romantic you were,” Harvey grumbled. “Just another thing for me to fall short of.”

  “Poor Harvey,” Hannah teased. “Anytime you want lessons on how to be romantic, I’m sure Dominic would be more than happy to share.”

  “Let’s have a toast,” Josie proposed, raising her glass.

  “Agreed,” Harvey said. “To Dom and Hannah’s wedding.”

  “Not what I was going to say,” Josie said. “Stop interrupting me.”

  “Do what she says,” Hannah said quickly. “Josie’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you, Harvey. Don’t screw it up.”

  “Even Kira knows that the secret to a successful marriage is you doing what I tell you,” Josie said. “So shut up a minute and let me do this. It’s a good toast. I know what I’m doing.”

  “Sorry,” Harvey said quickly.

  “I’m toasting to the reunification of the Three Musketeers,” Josie said, smiling at each of them in turn. “I’ve heard so damn much about the three of you that I was, frankly, disappointed that you weren’t closer at the wedding. I chalked it up to time and distance, but now that we’ve really got everything out in the open, you can finally be together again.”

  “I’ll drink to that,” Hannah said, clinking her glass with Josie’s. “Cheers!”

  “An excellent toast,” Harvey said. “Thank you, Josie.”

  “Stick with me, kid,” she joked. “We’ll go places.”

  “Cheers, everyone,” Dominic said, his heart as buoyant as it ever had been. “You know, Josie, there were actually four musketeers, in the book.”

  “What a nerd,” Harvey complained.

  “Not trying to be,” Dominic said. “Just letting you know, Josie, that you’re a part of this, too. Our fourth musketeer, and, might I add, the bravest of all.”

  “How’s that?” Josie asked.

  “Isn’t it obvious?” Hannah countered, laughing, already guessing where Dominic was going with his joke. “Because you’re the one who agreed to marry Harvey. Very brave.”

  “Very funny,” Harvey groused. “Josie, baby, don’t listen to them. I’m the best there is.”

  “This guy should’ve come with, like, a seller’s disclosure or something,” Josie said, shaking her head with mock regret. “Something to warn me of what I was getting into prior to the wedding.”

  “Sorry,” Hannah said, laughing now. “We just really needed to marry him off so he could be someone else’s problem.”

  “What’s with this sudden roast?” Harvey complained as everyone joined in the laughter. “I thought we were celebrating the musketeers, here.”

  Dominic was halfway afraid he’d never be able to stop laughing as he slung one arm around his fiancée and the other around his best friend. He was surprisingly okay with it, especially as Josie, their fourth musketeer, launched herself into the middle of the hug, shameless and already an integral part of their friendship.

  This. This was something Dominic was determined never to take for granted.

  Epilogue

  Six Months Later

  Hannah

  “Come on, come on.”

  Hannah winced as Josie grumbled and struggled with the zipper on the back of her dress. The dress fit just a little too tight.

  “Okay, Hannah, I need you to take the deepest breath you’ve ever taken in your life,” Josie said, making eye contact with her in the mirror.

  Josie was so capable in every situation, and Hannah knew it had to do with working as a police officer. She was just glad it also seeped over into their friendship. When the tiniest thing went wrong, Josie seemed to revel in solving it.

  That was the kind of person Hannah craved to have as a best friend. She was just sorry that she hadn’t found her way to Josie before, when she’d felt so alone.

  Maybe it was Dominic who’d been the one to open her to the possibility of trusting more people in her life. Hannah huffed. There was no maybe about it. Ever since he’d come back to Tucson, ever since they’d fallen back in love with each other, Dominic had reopened Hannah’s heart. Even if misunderstanding and miscommunication between the two of them had closed it in the first place.

  It was funny how things came full circle, sometimes.

  “Hannah?”

  “Right. Deep breath. Sorry.”

  Josie laughed. “Don’t apologize for anything on your wedding day. This is your day. Yours and Dominic’s.”

  “And Kira’s,” Hannah added. And—well. That would all come later.

  “And Kira’s,” Josie agreed. “You’re allowed to do whatever you want today—as long as it includes taking a deep breath for me. This zipper’s going to zip. I can promise you that.”

  “Okay.”

  A tightening and secure feeling—followed by a triumphant swear from Josie—told Hannah that the mission had been accomplished.

  “This means you’re ready,” Josie said, then cocked her head. “Didn’t you get a fitting on this just last week?”

  Yes. Hannah had.

  “Guess it was just stress eating,” she said, giving a lopsided smile as her stomach fluttered.

  That was the biggest lie of all time. The wedding had more or less planned itself, as she and Dominic had decided that it was a good idea to combine their wedding with a house warming party for the new house they’d bought a scant two months ago.

  It was a house for a family—the family she and Dominic were committed to becoming for Kira. And for the love they shared. That was just as big a reason as any other. So, the wedding planning had only amounted to making sure the house was in order, which they would’ve been doing anyway, and lining up invitations, the officiant, and a caterer. It was maybe the lowest-drama wedding of all time, and a real money-saver.

  “Oh, stop with the stress,” Josie chided. “You’re in the dress. You look gorgeous. Maybe they screwed up at the fitting. Hannah, you’re positively glowing. Dominic’s going to lose his mind when he sees you like this.”

  Hannah pressed her hands to her cheeks. Josie was right. She was flushed, but in an attractive way, a way that she knew from experience couldn’t be replicated with foundations or highlighters or blushes. G
lowing, just like Josie had said.

  “I think I’m ready to do this,” Hannah said, turning around and hugging Josie. “Thanks for your help.”

  “I didn’t do a damn thing except show that zipper who’s boss,” Josie said. “I’ll get the best man and alert the band and get this show on the road.”

  Hannah had to laugh at the way Josie put things—the best man was Harvey, the band was Kira pressing play on the playlist cued up on Dominic’s laptop, hooked up to a single speaker, before she proceeded down the aisle in her second stint as flower girl. And the show on the road part? That was just everyone walking out to the backyard to take part in the ceremony.

  The wedding was simple by design. Finding their way back to each other’s arms? That’s what had been the complicated part, in Hannah’s opinion. She didn’t want any more obstacles to being with Dominic. Just some words they could recite in the comfort of their own home, surrounded by friends and family.

  Josie eased the bedroom door shut and Hannah took a shuddering breath, looking at her reflection. She looked like a bride. That was the strangest thing about it all. She looked like someone who belonged at a wedding, who was ready for marriage—even if it had felt like a complete whirlwind.

  Her blond hair was curled and pinned up, and she’d swiped on some waterproof mascara because she hadn’t been able to control a consistent series of crying spells throughout the morning. It was all happy tears, though. Tears of near disbelief that she’d come all this way to finally marry the man she loved so much.

  Or, maybe just hormones.

  “You’re not having cold feet, are you?”

  Hannah turned from the mirror to see Harvey poking his head in the door to the bedroom.

  She laughed. “Of course not. I’m coming.”

  “You look beautiful,” her twin said, pecking her on the cheek. “Dom’s a lucky man.”

  “I feel pretty lucky, too.”

  “Uh-huh. He ever does anything to upset you, you tell me. I’ll take care of it.”