by Jenna Gunn
Do Over Rules
A Surprise Baby Romance
Jenna Gunn
Copyright © 2021 by Jenna Gunn
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to people or places is merely coincidental.
About This Book
Do Over Rules - A Secret Baby Surprise
She reappeared out of thin air.
And wrecked me all over again.
Only this time she’s got a baby with her.
My baby...
She was the ONE.
The acrobat with the wild light in her eyes.
We were all fire and passion...and far too young.
Three years ago she thought I cheated and she bolted.
Vanished.
Without knowing I was framed.
But fate and our child brought her back to my town.
And to my bed.
She might not know it, but she still owns my heart.
And I need them both to stay.
But things get complicated when he shows up.
On a mission of his own.
What he doesn’t know is when I’ve got my sights on something I want, I’m unstoppable.
Do Over Rules is book 4 in the Archer Brother Series and is full of all the feels that a hot rescuer, a secret baby, and a HEA can give. This book is a standalone or can be read as part of the 5 brother's stories. No cheating and no cliffhanger in this steamy action romance featuring Mia and Bishop.
If you haven't fallen in love with an Archer brother before, get ready because Bishop's gonna rock your world.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Epilogue
Sneak Peek- Boss Rules
Chapter One
Ten minutes. It’s plenty of time to walk down the beach to the meeting spot for today’s swim lessons. And…plenty of time to see a ghost, apparently.
When I tossed my pack over my shoulder and signed off duty at Lifeguard Tower four, I never expected that I’d get blindsided.
I was happily thinking about a parts list to order for the car restoration when I looked up and there she was.
Mia…my Ex.
I almost scrub my eyes. But that would be an admission that I might be losing my mind. Surely it’s just a doppelgänger.
There’s no fucking way my former wife is in Lynn’s Cove, my town. She went into hiding in Europe, said she never wanted to see me again. It’s not like California is a little hop and a skip away.
Plus, she’d never wear a dress like that—way too stuffy and normal. Definitely not her.
But damn, whoever she is, she’s close enough to give me the cold chills and a dose of pissed-off all over again.
I command my feet to start working again as the woman turns her back and walks farther away.
I try to shove her out of my mind along with the bitter taste of anger that she left behind.
A gaggle of little swimmers are waiting on me, so there’s no time to chase her down. Not that I really want to. I have no reason to want to see someone that dredges up those soul crushing memories. Ever.
Jeremy’s already chatting with the kids when I get there. Thankfully, it’s impossible to ignore them. They drown out any and all thoughts in my shocked brain. Kids love to scream when they play in the water. You add water and the volume control goes right out the window.
My ears will be ringing for hours, far longer than the swim lesson with the herd squealing kiddos surrounding my legs. As we begin, they are hardly more than blurs of neon swimsuits and sounds that humans shouldn’t be capable of making.
I duck out of the way just in time to avoid a spray of water unleashed from one kid’s hands. Losing myself in the moment, I laugh. “Almost got me.”
Jeremy, my fellow lifeguard’s eyes are wide in disbelief as he watches the madness.
“You must really like kids.”
I nod, “I do, I once thought I’d have a houseful of them by the time I hit this age.”
Jeremy knows I’m divorced so he doesn’t say anything else, and before my mood has time to drift dark, I say, “I usually give them a couple of minutes to get this out of their system before we begin.”
He grimaces, “I can see why.”
After a few more minutes of ear torture, I yell, “Listen up, we’re about to start our lesson.”
Six little faces turn toward me, they shove at their soppy hair and blink saltwater from their eyes.
“Okay, Amelia, how about holding my hand instead of my leg?” I pry her little hands from around my knee. “That’s it, hold onto my hand.”
“But…” She protests.
I grip her hand, “See, this is much better. You can jump up and down when you hold my hand.” I demonstrate by hopping up and down in the water.
Jeremy’s grinning like he’s seen the funniest thing on earth. “Man, you’re good at this.”
“It’s fun, once you get hang of it.”
We spend the next twenty minutes showing the kids how to face the waves, and how to duck under the bigger ones. Amelia squeezes the life out of my fingers the whole time.
“Okay, now let’s ride a wave to the beach and take a snack break!”
“Yay!” Shouts one really, really excited little boy named Jack. “And I love…I love riding waves. Seee…watch me.”
He flops himself down in front of the next wave and gets scooted all the way back to the beach.
When we start walking back to the shore through the thigh deep water, I glance over. Jeremy has one boy hanging on his back, and another clinging to his arm. “You all right over there?” I joke.
“We’re good. They’re not ready to ride a wave yet.”
I watch all the other kids catch their own waves. Once I know everyone is safe, I ask my little cling-er-on-er, “Amelia, wanna catch a wave?”
Her green eyes are big as an owl’s as she watches my face. “Come on, let’s do it. Climb on my back.” I get her settled piggy-back style. She wraps her arms so tightly around me I’ll have blue lips if I don’t hurry. I lower myself into the water and let the next wave carry me in. Amelia laughs the whole way.
A herd of eager moms meet us as we hit the beach. Libby Meyers rushes toward me to claim the sea-monkey off my back. She makes it a point to plant her hand right on my bicep before she grabs her daughter. “Look at you two! You are amazing, Bishop.”
The look she’s wearing is a little too something… like she’s eyeing a piece of chocolate cake. Her eyes skim over my bare chest in an appreciative sweep.
I’m kind of used to it, honestly. I’ve gotten pretty good at deflecting lifeguard fantasy chasers during my decade of working for the county.
I swing Amelia down off my back and pass her to her mom. “Just doing my job.”
“You’re a natural with kids.”
“They’re funny. I enjoy teaching them how to stay safe, which makes my job easier as a lifeguard too.”
I don’t say that dealing with kids is a hell of a lot easier than dealing with adults.
“Mr. Archer!” Calls Jack’s mom as she swivels her way toward me. Single mom number two wants some attention as well.
“Good afternoon Anne, Jack did really well.”
She bats her mascara coated eyelashes and sort of twists around so her swimsuit shows a little more of her Grand Canyon cleavage, “He just adores you.”
I start to back away before I get caught in someone’s snare, “Let’s get some snacks and get those kids back in the water.”
Jeremy’s already opening the bag of snacks and juice boxes when I get to him. As he hands things out, I get a thank-you card from my bag.
“Hey, Moms, while the kids eat, I’d like to get this thank-you card to the owners of The Tides restaurant signed for sponsoring today’s lesson with the county.”
The card gets passed around. I eat some goldfish and drink a juice box that looks like a toy in my hand. After everyone’s had time to warm up, we head back to the water for a lesson on rip currents.
Jeremy looks a little less shell shocked this time. He’s finding his groove, and Jack seems to be his sidekick now. Wonder if Anne will show him her tits too?
By the time we get back to the beach again, most of the moms are sun bathing. So the goodbyes and thank-yous include a few skin to skin hugs.
I used to try to avoid them getting all up on me, but now I just get the hugs over with. Better to get it out of the way. I figure it’s making someone’s day to hug the lifeguard, even if it’s the last thing I want to be doing.
Jeremy swivels around to me when the last mom-child pair is gone. “Oh, my god. I got attacked. Two women tried to hug me at once. And that last woman rubbed her giant boobs all over me, then stuffed her phone number in my hand when she was leaving.”
I can’t contain my laugh. “It was your turn today!”
He groans. “I had no idea kid’s swim lessons would be so dangerous.”
Kneeling down, I unzip my duffel bag and fish my hand around inside. I pull out a folded slip of paper. “Every time…”
I hold up the hand-written note so Jeremy can see the words. In feminine cursive it reads, “Call me if you ever want to have adult swim, Camille,” Her signature is followed by her digits.
His eyes go wide. “Oh, shit!”
I crumple the number and shove it into the wet pocket of my uniform shorts. When I get back to the tower, I’ll throw it away. I never call them and I never take the notes home. Not after what happened before.
He mutters, “I had no idea.”
“I guess fit guys who like kids are in demand. I could hook up with plenty of them if I wanted to.”
Jeremy shakes the sand out of two county issued beach towels that the kids had been sitting on. “Have you ever taken one of them up on the offer?”
“Oh, no. I’m not in the market.”
“You’re divorced, right?”
I let the word settle into my throat for a second. I never wanted to be divorced, but it happened and seeing Mia’s twin just reminded me of the fact that I loved her. I mean really, really fucking loved her. “Yeah, I am.”
“This is probably too personal, but can you ever see yourself getting married again?”
“Nah,” I admit. “I’m in no hurry to get that kind of involved again. You ever think about getting married?”
“Sure, man. But I haven’t found anyone even close to being the one.”
“Good luck with that,” I mutter. “Hope you have better luck than I did.”
Once we’ve cleaned up, I break off from Jeremy to deliver the thank you note to The Tides restaurant. If I don’t do it now, it will end up in my bag for weeks.
I pause outside the hotel door to pull on my county issued lifeguard t-shirt, an obnoxiously bright green thing with a big rescue cross on the front and back. Dashing my hand through my hair, I try to look as presentable as possible. Not that people in town aren’t used to seeing me salty and wind whipped. I’ve been like that since I was a kid. Can’t imagine it any other way.
I’m underdressed for the place, The Ocean Inn is swanky, and the Tides is a five-star restaurant, but this is official lifeguard business so the uniform works, and I’m not here for a hotel room or a meal.
Actually, I’ve never eaten at The Tides. Suits give me hives so the place is not high on my list of priorities for dates or special occasions…if I had such things.
The restaurant that sponsors the kid’s ocean swim lessons sits on the top floor, the penthouse, and has its own dedicated elevator. As I round the corner to the nook that holds the elevator, the door is closed.
The staircase catches my eyes. Six floors is nothing. The stairwell is quiet and cool as I take the steps two at a time.
I’m surprised by a locked door when I hit the fourth floor. It appears it takes a swipe card to go any higher— I can’t take the stairs all the way to the sixth floor.
What the hell?
Guess I’ll have to take the elevator after all.
I drop back down to the third floor and press the call button.
After a couple minutes, the door slides open. I step inside.
You might as well have smacked me with a frying pan. I wouldn’t have been any more stunned than I am when I realize the former Mrs. Mia Archer, my Ex is standing in the corner.
Well, fuck. I guess that really was her.
I swallow hard, and her name comes out on a broken remnant of my voice. “Mia.”
Seeing a ghost up close never looked so good.
Or felt so eviscerating.
Just when I was starting to stitch my gaping gut-wound back together, beginning to feel like I could hold the pain at bay, she shows up, looking like the wild butterfly that once drew me in.
Yep, she lured me the way sweet nectar draws a bee.
She won’t do it again.
Fool me once…and all that shit.
She breathes, “Bishop.” Her slender hand flutters to her neck.
Fuck me sideways. I wondered how I would feel if I ever saw her again.
It’s way more painful than I ever could have imagined.
That glimpse of her on the beach was NOTHING compared to this.
My heart clenches hard behind my breastbone, feels as if it might just stop. “Shit. I did not expect to see you ever again.”
After a few seconds she chokes out, “Well, I’m here, it’s not a hallucination.”
“A nightmare,” I mutter.
I can’t rip my eyes from hers. Like a moth can’t resist a flame. A cascade of emotions crosses those too wide, pale gray windows of hers.
I want to fucking lower my mouth to hers. For a few seconds just the press of skin to skin. But I know something inside of me will ignite if I taste the honey that forever haunts my dreams.
And if I unleash the hunger and pain inside of me it will shake the foundation of the hardened man I am.
No I won’t go there. I want answers for why she did what she did. “What—”
Suddenly the floor below us falls by at least an inch, causing my insides to jolt.
Mia screams, “Oh my god!” She grabs for the wall as I stumble forward.
I sway, and steady myself with a hand against the wall too. I chuckle, “That’s not a good feeling.”
Her wild eyes scan the elevator. “Listen, do you hear that?”
I tilt my head, as if it might help me understand what is going on. “That’s a weird sound…”
“Elevators aren’t supposed to make creaking sounds,” she whispers.
The floor drops again, jolting down, a total of maybe three inches this time.
A high pitch gasp-yelp tears from Mia’s throat. She�
�s clinging to the railing along the wall like a scared cat changing onto a tree. And I can’t blame her much.
I grab her wrist, pull her toward the floor. “I think we should sit down.”
The eerie as fuck groaning sound starts again.
I gaze at the ceiling.
“I don’t like this one bit.” She croaks.
“I thought you don’t mind heights?”
She jabs at my arm. “That’s different. There are safety nets when I’m working.”
“These things have a lot of safety mechanisms.”
Mia twists her hands in her lap, her brow creased in worry. I know she’s trying to keep from chewing her fingernails. It was a habit she was fighting when we were married.
Mia catches me looking at her, “I haven’t chewed my fingernails in years, but right now I want to rip every nail off.”
“Chewing them right now won’t help a bit.” I offer.
She frowns, “B—” Her eyes fly wide. The elevator is moving. Not like normal moving. It’s slipping downward or something.
“It’s okay.” I try to sound confident.
She shakes her head violently. No. “This is not okay.”
A loud clang rattles through the elevator. That does it for her apparently, pushes her right over the edge. Before I know what’s happening, she’s got her strong, slender acrobat’s body wrapped around me like I’m a fire pole.
“Mia, what the hell?” I rasp as my betraying hands pull her right into my damned lap.
