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

by Layla Valentine

  On the one hand, he’d always wanted to be a SEAL. It was, to Dominic, the dream job. And he’d use it to get away from his nightmare of a father, who still wouldn’t relent about the whole Army versus Navy thing. There were bumper stickers and sweatshirts that celebrated that classic rivalry, for God’s sake. Why did the drill sergeant have to be so difficult?

  He knew that he was enlisting to get away from his strict father, and that it didn’t make sense to go from a strict household to a strict life. But the kind of strict that Dominic’s father was looked to beat down any kind of form of initiative. All the drill sergeant wanted to do was tear Dominic down again and again, and Dominic couldn’t take it anymore. He refused to take it.

  Life would be better as a SEAL. Sure, he would be subjected to grueling conditions. But he suspected he would thrive under the kind of strict environment the Navy would provide. It would be more valuable to him as structure than anything else. The Navy would give him the tools he needed to be a better man in the future.

  But Hannah didn’t fit into his future. Not the way things were setting up right now.

  Hannah had refused to see him since their fight, and it bothered Dominic more than he thought it should’ve. He hadn’t tried to trick her into having sex. The attraction had been mutual. He hadn’t had any regrets about being with her up until now, and in spite of her absence from his life, he still loved her. Nothing had changed with that.

  What was Dominic supposed to do? Training to be a SEAL was an excellent opportunity. One that wouldn’t come around again. But he’d miss Hannah—and Harvey—terribly. How often did friends like them come around? Was he squandering the closest friends he’d ever had by going into the Navy?

  Was he turning his back on the woman he loved most?

  There wasn’t much he could do now to get out of training with the Navy. He’d already committed to that. But he could still try to figure out how to keep Hannah in his life, if she’d have him. There had to be options there. Some way to get her to come with him, if she wanted to.

  Planning and plotting, Dominic slipped into a troubled, restless sleep, full of tossing and turning. His dreams were filled with Hannah and him like a tossed handful of photographs. Him and Hannah seeing a movie, sharing popcorn. Him and Hannah taking a walk along a mountain path. Him and Hannah cooking dinner together. Him and Hannah pushing a baby carriage, making funny faces at the tiny, precious life that was safely ensconced inside.

  They were all snapshots of a life together. A life Dominic could choose, if he simply turned his back on the Navy and lost his dream of being a SEAL.

  Toward the end of the dream, Dominic was playing a game of tug-of-war. Only, he suspected there was much more at stake than bragging rights. The end of one rope was tied to one of his arms, and the end of the other was attached to his other arm. Dominic was the midpoint of the game, jerked from one end to another. It was so painful, trying to stay in the middle of the two completely different choices. One side would start to win, but the other would hang on tenaciously.

  In time, Dominic realized that the ends of the ropes weren’t tied at all. He’d been holding on to them. All he had to do was let go of one—Hannah, or the SEALs—and then he could go with the one he’d hung on to. He didn’t need to let them tear him apart. All he had to do was choose.

  The next day, when Dominic woke up, he had a hard time remembering the exact theme of the dream, let alone which rope he’d chosen.

  Chapter 9

  Hannah

  Five Weeks Later

  Hannah frowned as she turned the page in her book, then looked up to find Dominic looking down at her, his face unreadable. She’d done all she could do to avoid him in the six weeks since their fight, including avoiding Harvey. It wasn’t fair that Dominic had robbed her of her twin, too, but that was just the way she was going to have to address the situation.

  “This isn’t your house,” she informed Dominic, turning the page in her book again, even though she hadn’t read a single word. “You can’t just come waltzing in here all the time. There are laws against trespassing, you know.”

  “I’m not trespassing,” Dominic said, sounding sad. “Harvey invited me over.”

  “You could at least show us the decency you’d give to anyone else and ring the doorbell.” Hannah turned another unread page. “And stay away from me.”

  “Hannah, I’m sorry that things went so badly between us,” Dominic said, sounding like he’d written and memorized the words. “It was never, ever my intention to lead you on or make you think that I was using you in any way. I would never do that. I…care about you. Deeply.”

  She laughed in his face. “Downgraded it from love, then? What, your conscience won’t let you lie about loving me anymore?”

  Dominic was quiet for a long moment. “I’m not sure what you want from me, Hannah. I’m leaving right now for training, and I was hoping we could at least part on a positive note.”

  “I definitely feel positive about you leaving,” she said. “Really, really positive. Out of my life.”

  “If that’s what you really want, and how you really feel, then I’ll respect it.” He looked away, face twisted like he was tasting something sour. “The thing is, Hannah, I don’t know that I really believe you. I just don’t understand what changed between us. If it was just because of the miscommunication about the Navy, then I think we have a chance to salvage this. I’m not going to be gone forever.”

  “Oh, no,” Hannah said, trying for mean, false sympathy. “Did you not get a single girl to sleep with you up until this point? Dom, you had a whole six weeks. I’m a little disappointed in you, but probably not as disappointed as you are in yourself.”

  “Goodbye, Hannah.” He walked out of the room.

  “Bye,” she called after him, wondering why her stomach was roiling.

  She’d never wanted to see him again. The way he’d behaved had gutted her, just throwing her to the side like that, as if nothing had happened that was anything close to special between them. So why did she feel like she was making a gigantic mistake?

  Hannah couldn’t lie to herself. Sure, she was angry with Dominic. He should’ve mentioned something about the Navy to her, well before he’d invited himself into her bedroom—and her body. It wasn’t fair of him to sleep with her and then just leave Tucson for God-only-knew how long.

  But even at the very core of all that anger, Hannah still had feelings for Dominic. Strong ones. She didn’t want him to get hurt or killed. She worried about him. It was part of the reason she was so upset about the SEALs in the first place.

  But Hannah had a lot of trouble verbalizing that. If she could barely admit it to herself, how was she supposed to have a whole conversation with Dominic about it—especially when just the sight of him enraged her?

  She hid in her bedroom until she heard Dominic and Harvey leave, their cheerful tones so normal that they made Hannah want to scream. Nothing was normal. She hated everything. She especially hated the way her stomach refused to settle. She hadn’t eaten all day. There shouldn’t have been any trouble with her stomach.

  As soon as she knew she had the house to herself—Marnie was at a ladies’ night out with her group of friends—Hannah rushed into the bathroom, vomiting violently. Even when there was nothing left, her stomach rebelled, making her gag and dry heave. What had gotten into her?

  It couldn’t be food poisoning. She doubted it was a virus. She’d been sticking close to home over the past few weeks, saddled with a general malaise and poor attitude that Marnie attributed to end-of-high-school blues.

  A painful, horrific hour passed with Hannah curled around the toilet, wondering if the urge to vomit was a physical manifestation of her ire with and confusion over Dominic. Life would make more sense if she’d just start her period. Then, she could chalk up all these warring feelings to hormones.

  And just like that, the missing puzzle piece slotted into place. Hannah’s last period was more than six weeks ago. She was
late. Super late. The condom with the torn wrapper she’d begged Dominic to use. It had failed. It had utterly failed. Because she was so obviously pregnant. Hannah had retained enough information from health class to know and recognize the signs. Nausea. Mood swings. Missed periods. Tender breasts.

  She’d get a test—or three—to be sure, but Hannah already knew.

  She was pregnant. Dominic was the father.

  A knock sounded on the bathroom door, and she struggled to her feet, flushing the toilet and splashing water on her face. “Hang on a second.”

  Harvey was on the other side of the door when she opened it. “You okay?” he asked, eyeing her. “I thought for sure that you’d want to come with me to see Dom off at the bus station, but he said you didn’t want to come. Is everything all right?”

  “I just wasn’t feeling very well,” she said. “And, to be honest, I wish Dom wasn’t leaving.” All of that was true, even if she’d been lying for weeks to her twin. It didn’t feel good to lie. She didn’t like it. And now, she was going to really have to turn it up if she was going to make it through this pregnancy.

  Which was how she discovered that she actually wanted to keep the baby.

  If she’d known she was pregnant just a few hours earlier, when Dominic was at the house, trying to part on amicable terms, she would’ve told him. It would’ve changed everything. Maybe he would’ve put off the SEALs and stayed with her to help her figure things out.

  “You’ve been weird for weeks,” Harvey said, studying her thoughtfully. “Ever since Ronnie Kurtz’s graduation party. Did something happen to you there?”

  “No, no,” Hannah said quickly, patting him on the shoulder and skirting around him to leave the bathroom. Her stomach had settled reasonably well. She just needed information, at this point. Information, and a plan of action. “I think it’s what Marnie was saying. That I was sad because it’s the end of high school.”

  Harvey laughed. “That’s bullshit. You hated high school.”

  “It’s weird, though, it being over,” she said. “Right?”

  Her twin watched her. “You know you can talk to me, right?”

  “Of course I do,” Hannah said, drawing up short, wondering what Harvey was getting at. “The thing is, nothing’s going on.”

  “You come first, Hannah. Always have, always will. Just the perks of being twins. You hear me?”

  “I hear you.” They’d had this conversation before. Multiple times.

  “I’m telling you that even if it was Dom causing problems, I’d kick his ass and take your side.” Harvey joked a lot of the time; it was his way to defray tension and protect himself. But, right now, his blue eyes were deadly serious.

  And Hannah believed him. “Thanks, Harvey. I wouldn’t tell Dom that, though, if I were you. He’d probably get his feelings hurt.”

  Harvey snorted a laugh. “Probably. Think he’s going to come back to us a man?”

  Hannah swallowed. She was more afraid that he wouldn’t come back at all. “Just hope he comes back.” Especially since she was carrying their baby.

  “Get some rest,” Harvey recommended. “You look like shit.”

  “Oh, thank you. That’s very nice of you.” Hannah made a tactical retreat to her room, sitting on the edge of her bed. Things were really complicated.

  Now, though, another, much more uncomfortable situation reared its head. If Hannah told Harvey that she was carrying Dominic’s baby, and that Dominic had left without even figuring it out, it would ruin their friendship. Hannah didn’t want to come in between them. Maybe the ship had sailed for Dominic and Hannah already, but she didn’t want to deprive her brother of a dear friend.

  Secrecy was key, here. Hannah knew she could do it. Could already taste the lies on her tongue to protect herself and her unborn child. She wouldn’t trust Harvey with it. Didn’t trust Dominic. And she was tired of the pain of a broken heart. She just needed to move on and leave her memories of Dominic behind her—even if she was carrying the biggest one of all inside of her own body.

  And even if she did want to tell Dominic, there wasn’t a way to contact him. Harvey might know, but Hannah didn’t want to risk him becoming suspicious of her wanting to reach out privately to Dominic.

  Life wasn’t going to be easy. But at least Hannah now had a life after high school. A plan to pursue.

  Even if the path was going to get lonely along the way.

  Chapter 10

  Dominic

  Seven Years Later

  The desert heat had slapped Dominic across the face the moment he exited Tucson International, walking across the boiling concrete toward the rental car pickup. It was so offensive and over the top that he couldn’t help but laugh, shaking his head as the saliva evaporated from his mouth and his body threw out as much sweat as it could to try to cool itself.

  There was no place like home. Really.

  It made Dominic regret not having more time here. He only had three days of leave to be the best man for Harvey’s wedding before jetting back across the globe. He wasn’t complaining. At least, he didn’t think he was. But it would’ve been nice to have just a few more days. A week. Or a month, maybe.

  He located his car—a nondescript black sedan—and started the engine. It would’ve been nice if the drill sergeant had let Dominic borrow one of the family cars for the long weekend, but they’d never quite salvaged whatever shreds of a relationship they’d had ever since Dominic had turned his back on the Riley family tradition of service in the Army.

  Apparently, even becoming a member of arguably one of the most elite teams of the Armed Forces wasn’t enough to change the old man’s opinion about the Navy. SEAL status be damned, Dominic’s father wasn’t interested in giving Dominic so much as the time of day. Phone calls and emails went unanswered. Dominic even sent a letter once, just to see if perhaps a different form of communication would breach the drill sergeant’s walls. It hadn’t.

  It was a shame, but not one he was going to dwell on.

  Tucson looked so different from behind the wheel of the rental car, and Dominic knew it was more than just due to how widely he’d traveled in the last seven years of his life. The city had changed as much as he had, and he marveled at it, nearly getting lost several times on the way to the rehearsal dinner, which was being held at a restaurant that hadn’t existed the last time he’d been in town.

  Even the hotel he had booked a room at was a new construction. Dominic had arranged to stay there for convenience’s sake—proximity to both the rehearsal dinner restaurant and the wedding venue. Staying at home with his estranged father was out of the question, and he didn’t want to distract Harvey from his important day by requesting to crash on his couch, even if Harvey would’ve immediately agreed to it.

  Dominic would’ve been lying if he said he hadn’t, for the briefest of moments, thought about Hannah. Wondered what she was doing. Whether there might be a place for him with her, wherever she was.

  Harvey had always enthusiastically answered Dominic’s emails over the years, whenever Dominic had a chance to fire one off, to try to keep in contact with someone back home. It was important, considering the kind of work that he was doing with the SEALs, that he try to maintain some kind of anchor back home. It was important for perspective, for his sanity.

  It was also his way of trying to keep tabs on Hannah, even if it was indirect and awkward. He still didn’t feel like he could come right out and ask Harvey about his twin, and Hannah had made it perfectly clear that she didn’t want anything to do with Dominic anymore, not after he’d gotten accepted into the Naval Academy the day after they’d slept together. It had been terrible timing, and Dominic had some regrets.

  The SEALs had been good to him. He’d become a man under that careful and intense discipline. He just didn’t like how he’d left things with Hannah. Or how it had been seven damn years since he’d spoken to her.

  Dominic figured Harvey would’ve told him if something was wrong. If Hannah wasn’
t doing well. But in every correspondence he’d had with his best friend from childhood, Harvey never mentioned Hannah at all, and Dominic couldn’t bring himself to ask about her specifically. There was still that fear there that had been present throughout high school that if Harvey had found out just what Dominic had felt for Hannah, he would’ve made it so Dominic never saw her again.

  Well. They were proper adults now. They’d all turned 25 this year. Harvey was getting married, so it was basically a guarantee that Hannah would be at the weekend’s festivities. Dominic would surely get a chance to catch up with her.

  A chance to make things right, a small voice whispered inside of his head.

  He wasn’t sure what that was supposed to mean. Maybe it was guilt at leaving her behind. Dominic felt he should have tried harder before he left for training to make Hannah understand how he felt about her. That it wasn’t supposed to be a one-night stand. That he really did love her.

  Maybe Harvey’s wedding was a chance at redemption. Dominic really, really didn’t want another seven years to pass before seeing Hannah again.

  He had just enough time to check into his hotel before locating the restaurant where the rehearsal dinner was being held. Dominic strode into the building and was immediately assailed with a whoop.

  “Look who it is!” Harvey shouted, striding toward him, looking fit and also like he’d been drinking already. Maybe it was wedding jitters. “The prodigal SEAL returns to Tucson!”

  “Good to see you, too,” Dominic said, laughing as Harvey drew him into a big hug.

  This was a nice restaurant, he was a little embarrassed to realize. From the pointed stares they were getting, Dominic figured patrons usually didn’t shout in the middle of things.

  He pounded Harvey’s back and they released each other from the hug. “You’re looking really good, man. Marriage looks good on you.”