Secret Baby: A Second Chance Navy SEAL Romance (Forbidden First Times Book 4)

by Sofia T Summers

I grinned. “Yep,” I told her as I crossed into the apartment and kissed Jessie on the mouth. She smelled even better than she looked and I felt my cock twitch and stiffen with excitement. When we pulled away, Jessie was smirking at me.

  “We’re having pasta party,” Jessie said. “I hope that’s okay?”

  “I don’t know what that is,” I confessed.

  She laughed. “Pasta pomodoro,” she said. “But Olive calls it pasta party and ... well, the name stuck.”

  For some reason, that little detail touched my heart than anything else Jessie had told me about our daughter yet.

  “Where is she?”

  Jessie coughed and pointed to the dining room table. The same adorable little girl I’d seen running around on the apartment lawn outside was sitting down, playing with some little plastic figurines. She had dark hair – the same as mine and Margot’s – in two messy pigtails. When she turned to me, I saw that she had Jessie’s beautiful round face and big brown eyes.

  “Mommy,” Olive said, almost accusingly. “That’s not Aunt Henny!”

  “No,” Jessie said, trying not to smile. “It’s not.”

  “Who are you?” Olive asked. She hopped down from the chair, grunting slightly as she did so, and walked over to us.

  I looked at Jessie expectantly. I wasn’t sure how the hell I was supposed to introduce myself, especially not to a kid. Finally, I took a deep breath and got down on one knee, so that I was only a little taller than Olive.

  “Well, some people call me Ensign Grove,” I said. “But that’s usually only at work.”

  Olive looked puzzled.

  “And some people call me Ben. My parents call me Benjamin, or darling, which is even worse.”

  “That’s a nice name,” Olive said. She was still blinking at me in confusion and I felt my stomach do a flip. Buck up, Grove, I told myself. It’s now or never.

  “And you, well, you can call me Dad,” I said. “Or Daddy Ben. Or whatever you like, as long as it’s not mean.”

  Olive’s big eyes got even bigger as she processed what I’d just said. She blinked at me once, twice, then three times before turning to Jessie.

  “Mommy?” Olive asked. She sounded both hopeful and nervous and I held my breath, nervous as a high school girl waiting for her crush to ask her to prom.

  Jessie waited a second, then gave a nod of her head.

  “That’s right, hon,” she said. “He is.”

  Olive launched herself at me. She wrapped her little arms around my neck and I scooped her up in my arms.

  “Wait,” Olive said. She pulled back and looked at me, narrowing her eyes. “I’m Olive,” she said formally. “Did you know that?”

  Jessie burst out laughing and I chuckled as I held my daughter.

  “Yes,” I said. “I did. Your mom told me a lot about you.”

  Olive hugged me once more and then I set her back down on the ground and got to my feet.

  “I have these for you,” I said, handing her the coloring books and other gifts. “I thought you might like to color – that was my favorite thing to do when I was your age.”

  Olive gasped.

  “Olive,” Jessie said. She raised an eyebrow. “What do you say?”

  Olive was too busy poring through the coloring books and boxes of markers and crayons to reply.

  I chuckled. “Don’t worry about it,” I said to Jessie. “It’s just nice to see her smile. And you know, meet her.”

  Jessie flushed. “Well, like I said ... the idea of waiting seemed really weird,” she said softly. She stepped closer and laced her fingers with mine, squeezing my hand with hers.

  After the excitement of her new toys wore off, the three of us sat down to dinner. Jessie’s pasta sauce was excellent, and I ate two plates before groaning and patting my stomach.

  “You’re gonna kill me, Jess,” I said. “There’s no way I can keep eating like this.”

  Jessie grinned. “Well, too bad,” she said. “You might get a little fat. But that’s okay,” she said, reaching over and patting my stomach. “A few carbs now and then won’t kill you.”

  “What’s a carb?” Olive asked, causing Jessie and myself to laugh.

  After a second, Olive joined in.

  Having dinner with Jessie and Olive was the best night of my entire life, even better than the night I’d met Jessie. Growing up, my parents had always been so stiff and formal that dinner had often felt more like a funeral than cause for celebration and togetherness. Only Margot and I had been close, and even then sometimes our relationship could be prickly. The four of us had eaten dinner together every night in the dining room that was off-limits to Margot and me during the day, using proper silverware, and eating food like filet mignon with fondant potatoes or duck l’Orange with jicama.

  But Jessie was so warm, so sweet, so loving. And Olive was a spunky, sassy little thing who – just like her mother – never seemed to hold her tongue or hesitate to speak when she had something on her mind. The two of them were so close, and watching Jessie tuck Olive into bed after dinner had nearly melted my heart.

  I felt like I was turning soft, but maybe this was just the way life was supposed to be. Maybe, deep down, I was a family man after all.

  It was only after I’d left Jessie’s apartment later that night that I realized one thing: in the midst of meeting my daughter for the first time and reuniting with my soulmate, I’d forgotten to tell her all about the fake engagement.

  And the fact that she was supposed to be my fiancée.

  25

  Jessie

  I had to admit, I’d been more than a little nervous about Olive meeting Ben for the first time. Olive was a great kid, but she was just that – a kid – and kids can sometimes be more than a little unpredictable.

  But the meeting had been better than good – it had gone so smoothly and amazingly that thinking about it, it almost felt like a dream. Ben was a natural with our daughter. Maybe it was because they were related, or because she’d longed for a dad for so long.

  Or maybe it was just fate – the three of us, together again.

  A family.

  It was funny – normally, when dating someone, I knew you were supposed to move slowly. But Ben and I had been together years before and now we had a child together. That made me think that we should accelerate the pace of our relationship, although the details beyond that remained fuzzy in my mind. Asking him to move in was unthinkable – Olive and I were already practically on top of each other in our apartment. Not to mention, the place was kind of a dump. I’d seen Ben’s condo, his luxe furniture and fixtures. The building itself was probably the nicest in Wilmington, and I knew it couldn’t have been cheap.

  But it wasn’t like I could ask him if we could move in there, either. That would have been presumptuous of me – and what would Olive make of the change? We’d lived in our little apartment for her whole life.

  Would moving traumatize her?

  And what if that first meeting had been a fluke? What if Olive turned shy and taciturn the next time Ben was around? Part of being a single mom meant spending almost every hour of my free days with Olive. What if she got jealous whenever Ben and I wanted some time to ourselves?

  Not to mention, there was still the question of his parents and how we were going to tell them that not only had we gotten back together, but they now had a grandchild of their very own.

  These were all the thoughts running through my mind that day, as Olive and I were on the way to my parents’ big house for family dinner. I wasn’t upset – if anything, it was the obvious. I was beyond elated ... but the logistics of how my life was going to change were difficult to process. Ben hadn’t said anything about taking the next step, and why would he have?

  We’d only been back together for a few days. If I brought up marriage – or even moving in together – I’d sound like a lunatic, or at the very least desperate.

  What a mess, I thought. Glancing in the rearview mirror, I saw Olive was peering at m
y reflection intently.

  “Mommy, you look sad,” she observed. “What’s wrong? Do you have a boo-boo?”

  I shook my head. “No, baby. Mommy’s fine.”

  “What is it?” Olive persisted. “Tell me!”

  There was a shrill note to her voice that ratcheted my headache up a notch.

  “It’s nothing, really,” I said. “Mommy’s just thinking about the future, that’s all.”

  “Like, tomorrow?”

  I nodded. “Like tomorrow, yes. And beyond that – like the next few years.”

  Olive’s little forehead wrinkled as she tried to contemplate the possibility.

  “I know, that sounds like a really long time, sweetie,” I said. “But as you get older, time starts going faster.”

  “Really?” Olive’s eyes got big. “That’s silly, Mommy.”

  “I know,” I said. “You’ll just have to trust me on that one, baby.”

  Olive fell silent and I turned my attention back to the road. The late-afternoon traffic over the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge was excruciating, and my knee ached from constantly moving my foot from the gas pedal to the brake. I suppressed a groan as I thought about how much more difficult it would be in the summer, and wondered if Ben would ever want to move away.

  The thought was both encouraging and almost troubling. I had lived in Wilmington my entire life – and so had he, for that matter – but both of our families were here. If I couldn’t be around to see my mom and dad and siblings all the time, I knew I’d miss them desperately.

  And then there was Henny – who was more than a best friend to me. She was like a sister, someone who I counted on seeing on a regular basis.

  A lump swelled in my throat and I coughed, trying to clear it away. I didn’t know why, but Ben’s return and our reunion had me feeling emotional about everything these days.

  “Mommy, is Uncle Jared going to be there?” Olive asked.

  “Yes, sweetie,” I told her. “And all of your other aunties and uncles, too.”

  The traffic finally began to lift and I sped up to a comfortable pace. It didn’t take long before we reached my parents’ large house, and I parked in their driveway before helping Olive out of her booster seat and grabbing the bag of snacks and toys that we carried everywhere for her.

  As soon as we got inside the house, Olive went running off with her coloring books. I heard her squeal as she plopped down in the living room and I smiled before kicking my shoes off in the foyer.

  “Mom, Dad!” I yelled. “We’re here!”

  “In the kitchen!”

  I followed the sound of my mom’s voice and found her sitting with Jared, my father, and my sisters Jellyn and Joy.

  “Oh my god, Jessie,” Joy said. Her eyes got wide. “Is that really you?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I know, I know,” I said. “I’ve been ... um, busy with work.”

  Jared and my mother eyed me skeptically and I gnawed at the inside of my lip. I didn’t know why, but I felt compelled to keep the news about Ben from my entire family until I knew exactly where things were going. My siblings weren’t the types to hear news and just accept it – they always had question after question.

  Well, except for Jared. He shot me a knowing look and I flushed.

  “That’s good, right?” My mother asked breezily. She, too, was looking suspicious and I forced a smile.

  “Yes,” I said.

  “So, maybe you’ll get that promotion soon?”

  “I hope so,” I said.

  Joy noticed the bag I was holding. “Oo,” she said. “Did you bring food?”

  “Or wine?” Jellyn asked.

  I laughed. “No,” I said. “This is all stuff for Olive.”

  “Awww,” Joy cooed. She got to her feet. “I missed my niece so much, I feel like I haven’t seen her in years.”

  “She’s in the living room,” I said. “But don’t be offended if she’s more interested in her new coloring book than you.”

  Jellyn got to her feet, and Joy followed suit. The two of them left the kitchen and seconds later, I heard Olive’s shrieks of delight at the sight of her aunties.

  “So, busy at work, huh?” Jared asked slyly.

  I groaned and sank down into a chair. “Yes,” I said. “And ... with other things.”

  My mother laughed. “You’ve always been a terrible liar, honey,” she said. “What’s going on? Are you seeing someone?”

  I swallowed and shifted in my chair. “Yes,” I said.

  My mother and Jared looked at me expectantly. A moment of silence passed and the atmosphere in the kitchen turned tense and almost unpleasant. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so uncomfortable sitting in my parents’ kitchen – it had to be years ago, maybe even when I’d come over to drop the bombshell that I was pregnant with Olive.

  “Well, aren’t you going to say anything else?” My mother pressed. “Tell me about him,” she said. “What does he do for a living?”

  My heart did a flip in my chest.

  “It’s Ben,” I said finally.

  “What!” Jared screeched. “Oh my god, why didn’t you tell me?!”

  “It just happened,” I said. “I mean, recently.”

  “Well, duh,” Jared said. He rolled his eyes. “This is so exciting!”

  “It is,” I conceded.

  “What made you decide to get back together?” Jared pressed. “Has he met Olive?”

  “We still have feelings for each other,” I said. Saying it out loud like that made me feel strange, like I was purposefully diminishing the intense love between Ben and myself.

  “And Olive?” Jared asked. “What does he think of her? Does he like, totally love her? Oh my god, this is so great,” he gushed. “So romantic!”

  I nodded weakly. It was then that I realized my mother still hadn’t said anything – something most unusual for her. She was giving me a weird look, almost as if she was seeing me for the first time.

  “Mom?” I asked. “Is everything alright?”

  She nodded. “Of course, dear,” she said. “Are you serious?”

  “Well, I mean, it literally just happened. Like, days ago,” I said.

  “Yes, but is he going to make an honest woman out of you?” Her tone wasn’t accusing, but there was an edge there that I hadn’t heard before.

  “Mom, I don’t know,” I said. My palms began to sweat and I wiped them on my shorts.

  “Yes, but you need to lock him down,” my mother continued. “A man like that!”

  “Mom, you’re sounding like such a hag right now,” Jared interjected. “Just let her be happy! You know how hard the last few years have been for her!”

  My mother ignored him.

  “Jessie, listen to me – I know what I’m talking about here,” my mother said. “My oldest daughter, finally married!”

  I groaned. “You’re making it sound like I’m like, over the hill,” I said. “I’m not even thirty!”

  “Yes, and your prime childbearing years are already over, so you’ll have to work twice as hard,” my mother said. She raised an eyebrow at me and I flushed. Her eyes traveled over my rotund figure. “And now, maybe you’ll have an excuse to finally do something about your health. I hear Atkins works wonderfully!”

  “Mom!” Jared and I exclaimed at the same time.

  “Jessie looks fabulous,” Jared said. “She’s curvy. Not fat.”

  “Well, being overweight makes it harder to conceive,” my mother said. “And you certainly wouldn’t want his eye roaming, would you?”

  I stared at her. I couldn’t remember my mother ever being this pushy – she was bordering on rudeness, and it was making me feel about two inches tall.

  “We just got back together,” I said finally. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. We’re taking things slow.”

  “You need to hurry, honey,” my mother said. “A man like him, coming from a family like that?”

  “I don’t know what that means,” I replied.


  “Jessie, be serious,” my mother said in a no-nonsense voice. “He’s a catch. And very wealthy! If you don’t get him to marry you soon, I bet someone else will.”

  I rolled my eyes. “If that’s all this is about, I wouldn’t worry,” I said finally. “We have a lot to catch up on. I’m not in a rush. Besides, I wasn’t married when I had Olive – why would I have to be married to have another baby?”

  My mother got up from her seat and walked over to the counter. She took the coffee pot from the holder and poured herself a fresh cup, then turned to me.

  “I know you think I’m being silly,” she said. “But you should really think about what I’ve said.”

  Then, she walked out of the kitchen. Jared turned to me as soon as we were alone.

  “She is being so weird,” I muttered under my breath. “Acting like this is the nineteenth century or something.”

  “You know Mom,” Jared said. He kept an eye on the hall as he talked. “She’s always wanted to be part of a family like the Groves.”

  I blinked at him. “What do you mean?”

  Jared colored slightly. “Nothing,” he said. “Don’t worry about it.”

  The rest of the day passed uneventfully – Olive spent a great deal of time showing off her coloring skills to her aunts and uncles, and everyone was more than glad to lavish attention on her. There was something bothering me in the back of my mind, though, and it wasn’t until I was at home, lying in bed that night before it occurred to me.

  Mom hadn’t even asked where Ben had been, or why he’d come back.

  26

  Ben

  I couldn’t stop grinning as I parked my Land Rover on the side of the street and loped across the lawn of Jessie’s apartment complex. Even seeing the rundown, drab exterior couldn’t dull my mood, and I practically raced up the steps to knock on her door.

  When Jessie answered, I let out a wolf-whistle. She was wearing a low-cut top that showed a fantastic amount of cleavage and her tits were pushed up by a lace bra that peeked out of the neckline. Her curvy ass and thighs were scorching hot in tight leggings, and just looking at her was enough to make fiery lust course through my body.