by LK Shaw
I was still adjusting to motherhood. Immediately after Marcus asked me to marry him, we flew to meet Hailey’s grandparents and for my first introduction to her. Little did I know, Marcus had already told Mr. and Mrs. Hathaway about us. He had wanted them to know that he had someone in his life and that he hoped to make it permanent. He had also told Hailey about me. Granted, she was too young to understand the entire concept of our relationship, but she knew her daddy loved me.
We didn’t want to confuse Hailey, who was now living full-time with Marcus, so we took things a little slow at first. We started out with afternoon play dates at the park before moving on to longer time spent together like dinners, movies, the zoo, among other things. It was two months before I ever spent the night. Two months ago, I moved in with them. She was too young to understand that her mom wasn’t coming back. We would make sure as she grew older she knew how much her mom loved her. When she was old enough we’d explain to her what happened. Until then, I planned on being the best mom ever.
Bridget was one of my bridesmaids, and she and my other two best friends had all helped me get ready. I wasn’t wearing your typical white bridal gown. My strapless wedding dress was lavender. The charmeuse bodice was made with a sweetheart neckline. The back was a corset laced with silver ribbon. Immediately below the two-inch band of silver beading under my breasts, the dress flared out into ruffled organza train with a chiffon overlay. My best friend of almost twenty years and maid of honor, Shellie, finished the ensemble with a crown of baby’s breath woven into my hair. Then she and the rest of the girls left to take their places with the groomsmen.
As soon as I was alone, I walked over to the full-length mirror. I stared in awe at the beautiful stranger in front of me. Blinking rapidly to clear my vision, I gave a little twirl and watched my train swirl around and settle like the gossamer wings of a butterfly around my legs, making me feel like a fairy princess. I had never truly felt more beautiful than I did today. I wanted to capture this feeling and hold it inside me forever. I heard the music queue up in the background when there was a light knock on the door. Taking a deep breath, I opened it to Donovan, who had become a great friend over the last six months. Even after the one and only time he joined Marcus and me, I still blushed every time I saw him. I also worried about him, since he’d never told me what had brought the sadness to his eyes the night he’d joined us.
“Are you sure you don’t want to run away with me instead,” Donovan joked as he wrapped me in his arms for a giant bear hug. He pulled his head back slightly to smack a wet kiss on my cheek.
I playfully pushed him away and swatted his chest. “Get real, Casanova.”—I gestured to my body—“You couldn’t handle all of this by yourself. Besides, I’d harsh the hot bachelor vibe you have going on. All the ladies out there are going to swoon after you. They all want to be the one to finally bring you to heel. Besides, Marcus would kick your ass.”
Donovan straightened his tie as he inspected me from head to toe. “You’re a beautiful bride, Penny. Marcus is lucky to have you. I’m honored that you chose me to walk you down the aisle.”
“Damn it, Donovan, you’re going to make me cry,” I groaned, getting emotional again.
Donovan reached out and took my hand and brought it up to his mouth, lightly kissing my knuckles, “C’mon beautiful, let’s go get you married.”
I let him lead me out of the room, my train billowing behind us. As we made our way to the double doors separating me from the love of my life, I recalled my first meeting with Marcus. The butterflies I felt in my belly. The sweaty palms I kept wiping on my pant leg. My racing heart. And the incredible urge to run. I realized how much I’d changed. I wasn’t nervous about the wedding, because the only place I wanted to run was into Marcus’ arms. I was strong, confident, and as the doors opened to my future, I held my head up high. The only thing that was the same was how the minute my eyes connected with Marcus’ where he stood at the end of the aisle, amazingly sexy in his tuxedo, everyone disappeared except him. There were only the two of us. Like that first day, his eyes devoured me. I put one foot in front of the other and proudly marched toward my man, my Dominant, my Sir. Not once since I entered the sanctuary had his eyes left mine. Our connection was palpable.
When I reached the dais, Marcus took my hand from Donovan’s, and as he grasped both of my hands in his, I stared in awe at this man in front of me. Not one for protocol, Marcus pulled me close to him and brushed a soft kiss across my lips. It was a sweet, lingering kiss that quickly deepened with passion and was filled with love. The delicious and familiar taste of him burst on my tongue. Marcus pulled away softly and took my hands in his again and smiled down at me.
“Thank you for not giving up on us. I can’t wait to grow old with you, have babies with you, and I’m the luckiest son of a bitch to be able to call you mine. I love you with all my heart.” With a discreet cough, the minister gathered our attention, and without any further interruptions, proceeded with the words that would bind us together. Forever.
Click Here to purchase SECRETS OF DESIRE, SECRETS, BOOK 2, featuring Connor and Bridget.
A Note From LK
Thank you so much for reading THE NAVY SEAL’S SECRET BABY AND SECRETS OF SUBMISSION, SECRETS, BOOK 1. If you did, I would love it if you would please leave a review on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks and/or Goodreads. Reviews are the lifeblood of an author. They help by spreading word about the book and they also improve visibility of the book so others have the opportunity to read it. In this world of ever increasing self-published authors, visibility is paramount.
Click here to purchase SECRETS OF DESIRE, SECRETS, BOOK 2, featuring Connor and Bridget.
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Booklist
SECRETS SERIES
Secrets of Submission, Book 1 (Marcus and Penny’s story)
Secrets of Desire, Book 2 (Connor and Bridget’s story)
COMING March 27, 2017: Secrets of Redemption, Book 3 (Miles and Josie’s story)
COMING SUMMER 2017: Secrets Book 3.5 (Bryce and Thomas’s story - M/M)*
COMING FALL 2017: Secrets of Betrayal, Book 4 (Donovan and Phebe’s story)
COMING DECEMBER 2017: A Secret Christmas, Secrets 4.5
OTHER WORKS
The Navy SEAL’s Secret Baby: A Second Chance Romance
COMING SUMMER 2017: The Beach House Collection
COMING SUMMER/FALL 2017: The Smex Files: His to Protect
Other Works Con’t
* SUBJECT TO BE MOVED TO 2018
About the Author
LK Shaw lives in South Carolina with her highly spoiled and extremely needy beagle-mix pup. She began reading at an early age and devoured as many books as she could. Her favorite authors as a young teen were Christopher Pike and RL Stine. During the summer between her junior and senior years of high school, she ran out of books and asked her mom to loan her one of her “stupid romances”. From that first book, she was hooked and hasn’t stopped reading them since. Some of her favorite romance authors include Christi Caldwell, Ruby Dixon, Julia Sykes, Ella Dominguez, Skye Callahan, and Meghan March.
LK loves to interact with readers so be sure to contact her on any of her social media links below. And don’t forget to sign up for her monthly newsletter! http://eepurl.com/bTSyrP
@LKShaw_Author
LKShawAuthor
lkshawauthor.wixsite.com/lkshawauthor
[email protected]
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