SEAL Daddy by Sofia T Summers

Epilogue: Nicole

“Jason,” I whispered for about the tenth time.

“It’s alright, Nicole,” he grumbled.

Before the first rays of sunlight ever cut through the bedroom windows, I woke up with a cramping feeling in my abdomen. I’d been having some Braxton Hicks contractions the evening before. I just assumed that it was another round of those. Our baby’s due date wasn’t for another few days, so I didn’t worry until I got up to use the bathroom. I was washing my hands when my water broke, making a puddle at my feet.

I didn’t panic. I tossed a hand towel on the wet spot, mopped it up with my foot, and kicked the towel aside. Shuffling back into the bedroom, I tried to wake up Jason. He didn’t rouse. Lost in some dream, I turned on the lamp and scrounged out the hospital bag I’d packed already. It was hidden behind my wedding dress in the back of the closet.

When I wore it the last weekend of summer, you couldn’t tell I was around five months along in my pregnancy. The layers of airy white silk and tulle underskirts hid the little bump I’d started to have. In the walled garden of the historic house museum, I said my wedding vows without worry.

I didn’t have to be the pregnant woman who people doted upon. I didn’t have to think about the world beyond those ivy-covered walls. I was just able to enjoy my wedding and the riverside reception that came after.

Jason had never looked so handsome in his gray linen suit. I’d begged him to wear his Navy dress blues, but he refused.

“I don’t belong to the Navy anymore,” he swore up and down. “I belong to you.”

Dancing under the strings of market lights on the house’s large waterfront patio, I’d never been happier. Lottie looked so precious in her flower girl dress. She played lawn games with my Dad under the ancient oak trees, and our sixty guests enjoyed the generous amount of music, beer, and catered barbecue. The dinner was delicious, but I couldn’t leave the party without an extra slice of the German chocolate cake. I still remembered how good it tasted on the balcony of our honeymoon suite. The chocolate was so decadent, I refused to give Jason a single bite.

Four months had passed since that wonderful weekend. I’d settled into my new life as Jason’s wife, including the trials of living with a man who refused to wake up. Dropping my duffle bag at the foot of the bed didn’t work. Calling my dad to come over didn’t rouse him.

It was like Jason wasn’t among the living.

Not even trying to be quiet, I pulled on my leggings and red knit sweater. I was ready. Dad was on his way over to watch Lottie. I just needed my husband to wake the hell up. Giving him one last prod, he mumbled but didn’t open his eyes. I was fed up with the whole ordeal.

“Captain Miller!” I yelled like a drill sergeant.

That got his attention, snapping him awake like a young soldier at boot camp. It took him a few seconds to realize he wasn’t back in SEAL training. He was at home with me in our blush-pink bedroom.

“Wh-what’s wrong?” He breathed while catching his breath.

“My water broke twenty minutes ago,” I told him.

“What?” He remarked, the wheels of his mind finally turning. “Why didn’t you wake me up sooner?”

“I did, like, a hundred times,” I exaggerated. “You were five seconds from cold water being poured on your head. Dad’s on his way over. He should be here in about ten minutes.”

Since my father had moved into a new house last month, he could hop onto Highway Sixty-Four and be at our house in thirty minutes flat. It wasn’t that much different from the forty-odd minutes it used to take for me to reach him, but somehow that fifteen minutes felt like all the difference in the world.

“Do you have your bag?” Jason asked as he found some jeans and a white fisherman’s sweater. “Have you notified the hospital?”

“Yes and yes,” I answered. “It’s amazing all the things I can accomplish when you’re asleep.”

“I’m sorry,” he yawned. “I was stuck in a dream.”

“What was it about?”

He smiled from where he stood in the closet.

“You,” he admitted without shame. “All the best ones are about you.”

Flopping down on the end of the bed, I smiled to myself. It was hard to stay mad at Jason when he said things like that. He picked up my bag off the floor, following me downstairs. Dad was just pulling up as I made it to the foyer. Fresh white snow glistened on the front lawn as I peered out the window.

“He must have gone twenty miles over the speed limit,” I remarked with some concern.

“It’s definitely a record for him,” Jason chuckled behind me. “Where are your shoes?”

I looked down at my sock-clad feet. My snow boots were sitting idly amongst the pile nestled against the staircase.

“You know I can’t put them on myself!” I huffed.

Jason sighed, setting down my hospital bag. He was lacing up the second boot when Dad opened the front door.

“I’m here!” He declared, shaking the January cold off himself. “How’s everything?”

“Fine,” I sighed. “My contractions aren’t close together, and they aren’t unbearable yet. We’ve got some time.”

Dad sighed, “Okay then. I’ll let Lottie know where you went when she wakes up.”

“Her backpack is in the mudroom,” I reminded him. “Montessori starts at eight-thirty, but I like to get her there a little early so she can settle in with her preschool classmates. Pick-up is at three. There’s a lunch packed for her in the fridge. It just needs to go in her lunch box, which is sitting on the kitchen table.”

“He knows, Nicole,” Jason assured me. “They’ll be fine.”

Kissing my father’s cheek, I added, “Thanks for coming so early.”

“Of course, sweetie,” he replied with a dimpled grin. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Dad.”

Even in the garage, the winter air nipped at my cheeks. An unusually heavy snowstorm had rolled the morning before, and the last bands were still making their way up the coat. Four inches of snow and ice coated the grass. We were lucky all the main roads had already been salted and plowed. It made the drive towards the hospital a little less stressful.

I’d been ready for our baby to come for days. I didn’t have to wait this long for Lottie. I realized those were extreme circumstances, but I couldn’t fathom how any mother waited forty whole weeks for their child to arrive. After twelve hours of labor, I was itching to meet my child. I wanted to smell my baby’s sweet head.

Jason had been dreaming of me, but I’d dreamed of him. My dark-haired little boy had finally arrived just a few minutes before seven o’clock. Lottie arrived in her Christmas pajamas and yellow winter coat to come and meet her new baby brother. Dad took Jason down to the main lobby for a cup of coffee, leaving me with my two children.

“Hi, Mommy,” she greeted me while crawling onto my hospital bed.

“Lottie, this is your new brother, Benjamin Thomas Miller,” I told her. “But we’re just going to call him Ben. Will you say hello to him?”

“Hi, Ben,” Lottie greeted him while crawling closer.

After an hour of complaining, Ben had been washed and nursed for the first time. His gray eyes were finally shutting for their first nap. All eight pounds of baby Ben was snuggled against my bare chest, while his head rested right over my heart. I figured it was the familiar sound that lulled him to sleep.

Lottie made space for herself on the opposite side of me, lying down so she would study her baby brother’s face. With the dim lights and the quiet, my body wanted to wipe out, but my mind begged to stay awake for just a few moments longer.

“He’s small,” she remarked in a whisper.

“All babies start small,” I explained, running my free hand through her blonde waves. “You were even smaller when you were born.”

“Really?” She murmured in surprise.

“Yes, really,” I told her. “When you were born, you were about half Ben’s size. You were extra small but very mighty. It didn’t stop you from growing like a weed. Sometimes, I wish you’d stop growing.

Yawning, Lottie grinned. “I don’t.”

It was past Lottie’s bedtime, so she couldn’t stay long. She was already half-asleep by the time Dad and Adrian got back from the cafeteria. My father had to carry Charlotte off in his arms, her head slumped against his shoulder. Jason and I were left alone in the quiet of our hospital room.

As tired as he looked, Jason’s golden-brown eyes were glinting in the low light. His attention never left me, even as he settled into the nearby armchair with a styrofoam cup of bitter-smelling coffee. He didn’t stop smiling either.

“My sister called while we were getting coffee,” Jason remarked softly. “She asked if she could come help out once you’re discharged from here.”

“Are the boys or her husband coming with her?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No, just her.”

“That’s fine then,” I agreed. “They’re all nice, but I don’t want to feel like I need to attend to guests in my house.”

Jason nodded. “I know. Besides, I’m not interested in sharing you two with anyone other than Lottie.”

“Not even Dad or Jess?” I teased him.

He chuckled, “I guess they make the cut.”

Leaning forward, Jason kissed my forehead. His free hand reached over the bed railing, finding mine against the starchy blue blankets. It felt comfortably warm against my skin.

“Is there anything I can do for you, Nicole?”

My other hand rubbing Ben’s back, I sighed, “Can you let me get at least an hour of sleep? I know the lactation consultant is supposed to come back around in about ninety minutes, and I’d really like to close my eyes until then.”

Jason nodded softly. “I’ll be sure to guard the door.”

“Thank you,” I whispered before letting out a small yawn. “You should probably hold Ben.”

“Are you sure? He looks pretty comfortable.”

I nodded. “Yeah, he’s out cold.”

Ben hardly roused as Jason took him from my arms. Swaddled up in a muslin blanket, our baby nestled himself against Jason’s broad chest. His tiny pink hand pressed against the knit fabric of Jason’s sweater, and I smiled.

As my eyes fluttered shut, I knew there was no better image I could dream up. Jason Miller was my handsome wolf, a once-lonesome creature who now had a pack of his very own. He was only a little tamer now. He knew how to be tender with me and our children, but there was a creature inside him I never wanted to lose.

It hungered for me in the darkness and gave me all the pleasure I craved. It made me feel adored without a shadow of a doubt. In Jason’s eyes, I could be so much more than a wife or a mother. I was his greatest dream made real and desirable in every sense of the word.

I wasn’t sure if we’d always live “happily ever after”. There were going to be more arguments and long nights. We would make mistakes and have to apologize. There was only one certain truth, and it echoed in my mind as I was drawn into the most satisfying sleep.

Come what may, Jason and I were going to share a life worth living.

Thank you for reading SEAL Daddy. I hope you loved Jason and Nicole.

Great News! Jessica and Adrian’s fake marriage story is available HERE.You don’t want to miss this surprise pregnancy romance full of wild steam, naughty banter, stolen kisses and a whole lot of emotion.

He was my best friend’s father.

Yes, I should’ve known that it was a bad idea.

Between stealing kisses and falling into his bed…

I was convinced that we could keep it a secret.

The connection was undeniable.

The chemistry? Even hotter.

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Keep reading for a preview of Fake Married to My Best Friend’s Daddy, a fake marriage surprise pregnancy romance, available now.