Expecting the SEAL’s Baby by Katie Knight

Two

The following morning, Jeremy woke alone in his bed. He fixed his eyes on the ceiling, remembering the night before. Shit, had he really had sex with Gina, his best friend’s sister? The scent of her floral perfume lingered on the pillow, making it impossible for him to deny it. He hadn’t meant for it to happen, hadn’t planned it. Well…other than the times he’d imagined making love to her. He could say for certain now that the reality was way better.

She’d been responsive and spontaneous but didn’t play games. She’d made it clear what she wanted from him in bed. He felt himself harden at the memory of how she’d cupped him, almost making him come in her hand.

“I’ve got to get out of this bed,” he said, giving himself a shake to curb the desire he felt. He yanked on sweats and went to the living room. A note was propped against the wineglasses they’d drunk from the evening before. He crossed the room and snatched it up.

Thanks for being there for me. Gina.

Okay, so it wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. What he didn’t know was how she was feeling about what they’d shared. Did she regret what had happened? Did she want to move past it, maybe pretend it hadn’t happened at all? The note didn’t convey any of that, and he had to admit that she’d been smart to put some distance between them that morning.

“Shit,” he mumbled again, hoping he hadn’t screwed up a relationship that was important to him. His phone buzzed with a message and he reached for it on the table, hoping it was from Gina.

No luck. It was from his brother Dean.

Do you want to have coffee and doughnuts? I’d like to catch up with you.

Did he want to? Maybe. Seeing his brother was better than being stuck in the apartment thinking about Gina.Jeremy returned the text.

East Side Bakery at eight?

See you there.

Jeremy tossed the phone down and headed for the shower. He hadn’t spoken with his brother in months, only getting updates from his parents about Dean’s senate campaign. They’d never been brotherly, never shared secrets or interests. There wasn’t much love between them. And Jeremy was dreading the encounter since they had so little to say to each other, but he couldn’t avoid it so he might as well get it over with.

An hour later, Jeremy walked into the bakery and spotted his brother at a table, prominently positioned in the front window. Dean stood with a big smile on his face when he saw Jeremy. He even hugged him, bro-style, with a pat on the back. Jeremy didn’t for one second think this was about fraternal affection. It was all for show. The press might be around to snap a picture, or another patron might post the moment on Twitter.

“I’m getting something to drink,” Jeremy said and walked to the counter to order a large black coffee and a plate of cake doughnuts. The case was full of fancy pastries, but he liked the simplicity of doughnuts. The only choices to make were frosted with nuts or sprinkles, which was easy compared to everything else in his life.

“You look well,” Dean said when Jeremy returned to the table.

“Thanks.” He’d slept like a log after making love to Gina. It was the first decent sleep he’d gotten since the mission.

“You doing okay with the changes in your life?” Dean asked, and Jeremy almost mistook the pseudo-sincere tone for something real.

“I’ll survive,” Jeremy said noncommittally.

“Glad to hear it,” Dean said. “I think you’ll like the civilian world once you get used to it. You’ve got a lot more opportunities here, so long as we keep a lid on your…uh…retirement.”

“A lid?” Jeremy countered. “As in suppress the truth that I was forced out of the SEALs for something I didn’t do?”

Dean took a swift look around, making sure that no one could hear them. “Whether you did or didn’t doesn’t matter. It’s all in how the situation is perceived and broadcast to…”

“Your voters,” Jeremy finished for him. He wasn’t surprised that his brother only saw this in terms of how it impacted his political career. That was how Dean had always been, and he’d learned the behavior from their father. “As it happens, it matters to me if you believe me or not.” He pinned Dean with a glare.

His brother’s gaze shifted away. When it returned to Jeremy, he could read what he needed to. Dean didn’t believe him and didn’t care. Jeremy felt the anger rising inside him and knew how pointless it was to have hoped for anything else. His family was never going to be anything but what they were. Every decision, every word was calculated for the maximum effectiveness of what it could do for the family image and political gain.

Jeremy had never played that game well. “Just so we’re clear.” He kept his voice low. “I’m going to find Blake and clear my name, and I don’t give a shit if that’s a problem for your campaign.”

“I thought that might be your attitude.” Dean sighed and matched his tone. “All right, I’ll do what I can to help. I’ve got some contacts in the State Department. The sooner this is resolved, the better it’ll be for all of us.”

“Agreed.”

“We’ve just got to prevent it from turning into a scandal,” Dean warned. “I’m barely ahead in the polls, and my numbers can’t take a family screwup.”

“I can’t guarantee a positive outcome,” Jeremy said. “My superiors are putting up walls, and my team, those who weren’t injured, have been put on leave.” He could tell by the pained expression on his brother’s face that he didn’t like what he heard.

“It’s a serious risk to pursue this then. Not sure I like that.” Dean seemed to be weighing his options.

“Never mind,” Jeremy said, his patience snapping. “I don’t want to interfere with your election. It’ll be best if you keep your distance from me and my problems. I’ve got brothers in arms to help me out, so I don’t need you.”

Dean held up his hands. “There’s no reason to get testy about it, but a man in my position—”

Jeremy stood, having heard enough. “Good luck with your election, Dean.”

He walked out to the street where the sun was shining brightly. It did nothing to lift his mood or change the fact that he was the black sheep of his family. He’d never been able to fill any role other than family screwup, and that hadn’t changed. The only thing he’d gotten right in his life was his military career.

And now he was cut off from that.

He started walking toward his truck, more determined than ever to make it right, to find Blake and restore his reputation. He’d made plenty of mistakes in his life, and he wasn’t letting his career end in another one. He damn well wasn’t letting his friendship end. He wouldn’t give up on the brother-in-all-but-blood who truly mattered to him.

He unlocked the truck and got in. He thought that he should go see Blake’s mom since he owed her that, but he paused as he considered that Gina might be there. He couldn’t risk facing her. Being with her the night before had been amazing but a mistake. One that he wouldn’t repeat. He wasn’t good for her. He’d never been good for anyone outside of his SEAL team—and he’d just let down them, too.

* * *

“Hi, Mom,” Gina called when she stepped in the backdoor of her mother and stepfather’s home. “I brought dinner for all of us.”

She’d done whatever she could to keep herself busy throughout the day, so she didn’t think about where she’d spent the night. After making calls to her medical practice and enquiring about some of her long-term patients, cleaning her little house so thoroughly she took paint off the walls in two places, and cooking a full meal for three, she could almost come to terms with what she and Jeremy had done.

In some ways, having sex with him had been inevitable. They’d argued and teased each other mercilessly for years as a way to deal with the attraction between them. Both had resisted for so long, and both of them had given in at the same moment. Call it bad timing or too much wine, but she couldn’t completely regret it. Being with him had been so good.

When she’d woken up early that morning, she’d wanted to wake him with kisses and see if a second round of sex would live up to the first, but the fact that they’d crossed an invisible line had slammed into her when she saw him sleeping next to her. So she’d slid out of bed, dressed quickly, and left. She had made herself leave a note for him. It had seemed like the decent thing to do.

“You didn’t have to do that, honey.” Camilla came from the living room to meet her daughter in the kitchen.

“I wasn’t sure you’d be up to cooking tonight,” Gina said, forcing her attention away from thoughts of Jeremy. After giving her mother a hug, she unloaded the tote bag she carried. “I made enchilada pie, and I brought salad. Plus, spice cookies for Sam.” She held up a container of the treats that her stepfather loved. She’d experimented to find a lower sugar version that was healthier for him.

“He’ll appreciate that.” Camilla took the cookies and busied herself with unpacking the food.

“Any news?” Gina was almost afraid to ask. Her mother’s demeanor seemed calm, but Gina knew she was distraught over Blake’s disappearance.

“Not a word,” Camilla said, her hand gripping tight around a container of sliced cucumbers. “I hate this.”

“Why don’t you sit down, Mom? I’ll make some tea for us.” Gina gently steered her mother to a chair and put the kettle on to heat up.

“I keep going over what little we’ve been told,” Camilla said when Gina joined her at the table with mugs of mint tea. “It’s not much. How could Blake just up and disappear in the middle of a mission? It doesn’t even seem possible.”

“I know. I wish we could get someone to tell us more.” She kept from her the extra information that Jeremy had shared with her the evening before. Since none of it led them to a better understanding of where Blake might be, it would only worry her mother. And she didn’t want to talk about her evening with Jeremy, didn’t want to explain that she’d gone to him for answers and ended up spending the night.

“And Jeremy’s career is ruined, too,” her mother said with a sigh. “The poor man.”

Gina felt that, too. Was it part of the reason she’d gone to bed with him? She’d needed the comfort herself, but then so had he since his life was completely changed—losing his best friend along with the career that defined him. Maybe she’d brought him some solace as well. She hoped so.

“We have to find out the truth,” Gina said aloud, silently pledging that she would pursue answers on her own if she needed to. This wondering and waiting was terrible for her mother, and Gina couldn’t watch her go through it. “And we will, Mom. I promise.”

She heard Sam’s car pull in the driveway and soon her stepfather was in the house. They ate dinner together and tried to talk of other things. Afterward, while Gina was on her way home, she thought about how grateful she felt that her stepfather was there to be with her mother. He was a good man, far better than Gina’s real father.

Gina gripped the steering wheel tighter at the memory of Tom Greenwood. He’d been a military man who always had one boot out the door, leaving Camilla largely on her own to deal with raising children and making ends meet. He might have been a decent soldier, but he wasn’t a man who understood family life—or, to her mind, a man who deserved his family’s love or support in turn. He’d cheated on her mother, probably countless times, while all but abandoning her emotionally. Gina felt her anger pulse at the thought of his infidelity and neglect. It had been a good day when he’d left for the final time. She assumed he was still alive, but Gina had no contact with him and neither had Blake.

Military men. She blew out a breath. Hadn’t she sworn off them even before she graduated from high school? They didn’t know the first thing about commitment. Her brother and Jeremy weren’t any better in that regard. Blake had a different girlfriend each time he came home on leave. He’d date them, raise their expectations, and break their hearts. Gina loved her brother, but he was a playboy. Jeremy was more discreet, but she’d heard stories about the women in his life as well.

She had no intention of being included in their number. She and Jeremy shared one night—a night that she had no plans to discuss with him or anyone else—and that would be all. She didn’t need to be distracted right now. During the month she was off work, she needed to focus on the search for her brother.