Page 14 of SEAL's Secret

“I’m not avoiding her,” Hudson said, shooting him a glare. “I walked over to say hello earlier, remember? She rushed out of here like the place was on fire—metaphorically speaking given we’re on a fucking beach.”

Ryan shook his head, clearly trying not to smile. “Maybe she’s got it bad and is head over heels in love with your dumb ass.”

“She’s not,” Hudson said dryly. “We even agreed there’s no such thing as love at first sight. Now lust? That’s a different story. I think we were both feeling the chemistry between us. We had a drink the night before the team deployed, and stuff happened.We left on good terms, but damn. I sure as shit wasn’t expecting to see her show up and then pull a disappearing act. I should head out,” he finally said. “Everyone’s in a good mood having fun, and I’m just not feeling it right now.”

“I know a pretty blonde you could call,” Ryan razzed.

“You know what? I will call her. She flies across the ocean, blurts out that she’s moving to Hawaii, then runs off like I’m some asshole to be afraid of. Fuck that noise. She said she had to talk to me, and I’m running around in circles here trying to figure out what the problem is. Well—no time like the present.”

“Atta boy,” Ryan quipped, slapping him on the back.

Hudson glared at him.

“Hey,” Ryan said, lifting his hands up in the air. “I’m just calling it like I see it. Both of you were practically undressing each other with your eyes last month. Layton’s cute. Sweet. So what if she’s also a mom? If she’s moving to Hawaii, go for it.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Hudson muttered. He shouted goodbye to the rest of the guys, then was hustling toward the parking lot. He didn’t like that Layton had rushed off, clearly upset. He’d thought about her for an entire month and now that she was back, he needed to know what was going on.

Chapter 9

“This is literally insane,” Layton said, coming down the hallway of Emersyn’s apartment. Her daughter was finally sleeping on the bed in the guestroom, her schedule completely out of whack because of the time change. Thankfully, Em had gotten some more furniture over the past few weeks, and there was now a bed and dresser in there. “Seriously, I can’t even believe this is my life right now. Hudson’s going to think I’m moving to Oahu because of the baby. He’s going to think I’m some crazed stalker or something.”

“Well, he is the father,” Emersyn pointed out. “It’s not unreasonable that you’d come here, given he can’t exactly up and move. Unless of course he doesn’t want to be involved in any way,” she added with a worried look.

Layton met Emersyn’s gaze, and tears filled her eyes as she sank down on the sofa. She crossed her legs, grabbing a pillow to hold onto, and sucked in a deep breath. “We both heard him today, Em. He said he didn’t want kids. I wasn’t going to blurt out everything at that exact moment, but damn. Once he said that, it was like I couldn’t hold it together anymore. I had to get out of there.”

“I know,” Emersyn told her, worrying her lip.

“Now he’ll definitely think I’m nuts. I barely spoke to him and rushed off as fast as I could. What am I supposed to say the next time we talk? Surprise! You’re going to be a father?” She swiped at the tears spilling down her cheeks.

“He’ll understand—I hope. How did this even happen?”

“Well, the sperm meets the egg—”

“Layton! I mean how did you two hook up? When? Aaron came over here the night before they deployed. I know they left first thing the next day.”

“I snuck out,” Layton said with a sad laugh. “I even joked with Hudson about it. We were going to grab a drink, but he brought a six-pack with him, and we headed to the beach instead. It was a perfect Hawaiian night. Moonlight. The sound of the ocean. We each had a beer—and trust me, we were both completely aware of what we were doing. We used a condom,” she stressed. “I know they’re not completely, one-hundred-percent effective, but wow. I hadn’t even been with a guy since Tiny Dick. Then I sleep with one man and bam! Knocked up.”

Emersyn snorted. “And did it, ah, meet your expectations?”

Layton smiled through her watery eyes. She was a mess of emotions and hastily swiped at the wetness on her cheeks again. “It was amazing. Like—seriously amazing. I know this sounds cliché, but damn. Hudson was absolutely the best sex I’ve ever had. He was sweet and considerate but also sort of aggressive in a good way. The man knew what he was doing,” she emphasized. “I’d have totally made plans to see him again if I lived here.”

“But you will live here,” Emersyn said encouragingly.

“Yeah, but I’m pregnant now. It’s not the same. I can’t just be casually dating Hudson, not that I even think he’d want to date. And I’m not just going to jump into bed again with him now. I’ve got to worry about finding a place to live here and having this baby. He didn’t even know about Caroline,” she added, her voice trembling. “I barely told him a thing about me.”

Emersyn pressed her lips together, not saying anything.

Layton gestured to her. “See? Even you can’t find a thing to say about that. He looked shocked to discover that I had a young daughter. And when I tell him I’m pregnant?” She shook herhead. “Hudson probably won’t want anything to do with me or the baby. He was raised in foster care. You heard him—he doesn’t even want kids. I’m not what he wants in his life.”

“You don’t know that,” Emersyn told her. “You haven’t even told him you’re pregnant yet. Did you guys stay in touch when you went back to Virginia?”

“Nope. I have his number, but—”

“Text him,” Emersyn encouraged. “He’s got to be confused by your showing up and then splitting. At least just reach out. Then make plans to meet up this week.”

“I will. I mean, obviously I’ll have to tell him about the baby. I just need to gather my nerves. We used protection and—my God. It was only one time.”

“He must have some super swimmers,” Emersyn joked. Layton shot her an exasperated look. “I know, I know. But you and Tiny Dick tried for years, right? It almost feels like in a weird, roundabout way, this was meant to be.”

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