Page 20 of SEAL's Secret

Hudson clenched his fists, trying to rein in his emotions. “Yeah. One night. And I wore a fucking condom. I didn’t think a night with you would change my life forever. I need to go,” he said, suddenly desperate to get away. “I can’t deal with this right now. I can’t be who you want me to be, Layton.”

He moved before he’d thought better of it, striding away from the gorgeous woman he’d been thinking about for the past month.

Away from her angry, hurt look.

Away from his baby’s mother.

Unable to stop himself, he cast one last look over his shoulder.

Layton didn’t come after him, but the expression on her face gutted him. She was pale. Shocked. The anger had disappeared, and Hudson knew he’d hurt her. Disappointed her. But he kept walking, hurrying faster to get away. Yeah, he’d upset someone he cared about, just like he’d disappointed every other fucking person in his life. Some things never changed.

Chapter 12

One month later

Hudson finished his run on the beach, huffing out a breath. Sweat dripped down his skin, and his muscles ached with exertion. The burn felt good though. It made him feel alive. Real. He ducked down to grab a towel, wiping the sweat from his face. Chugging some of his water, he sank down into the sand, waiting for his teammates to catch up.

Wyatt was closest, with Aaron and Ryan not far behind. Austin had stopped to give a quick kiss to his girlfriend Alexa. She had an early morning photography shoot on the beach, and conveniently, she was actually doing the photo session near where they were training. Sawyer was probably hitting on her client, knowing him. Never mind that Alexa often shot pictures of newly engaged or married couples. If he saw a pretty girl, he’d be going for it. Dude loved the attention.

Aaron and Ryan stopped a few feet away, almost looking like they were arguing about something. Briefly, Hudson wondered if it involved Aaron’s sister. While she’d only been on the island briefly a while back, she and Ryan had hit it off. But it wasn’t like she was moving to Oahu the way Hudson’s girl was. Not that Layton was his girl—far from it. They’d exchanged a few brief texts since the day she’d told him he was going to be a father, but she’d flown home to Virginia to wrap up her life there.

Guilt churned through him. According to Aaron, Layton was moving here next week. Renting a home in Oahu. It burned him up that his buddy knew before him. That Aaron knew more about her life than he did. And the kicker was that it was his own damn fault.

Wyatt jogged over, coming to a stop in front of Hudson. His team leader had been watchful of Hudson ever since the day Layton returned. His teammates knew about the baby. As soon as he’d blown things with Layton, fucking left her sitting at the picnic table, Emersyn had let Aaron and the other guys know that he was going to be a father. He was grateful he’d learned before his friends, but shit. Nothing about this had gone right.

Wyatt took a pull of water and eyed him. “You good?”

Hudson stared out at the waves crashing on the beach. “Yep.”

He was saved from further questions as Wyatt’s phone buzzed, and Wyatt began speaking in a low voice to their commanding officer. Sawyer didn’t have the same decency to keep away. He came jogging up and sank down right beside Hudson in the sand, sweaty and tired. “You look like someone kicked your puppy or something.”

“I don’t have a puppy,” Hudson muttered.

“So why the hell are you a grumpy ass moping around like some teenage girl?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Complicated like it involves a pretty real estate agent new to the lovely island of Oahu?”

“Don’t be a dick.”

“So what’s the problem?”

Hudson huffed out an exasperated sigh. “She’s moving here next week. She didn’t tell me though. I found out about it through Emersyn and Aaron.”

“Why didn’t she tell you herself?” Sawyer asked.

“When she told me that she was pregnant, I—I didn’t react the best. I told her I couldn’t be a father.”

Sawyer let out a low whistle. “Shit.”

“Yeah. Shit. It’s the damn truth though. I never had a father figure in my life. And she didn’t tell me she was already a mother. If I’d known….”

Sawyer shot him a look. “If you’d known, then what?”

Hudson shook his head. “I still have her fucking panties. The night we spent together was seriously one of the hottest in my life. And she’s somebody’s mother.”

Sawyer howled with laughter. “Shit, Hudson, she’s a mother, not a nun. How do you think she got pregnant with that sweet little girl in the first place? Wait, wait—that’s right, you already know how it works. You knocked her up with baby number two.”

---