Page 107 of California Wild

“Stop. Oh my god.” She pushed at his arm, but he barely moved.

He just smirked, tugging her closer, his voice dropping lower. “For the record, I’m all too happy to hold your awards on the side of the red carpet… and watch you own this fucking world.”

“You’ll be right beside me on the carpet,” she said, tilting her chin up at him. “I’d show you off to the world—my hot fucking boyfriend.”

Jesse laughed, but there was something raw beneath it. “I’d have to quit the SEALs first. You know they have bans on us being out in the media.”

And just like that—the weight returned.

The silence settled in.

They finished their meals. Jesse sat back in his chair, his fingers absently tracing the rim of his coffee mug. But something lingered in his eyes, something unspoken.

“I’m really fucking proud of you,” he said, voice quieter now.

“But?” she asked, setting her mug down, studying him. “There’s something you aren’t saying.”

Jesse pushed back from the table, standing. He gathered their plates, carried them to the sink, and turned on the water.

She followed, leaning against the counter beside him, watching the tight set of his jaw, the way his shoulders tensed under the warm kitchen light.

“Jesse—talk to me.”

“Nothing.” A pause. “Just… wondering how the fuck we make this work. If I’ll be around here long enough to be there for you.”

Her throat went tight.

Because she was wondering the same thing.

He turned, finally looking at her, his hands braced on the counter on either side of her hips. His voice was quiet, raw. “My pregnant girlfriend. Rocking out with a bunch of dudes. Clubs, bars. Late nights. Tours. Around the world. And I’ll be somewhere… stuck… on an operation. We rotate out all the fucking time. It’s relentless. Now that I’m back active, and covering for a bud, I’ll spend more time out than in.”

Hayley exhaled slowly, wrapping her arms around his neck, her fingers threading through the damp curls at his nape. Tugging, just enough to make him groan softly.

“We’ll figure it out,” she said.

Jesse didn’t look convinced.

Because the unspoken fear sat heavy between them.

If she chose the band, he lost her. If she chose him, she lost her dream. And neither of them knew if there was any way to have both.

Chapter 17

The late morning sun burned a little too bright over Coronado, reflecting off the Pacific in hard, glittering shards. Jesse squinted as he and Hayley walked the shoreline, the tide curling around their ankles, the breeze whipping through her hair.

She pressed a hand to her stomach again. Not dramatic. Just… distracted. Tired. Pale. She hadn’t kept down more than a few bites of toast that morning.

“Still feeling sick?” Jesse asked, watching her.

Hayley gave him that look—half defiant, half pretending. “I’m fine.”

He cocked a brow. “Always lying.”

Her mouth twitched. “Don’t make me shove you into the ocean.”

“I’m a professional diver. Do your worst.”

He didn’t reach for her hand, even though he wanted to. She wasn’t the kind of girl you tried to box in—and Jesse had learned to give her space, even when every instinct screamed to keep her close.

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