SEAL Baby Daddy

All I could do was smile back at her. I put a small amount of cake on my fork and held it out to her. Her eyes glittered as closed her lips around the bite. I watched as her eyes fluttered shut for a moment. “God, that’s good,” she said, putting a hand over her mouth.

I grinned. “Good,” I said, taking a bite for myself.

Daniel cornered us as we were getting our coats. “Harper Dawson!” he said in faked surprise. “Are you here covering this place for the Globe?”

“No,” Harper said shortly, shrugging into her coat. “I was just having a nice evening.”

“I see,” Daniel said, giving her a thorough once-over that immediately rankled me. “You look lovely tonight.”

“Thanks,” Harper said, glancing at me out the corner of her eye. I could tell she was just as uncomfortable with the situation as I was.

I put a hand on her lower back. “Unfortunately, we have to get going,” I told Daniel. “I promised the sitter that I’d have Harper back by nine.”

Daniel’s brow furrowed, and I could tell that he wanted to say something else. I hoped Harper wouldn’t be mad that I had used Ava as an excuse. I hoped Daniel already knew that Harper had a daughter. Suddenly, I felt a flicker of guilt. I hadn’t read about Ava in any of Harper’s online bios. What if she didn’t want everyone to know?

But Harper smiled up at me as I steered her quickly out of there. When the elevator doors closed behind us, she burst out laughing. “Did you see his face?” she asked. “He looked like he’d swallowed a whole bag of lemons.”

I snorted. “Well, you all but told him that you were there on a date. I can’t believe he still wanted to bother you.”

Harper shook her head, leaning into me. “Thanks for rescuing me. Like I said, he’s pretty boring.”

I put my arm around her shoulders and kissed her hair. “Thank you,” I said genuinely. “Tonight’s been really fun.”

“I’m not ready for it to end,” Harper said, not meeting my gaze.

I sighed. “Unfortunately, Stone is probably home at my place. He was in a car accident and is hobbling around on crutches at the moment. And Ava and Maisie are back at your place.”

“That’s not exactly what I meant,” Harper said, although she didn’t seem opposed to the idea either. “I was more thinking, maybe we could go somewhere and just keep talking? If you wanted to.”

“I’d like that,” I said, leading her out to the valet stand and thinking about where we could go.

In the end, we just drove out to a park. At this time of night, the place was dark and deserted. We couldn’t see the stars or anything like that; we were still too close to downtown. But there was something charged about the air. It wasn’t romantic by any stretch, but there was something between us.

I smiled over at Harper. “I’m really glad I ran into you again,” I said. “I didn’t think I was ever going to see you again.”

“I didn’t think I was ever going to see you again either,” Harper said evenly. She smiled. “I’m glad I ran into you, too.” She paused. “Ava seemed to like you, too.”

“Ava seems like the kind of kid who would like everyone,” I pointed out.

Harper laughed. “That’s true,” she agreed. “But I’m still glad she likes you.”

I wanted to ask more questions, to learn about Ava’s dad. Who was he? How long had Harper known him before she’d gotten pregnant? When did he fit in after her return from Kuwait? And most of all, why wasn’t he in the picture anymore?

But I didn’t know if she was ready to answer those questions yet. I wanted her to offer the information, not to feel like she had to give it to me.

“You look really sexy tonight,” I told her instead. “Makes me want to take you out more often.”

Harper shivered noticeably, ducking her head and smiling shyly back at me. “Oh really?” she asked, and I could hear the breathless note already there in her voice. This was almost too easy.

And I liked that.

Harper leaned toward me, her face tilted up,

and I kissed her hard. She put a hand on my leg to steady herself, and I groaned. I was already half-hard, needing her to touch me. But my truck was too small for us to go all the way, especially with the gearshift in between us and other assorted complications.

Harper pulled back, her breathing ragged. “God, I wish I’d had Ava stay over at my mother’s again,” she groaned.

I laughed and pulled her into another kiss, liking how desperate she sounded. I reached over, my hand sliding up under her skirt, fingers dragging against the damp fabric of her panties. And she whimpered.