Soldier's Secret Baby: An Older Man Younger Woman Romance (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 53) Read online

  SOLDIER’S SECRET BABY

  AN OLDER MAN YOUNGER WOMAN ROMANCE

  _______________________

  A MAN WHO KNOWS WHAT HE WANTS, 53

  FLORA FERRARI

  CONTENTS

  Copyright

  A Man Who Knows What He Wants Series

  Soldier's Secret Baby

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Epilogue

  Extended Epilogue

  Series

  COPYRIGHT

  Copyright © 2018 by Flora Ferrari.

  All Rights Reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  The following story contains mature themes, strong language and sexual situations. It is intended for mature readers.

  A MAN WHO KNOWS WHAT HE WANTS

  Book 1: Baby Lust

  Book 2: Veteran

  Book 3: Built

  Book 4: Bambino

  Book 5: Rescued

  Book 6: Leader

  Book 7: Professor

  Book 8: Burned

  Book 9: Worldly

  Book 10: Pistol

  Book 11: Policed

  Book 12: Driven

  Book 13: Lucky 13

  Book 14: Lumberjacked

  Book 15: Protector

  Book 16: Carpenter

  Book 17: Italian Stallion

  Book 18: Gardener

  Book 19: Budapest Billionaire’s Virgin

  Book 20: Billionaire’s Babysitter

  Book 21: Cocky CFO

  Book 22: Fireman’s Filthy 4th

  Book 23: Mechanic

  Book 24: SEAL’s Secret

  Book 25: Police, Pooch, and Smooch

  Book 26: Fireman’s Fake Fiancée

  Book 27: Billionaire’s Virgin Ballerina

  Book 28: Bitcoin Billionaire’s Babysitter

  Book 29: Veterans Day Daddy

  Book 30: Cowboy’s Christmas Carol

  Book 31: Police Officer’s Princess

  Book 32: Statham

  Book 33: Bodyguard

  Book 34: Greek God

  Book 35: Billionaire Single Dad's Babysitter

  Book 36: Mountain Man

  Book 37: SEAL’s Justice

  Book 38: Royal Romance

  Book 39: Doctor Mountain Man’s Special Delivery

  Book 40: Crocodile Dan D

  Book 41: Mountain Man’s Secret Baby

  Book 42: Doctor Bad Boy’s Secret Baby

  Book 43: Cop’s Babysitter

  Book 44: Nanny for the Cop Next Door

  Book 45: Small Town SEAL’s Saving Grace

  Book 46: Cop’s Fake Fiancée

  Book 47: Billionaire’s Nanny

  Book 48: Cowboy’s Babysitter

  Book 49: Steamy

  Book 50: Brother’s Best Friend

  Book 51: Possessive Professor

  Book 52: Firefighter’s Babysitter

  Book 53: Soldier’s Secret Baby

  SOLDIER’S SECRET BABY

  Soldiers on base are given a 96-hour pass to enjoy a 4th of July holiday vacation. I’m in dire need of some friends, fireworks, and home cooked food so I head to the small town where I grew up for a few days of fun with my best friend who’s also my childhood neighbor.

  It’s the first time we’ve seen each other since his wife’s pregnancy and it makes me feel like an older man, but this older man sees a different kind of fireworks this 4th of July when I see that my best friend’s sister isn’t exactly my best friend’s little sister anymore.

  She’s got me seeing stars and ready to explode when we skip the fireworks display after sparks fly between us leading to some neighborly behavior that involves a lot more than borrowing a cup of sugar.

  But when my short vacation ends I have to leave my small town and my 4th of July romance behind…but I can’t. I won’t.

  *****

  My brother’s best friend is a smoking hot soldier and a real man as only older men seem to be these days. It’s my first time seeing him in ages, and he doesn’t know it but I’ve been saving a very special kind of first time just for him.

  But after our little California romance I find out I’m pregnant and alone in this small town and can’t decide if this was just a fling and my brother’s best friend doesn’t need to know about the my soon to be secret baby, or if this California romance is more than just a holiday romance. Maybe, just maybe, if he knows about his own little soldier who’s on the way he’ll want to make me his…forever.

  And just how long can I keep this secret baby a secret in our small town? And if my brother finds out his best friend got his little sister pregnant there are going to be a whole other kind of fireworks between these big, burly older men.

  *Soldier’s Secret Baby is an insta-everything standalone romance with an HEA, no cheating, and no cliffhanger.

  CHAPTER 1

  Sean

  “This is your room,” Vince says as he pushes open the door to the spare bedroom.

  There. She. Is.

  Her eyes meet mine as she straightens the pillow on the guest bed. Her body freezes.

  “Are you going to say hi, sis?” Vince asks.

  “Hey Sean,” she says.

  There’s an exit sign seven miles to the south of here which is Baker, California, where I’m from that literally reads Zzyzx Rd. If I open my mouth now that’s about how I’d sound and about as much sense at any attempt to speak would make.

  I tilt my chin up and to the side before bringing it back to its resting position.

  What’s wrong with me? That’s a greeting you give to one of your buddies in high school when you’re trying to act all tough.

  And I am trying to act all tough right now because I don’t want her to know the effect she’s having on me.

  When the Presidio of Monterey Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center where I’m stationed gave everyone on base a ninety-six hour pass last night to enjoy the 4th of July I had two options.

  Make the short drive to San Francisco and watch the world-class fireworks over the golden gate bridge in one of the best cities on earth.

  Or the other that makes no sense. Drive all night to the small town where I’m from. The small town that sits in the middle of the California desert. The one which’s only claim to fame is “The World’s Tallest Thermometer” here in Baker, which recorded the hottest temperature ever recorded on earth. Apparently it hit 134 degrees here nearby in Death Valley in the summer of 1913.

  And now, over a hundred years later, it feels just as hot…or is it just me?

  And it has nothing to do with t
he temperature in the room and everything to do with my rapidly rising body temperature…because of her.

  Of course I chose the second option. I tell myself I need some time with my friends, some home cooked meals, and the chance to let off some steam knowing we can shoot off fireworks anywhere we want in the desert without anybody batting an eye.

  But deep down inside myself I know the truth is I want to get an eyeful of her.

  I haven’t seen Victoria, Vince’s little sister, in four years. I was twenty-six then and she was sixteen. She was a really cute kid, but kind of awkward and definitely not filled out.

  So much for girls developing before boys. Victoria was no doubt a late bloomer, and did she ever bloom like a flower in the desert. Good lord!

  She’s got curves in all the right places and it’s taking everything in me not to look in all the wrong ones. If either one of them catch me trying to look down that top of hers that’s unbuttoned just a little too far, or checking out that behind of hers which is sticking out at a oh so incredible angle as she’s bent over the bed the offer to stay at their house would be rescinded just as quickly as it was extended.

  I’ve got a house next door. It’s the one I grew up in and has been in my family for years, just as their house has. But both my parents and theirs have moved on to the greener pastures of Florida, leaving their respective houses to their children. But apparently I’m not keeping up my end of the “this house is yours now just take care of it” bargain. I guess when you get deployed overseas and forget to pay the water bill, electric bill and who knows what other bills they shut off your service. Who knew?

  Luckily out here in the middle of nowhere being a neighbor means something to people.

  We don’t even have a proper grocery store in town and it’s over an hour drive over the state line and into Vegas. And good luck getting a hotel room there on the 4th of July on short notice.

  But Vegas isn’t where I want to be. I want to be right here, as close to her as possible.

  I don’t know why but I’ve just had this burning itch to see how she’s turned out…how she’d developed into a woman.

  She was always a fun tag-along for us when we were younger, but I could just see that this cute kid would one day turn into an attractive young lady.

  But I was wrong. She wasn’t just attractive. She is absolutely stunning.

  And more importantly, now I had to find out if she was single.

  There aren’t exactly a lot of options in this one stoplight town, especially for a girl who’s filled out the way she did. Sure, there will be plenty of suitors, but I don’t want to believe any of the guys out here in the desert would be the kind that would float her boat.

  My eyes quickly glance down at her left hand.

  No ring.

  They dart back up to her face but I know she caught me because she didn’t take her eyes off mine.

  My peripheral vision catches her fingers wiggle a little. Is she letting me know that ring finger on her left hand is ready and waiting for the right guy?

  I must be imagining things. It wouldn't be the first time someone saw a mirage in the middle of the desert.

  But what’s no mirage is her. She’s a tall drink of water, minus the tall part, and do I ever want to drink her up to the last drop.

  “You always were too cool for school,” Vince says as his hand comes down on my shoulder.

  If only he knew the reason why I didn’t want to open my mouth. I don’t want to make a fool out of myself here in front of her and ruin my chances before I even get a actual chance.

  “Sis, while you finish up we are going to head out back for a glass of lemonade before it gets too hot.”

  She nods.

  I feel Vince guide me back towards the door.

  My body turns, but it’s like it’s on a swivel, my head stays fixed on her and her eyes stay fixed on mine.

  We step through the door, but I’m still looking back at her.

  “Don’t worry, man. The bed will be big enough for you,” Vince says.

  He’s clueless.

  I’m way too big for that bed, but the size of that bed is the last thing on my mind.

  My only thought is how I’m going to get his sister in it with me without him finding out.

  And after I do how I’m going to make her mine. Forever.

  CHAPTER 2

  Victoria

  The second the boys clear the door I fall face first onto the bed.

  “Oh. My. God.”

  How handsome did Sean look in his Army uniform?

  It’s like he knew I’ve been thinking about him. How else could you explain him just showing up out of the blue like he did.

  And I know he’s got way better options for the 4th of July than shooting off bottle rockets in the middle of the desert with us. Why in the world would he leave the beauty and sophistication of Northern California to come hang out in the California desert which is practically overrun with tweakers these days? I always considered Breaking Bad more of a documentary of lost souls in the American West than anything else.

  But the only tweaking going on right now is in me. My heart is racing and my hands are shaking, and I’ve never even touched a drug in my entire life.

  It’s just that Sean has this effect on me.

  I remember all those times when we were kids, or at least I was a kid and him and Vince were a bit older, but still. I was always trying to tag along just to be in Sean’s presence. He was my first crush and to this day the only guy I’ve ever had dreams about. The only guy I could ever really see myself with.

  He is so perfect. Tall. Muscular. Handsome. Well mannered. Successful. A Hero. A Protector.

  What else could I want?

  And the cherry on top was that he was already my brother’s best friend. It seemed so perfect to me.

  But the older I got the more I doubted my brother would see things the same way.

  But with Sean stationed halfway around the world neither my brother, nor I, saw him much if at all these days.

  But I hadn’t forgotten about him. Not one second.

  I felt like I was already a military wife. I know it sounds delusional, but there I was at The Mad Greek serving up milkshakes to travelers going from Vegas to Southern California. The Mad Greek is a well-known stop to refuel, use the restroom, and get some aircon going to and coming from Vegas.

  And just like all those Greek myths I’d read over the years I felt like I was Penelope waiting for Odysseus to return home.

  And now he was here, but for how long?

  I mean he was wearing his uniform so it’s not like his military service is finished.

  But he still has the house next to ours. He’s never sold it. And I’m just hoping one day he comes back to live there and more importantly that I join him.

  I’m not greedy. I don’t even care that we live in the sweltering heat in the middle of nowhere. As long as he’s here it’s all I’ll ever need. Just him.

  People from these parts are built to survive this kind of weather. It’s why he was so successful in the Middle East. I heard he won a lot of medals for his bravery, courage, and honor. It doesn’t surprise me at all.

  I remember the way he always treated everyone with so much respect here in our small town. How he’d drive to Vegas in high school when one of the older ladies in town would run out of something she needed. I can’t count how many times he spent over three hours, plus the gas going to and from Vegas just to bring something back somebody needed in town. And he never told some of those little old ladies that gas prices weren’t thirty cents a gallon anymore.

  He’d just shrug off the thought of them paying him when they’d offer him a handful of change. He didn’t do it for the money. He did it for the community.

  And it made complete sense when he joined the military. He was a man who protected and served his community, and now he did the same but on a much bigger scale. He was out on the front lines for his country, and I was so proud to know him
.

  But knowing him just wasn’t enough anymore. It hadn’t been for a few years.

  With each passing year I felt my crush grow deeper and deeper until it wasn’t a crush anymore. I hate to use the word obsession, but it’s the most accurate word I can think of.

  And all those times he would send my brother a postcard. And he’d always mention to say hello to me somewhere in the last line or two. I always wondered if he was just being nice, or he saved it to the end to not arouse suspicion.

  Maybe he was starting to feel the same way about me as I felt about him.

  The thought was ludicrous. That’s what I told myself.

  But I don’t believe that anymore.

  Not after the way he just looked at me. The heat in those eyes. The way he couldn’t take them off me even as he left the room.