Page 36 of Guarded By the SEAL

“You don’t need to worry.” I take his hands in mine. “This is actually good news.”

“You’ve been full of it today. First with your charity information, and now this.”

It takes me a couple of seconds to gear myself up. I can’t help it. “Well… you know how I haven’t been feeling one hundred percent recently? You even had to take a day off work for it.”

Harry nods and narrows his eyes curiously at me. Thankfully, now that he’s with me, Harry doesn’t have to go off and protect people anymore. Max has allowed him to stay here and work from this place as well on the less dangerous missions. So, it wasn’t so much of an issue for him to take a day off, but I still felt bad about it. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was at the time either, but now I know.

“Yeah, I know what you mean. Has something happened? I’m worried now. Are you ill?”

I shake my head as I can feel a blush creeping through my body. “No, it isn’t that. I’m… having a baby.”

Harry says nothing for a moment. He’s clearly shocked to the core by this news. We haven’t been considering protection for a very long time because we just know that we want to be together forever, but I suppose for us to be pregnant must be a lot for him. I’m not mad about this because it took me a while as well. I think I sat on the bathroom floor with the positive reading for hours while I took it in. It isn’t that I wasn’t excited, but it just takes a moment to drink it all in, to look at the big, bright future together. I mean, it’s a big deal, isn’t it? Knowing that we’re going to be parents.

“We’re having a baby?” he finally whispers. “Me and you? We’re having a child?”

“Yep.” I pop the P to emphasize it. “We’re going to be parents. Isn’t that wild?”

He leaps up and scoops me into his arms to hug me. I can feel the happiness radiating from him. He loves this. He’s pleased… thank God. Not that I thought it would go any other way. We have been on the same page ever since we decided to be together, so there’s no chance of that changing now.

“I’m so happy,” he cries out in sheer joy. “Oh, my God, Petra, I’m over the moon.”

We dance around the living room for a while, in the home that once only belonged to Harry and now is there for the pair of us since my father’s home is going to be used for my charity work, holding on to one another’s hands tightly as we dance. We are in a bubble of happiness. We’re clearly overwhelmed with bliss and looking forward to what comes next. We might nothave met under normal circumstances and this might not be the traditional way to do things, but it’s working for us.

Harry is the unexpected surprise who walked into my life at my lowest ebb and helped to pick me up. He has made every day by his side a joy. The attraction between us was always very strong, even when we weren’t too keen on one another, so it’s no wonder we ended up falling in love. We didn’t stand a chance.

Things have happened quickly because of the elevated circumstances, but that doesn’t make them any less right. When you know, you know. I didn’t understand that before, but now I do. I didn’t know with Jake. I just wanted to be loved so badly that I fell for his fake charm. But there is nothing fake here.

By the time we collapse back onto the couch together, Harry’s hand rests on top of my belly. I wonder if he can feel the life growing there like I can. Every time I touch my tummy, I can feel the love already there. My unborn child has all the love in the world, and he or she hasn’t even arrived yet.

“A baby,” Harry gasps in clear excitement. “A child that’s really mine. I am so freaking happy about that.”

He has been through this before, but this time, it’s genuine. This time, there is no doubt in the world that he’s the father. I hope this is a positive experience for him and heals him entirely. I want him to have the same peace as me. I want the both of us to have the happiest life ever. We deserve it, more so now than ever.

28

HARRY

“Do you think this is enough?” I ask Benji doubtfully. “It doesn’t seem like enough, does it?”

“Are you kidding me?” Benji cocks an eyebrow in my direction. “You have a fucking fancy ass hall all decorated in the theme of love, with more hearts than the eye can see, a brass band, and a string of gifts leading Petra into this room. Plus, you have done romantic clues leading her here… this is more effort than I have ever seen a guy put into a proposal before. You have definitely done enough.”

“You think there are enough flowers? I could order in some more flowers… I like spoiling her.”

“Leave it, Harry. It’s perfect.” This time, I get an eye roll from Benji. “Honestly, you have gone from the most cynical bastard that I have ever known to a complete over-the-top nightmare. What happened to you? You have never been like this before. Not for anyone. I know that I was the one who joked about your going ahead and falling in love with Petra, but I might not have bothered if I’d known what it would turn you into.”

“Well, wait a minute, you might be about to do the same thing,” I tease him. “Don’t forget you have your mission coming up soon. Do you know any more about the woman you are about to protect?”

“Only that she’s called Carrie.” Benji shrugs. I can see that he’s trying to act all unbothered by the whole situation, but he’s clearly very nervous. I don’t know if that’s because of the work or if he’s actually worried about whether he will end up like me. He’s been very quiet on the whole ‘falling in love’ front ever since it actually happened. It will be interesting to see. “I don’t know. I’m sure it will be fine.”

“You need any more advice?” I turn to face him head on, now a little worried on his behalf. “Because you know that I am here for you no matter what. Especially after everything you did for me. You know for a fact that I wouldn’t have survived all of this without you, and I definitely wouldn’t be here now.”

Benji even helped me with smoothing things over with Max. Of course, we aren’t supposed to fall for the girls that we’re protecting. It’s a rule so obvious that it doesn’t need to be written down, but Benji helped me show Max that it’s real love. I wouldn’t risk everything if Petra and I weren’t meant to be.

“You might be the one needing advice.” Benji’s expression changes into a smile. “Now that you’re going to be a father. Has it sunk in yet? It’s nuts, isn’t it? You must be over the moon.”

“I can’t explain to you how happy I am, Benji. This is amazing to me. And it’s so different to last time. I think with my ex-wife, a part of me always worried that it wasn’t quite right, so I didn’t invest as much as I know I will this time around.” I pause thoughtfully for a second. “I can’t quite put my finger on what itwas before, but it wasn’t like this. I was never as happy as I am right now.”

“I can see it.” Benji pats me on the back. “Petra has turned you into a new man. A soppy bastard that I never thought you would become. It’s sickening, but I’m happy for you. How is Petra doing?”

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