Page 25 of Claimed By the Sailor

“So sorry about that,” she whispered.

“It’s okay,” I assured her as my husband continued to glare at her coworker.

When I gave her my name for the reservation and she pulled it up on her computer, she beamed a huge smile at me. “Oh boy, will he regret that faux pas since you work directly with the owner.”

“Yup, he sure is,” I confirmed with a nod. Although employee performance was outside of my purview, word of mouth was everything in marketing. It could easily be said that how their front desk staff treated customers had an impact on how effective my campaigns would be.

My grin was as big as hers when she informed me that we’d been booked into a suite with an oceanfront view. There was an added spring in my step as we made our way to the elevator.

I was excited to have my gorgeous husband all to myself for the next two days, especially somewhere we could order in room service. But this was the first time we’d left Samuel overnight, and when the doors slid shut in front of us, I started to get nervous.

As I bit my bottom lip and rapidly blinked a few times, Silas proved how well he knew me. “Will you feel better if we call your mom as soon as we get to the room?”

“Yes.” I beamed a relieved smile at him. “I know we only left him with her twenty minutes ago, and she’s babysat for us plenty of times before, but this feels different.”

He brushed a kiss against my temple. “You’re such a good mom.”

“And you’re an awesome dad.”

The elevator dinged, and then the doors slid open again. Silas guided me down the hallway to our suite, which was even more gorgeous than I had imagined. But I didn’t take the time to appreciate my surroundings. Instead, I yanked my phone from my purse and called our boy.

My mom picked up on the first ring. “How did I know you wouldn’t even last the first full hour before calling?”

“Because you’re a mom, too,” I quipped.

“True,” she conceded, switching to video mode so I could see Samuel’s chubby face as he munched on an animal cracker. “As you can see, my grandson is doing just fine. Now go enjoy your time with your husband. I’ll send you lots of updates with pictures for when you’re not busy.”

Silas and I blew kisses at Samuel before we hung up. Then he took my phone and purse and set them on the small table in the sitting area. After yanking open the curtains so we could stare out at the ocean, he moved behind me and wrapped his arms around my front to pull me against his chest. “Two whole days with you all to myself, whatever will we do?”

His hot breath against my ear sent a shiver down my spine that only strengthened when he ground his hard-on against my butt. Turning in his arms, I fully intended to make a filthy suggestion that wouldn’t surprise him at all. Instead, I blurted, “I’m pregnant.”

“Pregnant?” Silas echoed, his eyes widening as his gaze dropped to my still-flat stomach.

“Uh-huh.” I nodded. “I didn’t notice until this morning that my period is a week late, and I still had a test in the bathroom cabinet from when we found out about Samuel. So I took it while you were getting him ready. And it was positive.”

“Fuck yeah!” He picked me up and twirled me around in a circle, a huge grin on his face. “It’s a good thing we have so much privacy now that we have something to celebrate.”

EPILOGUE

SILAS

Quietly, I opened the door to my wife’s home office. I didn’t want to disturb her if she was on a call, but lucky for me, she was just powering down her computer. Stepping fully inside, I shut and locked the door behind me.

Phoebe spun around in her chair, and when she saw me, a giant smile lit up her face. “You’re home!” She jumped out of the chair and threw herself into my arms.

“Fuck, I missed you,” I grunted before taking her lips in a passionate kiss. I’d been gone for two weeks and had arrived home this afternoon, just in time to pick up Samuel from preschool and Carly from her playdate.

As I devoured Phoebe’s mouth, I walked her backward and spun us around so I could sit in her chair. Then I yanked her down into my lap and settled her with her legs hanging on either side of mine.

Phoebe tore her lips away and glanced at the door, panting, “Where are the kids?”

“Paul and Emily took them to dinner and a movie.”

Two years after Paul finished rehab, he met the love of his life. Emily was amazing and had her shit together, so she told his ass straight out that if he wanted her, he’d have to walk the straight and narrow. He’d agreed, and a year later, they were married.

They were expecting their own little bundle of joy in three months, and they loved to “practice” by taking our kids off our hands.

Which worked out perfectly since I was on a mission to knock up my wife again.

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