Secret Baby Seduction: A Bundle of Joy, #4

By Roxy Wilson

Painful endings often lead to new beginnings

 

Dayna Sheppard faced some hard decisions in the past, but she moved on and made an exciting life for herself. Now ten years later, she returns to her hometown in San Diego, California. Her plan is to kill three birds with one stone: attend her tenth high school reunion, take a much-needed sabbatical from her years of travel as a photojournalist and recover from the recent break-up with her boyfriend.

 

Regrets may be many, but second chances come once in a lifetime

Ten years after leaving San Diego, Aron Mateo Rodriquez, attends his high school reunion. What he doesn't expect is to be just as smitten with Dayna as he was when they were sophomores in high school. He'd always regretted that his father's job at the UN prevented Dayna and him from having a long-lasting relationship, but he's prepared to change that from the moment he sets his eyes on her at the reunion.
 

Secrets are of two kinds: the ones you must keep in and the ones you don't ever let out…

Aron and Dayna do lots of reflecting and reminiscing together as they work on rebuilding their relationship. Their fiery attraction is still very much alive. But Dayna is plagued by guilt because of a secret she holds.

Can she face her fears and tell Aron what happened ten years ago, at the risk of losing him? Is she destined to be alone?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Roxy Wilson
• Release date: Jan 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393670704

Book preview

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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This is a work of fiction. All characters, places, businesses and incidents are from the author’s imagination or they are used fictitiously and are definitely fictionalized. Any trademarks or pictures herein are not authorized by the trademark owners and do not in any way mean the work is sponsored by or associated with the trademark owners. Any trademarks or pictures used are specifically in a descriptive capacity. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons living or dead, is coincidental.

Text copyright © 2014 Roxy Wilson

All Rights Reserved

BOOK DESCRIPTION

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Painful endings often lead to new beginnings

Dayna Sheppard faced some hard decisions in the past, but she moved on and made an exciting life for herself. Now ten years later, she returns to her hometown in San Diego, California. Her plan is to kill three birds with one stone: attend her tenth high school reunion, take a much-needed sabbatical from her years of travel as a photojournalist and recover from the recent break-up with her boyfriend.

Regrets may be many, but second chances come once in a lifetime

Ten years after leaving San Diego, Aron Mateo Rodriquez, attends his high school reunion. What he doesn’t expect is to be just as smitten with Dayna as he was when they were sophomores in high school. He’d always regretted that his father’s job at the UN prevented Dayna and him from having a long-lasting relationship, but he’s prepared to change that from the moment he sets his eyes on her at the reunion.

Secrets are of two kinds: the ones you must keep in and the ones you don’t ever let out...

Aron and Dayna do lots of reflecting and reminiscing together as they work on rebuilding their relationship. Their fiery attraction is still very much alive. But Dayna is plagued by guilt because of a secret she holds.

Can she face her fears and tell Aron what happened ten years ago, at the risk of losing him? Is she destined to be alone?

Chapter One

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Excuse me, miss, which way is the exit? an elderly Asian gentleman asked as he pushed his luggage trolley towards her. He seemed a little lost and befuddled by the busy airport.

Dayna looked around. She pointed at the exit sign to their left. That way.

Thanks.

Dayna Sheppard pushed her sunglasses high up on her forehead as she collected her suitcase from the luggage belt and hauled it onto the trolley. Gosh! If she could count the number of days she’d been in an airport, it would probably amount to one third of the time she’d spent away from home.

Ten years! It was a long time, but now she was back in her hometown, San Diego, California. Gazing around at the airport which had undergone a lot of changes in the past decade, Dayna wondered for the umpteenth time if she’d made the right decision in coming here.

The Asian gentleman fell into step beside her as she rolled her luggage towards the exit. Do you live here?

Dayna glanced at him. He was probably close to sixty years of age with a mass of white hair. If he’d been younger, she would’ve brushed him off, thinking he was coming on to her, but she could see the genuine interest in his eyes. I grew up here but moved away ten years ago.

You’re visiting someone?

Actually, I came to attend my high school reunion and also—um... She hesitated. Well, he’s a stranger. Who would he tell? I’m also on a year-long sabbatical from my work, so this seemed like a good place to hang out while I figure out my next move.

What do you do? he asked as they neared the main airport door.

Outside, Dayna could see bright sunlight and tall, oak trees that had always lined this street for as far back as she could remember. I’m a photojournalist.

He looked impressed. So, you must have traveled a lot. Have you been to China?

Since he was of Chinese descent, she could understand his curiosity. It’s a beautiful country. I spent several weeks there about three years ago, loved the people, loved the food, and the Great Wall of China, of course. She smiled at the memory. Took many pictures and even won an award for one of them.

Wow! You’re a famous lady.

Dayna laughed at the awed tone. As they neared the door, a light breeze filtered in to ruffle her mop of midnight-black hair that was cut short to make styling easier. The sunlight made her blink and she pushed her sunglasses back down to cover her eyes. Not really. She chuckled. Most people don’t recognize photojournalists on the streets. I’m not a celebrity. But yes, I did enjoy the traveling. India. Myanmar. Australia. Russia. Spain. Italy. Syria. Iraq. Dubai. Haiti. You name the place and I bet I’ve been there.

He nodded. But there’s nothing quite like home, is there?

She nodded even as she pondered over his question. Nope, nothing like it.

Was coming back to San Diego really so important to her? Why did she return to her home city when things had gotten tough? Is it really because she felt comfortable with the city, or did her reasons go deeper than that? She’d pounced on the opportunity to attend the high school reunion when her personal life took an unexpected turn and she found herself looking for an avenue of escape. She’d also had been contemplating a change in her career for some time and quickly shifted into high gear, then made all arrangements to move to San Diego when she broke up with her boyfriend, Adam.

Maybe she just wanted a place where she could lick her wounds in private. After all, the end of a three-year-relationship she’d expected to end up in a church, hurt like hell. Hating the direction in which her thoughts had turned, she glanced at the elderly gentleman. Is this your first time in San Diego?

He shook his head. I came here forty-five years ago, and it was here that I met my wife. She was quite a catch, my Cynthia. His smile looked wistful. I wasn’t the only one who wanted to court her, but what I lacked in brawn, I made up with my wit. He shook his head. And now, it seems I’m chasing her once again, after all these years.

Chasing her? Dayna felt intrigued by his choice of words.

She’s an American. We met in the university and got married, and then she moved with me to China. We had a fight and she came here. I’ve come to make her fall in love with me all over again.

If another man said this, Dayna would’ve laughed but he sounded so sincere and determined that she could only admire his firm resolve. She didn’t know what to say. It sounded like a story she would’ve loved to hear, but they were already past the exit and out into the fresh, balmy air. Dayna thrust her hand at him. Good luck, Sir. I hope you can convince her.

He grinned. Thank you. I’m sure I will. After all, everyone deserves a second chance in love, don’t they?

Yeah, they do, Dayna answered softly, as he wandered away to find a cab. She stood still as people marched past her. The man’s words triggered an avalanche of emotions inside her. Here was a man who’d come across an ocean to take his wife back, and she’d left her boyfriend because he’d done something she thought was unforgivable. Most people when hearing the old man’s story would assume he had cheated on his wife, but Dayna knew there was more than one way to break a person’s heart. Case in point...Adam, her newly ex-boyfriend had done that by accepting a bribe in exchange for suppressing a story....A journalist like him, an award-winning one too.

She believed they were perfect for each other, completely in tune with their ideals, their vision for the world and for their careers. Everything appeared to be perfect and she’d been blissfully happy until the day she saw him taking a wrapped box from a blond-haired, shifty-gazed man in a café outside their third floor apartment. Dayna wouldn’t have thought twice about the incident because as a journalist, Adam was always meeting his sources, taking notes and other stuff from them.

Unbeknownst to her, when he came home, he must have placed the packet in the far recesses of their closet. So later, when she pulled out a got-to-fit-in dress,