Secret Daddy Surprise (Book Three): Secret Daddy Surprise, #3

By Layla Valentine

One unforgettable encounter.
Two massive revelations.
This ex-SEAL's about to find out he's a daddy…

Valerie: A year ago he swept through my life like a hurricane.
Garrett Lawson, the ex-Navy SEAL who showed me passion like I'd never known before.
Then he disappeared into the night, never to be seen again.
Until tonight…
Chance upon chance, I found him again.
I've got to tell him the news.
One year ago, he left me something to remember him by.
One year ago, he gave me his baby

Garrett: I've defended my country, but I'm no angel, I'm a hitman; I kill bad guys for other bad guys.
And I never know if I'm going to see the next morning.
My night with Valerie was different.
We shared something perfect, something I've never had before.
Well now we meet again, and she's saying she has a secret to tell me.
If only she knew my secret too…
 

This is the third book in the Secret Daddy Surprise series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Layla Valentine
• Release date: Mar 9, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201606091

Book preview

SECRET DADDY SURPRISE

Book Three

LAYLA VALENTINE

Copyright © 2022 by Layla Valentine

All rights reserved.

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

CONTENTS

1. Garrett

2. Valerie

3. Garrett

4. Valerie

5. Valerie

6. Garrett

Epilogue

CHAPTER 1

GARRETT

Iwake up in bed with Valerie. We’ve been spending the nights together these past few days, since Thanksgiving passed. Dylan’s crib is now out in the living room, and we purchased a monitor so that we can hear his sounds in the night.

At first, I think I may have woken up because of a sound from Dylan’s crib. I focus my attention on the soft, purring static of the monitor, waiting for the next coo or wail.

I hear nothing but static.

Valerie is asleep next to me, in the nude. Her arm is across my chest, her head nestled in next to my neck. Everything is as it should be. So, then, why did I wake up?

It’s barely getting light out…far too early for a natural morning wake-up. These days, Valerie and I are both so exhausted by the end of the day, and sleep is so precious, that we usually take all that we can get. Her alarm always goes off at six thirty, and it always feels too early.

I reach for my phone to see what time it is. Five thirty.

I have a new text message. Maybe that’s what woke me up. With a twinge to my gut, I realize that the message is from Clint.

As I stare at my phone, thinking of a way I can put off messaging my boss back, another text comes in, and then another. The message-alert sound is loud, but despite the beeping sounds, Valerie keeps breathing softly.

I shift in the bed more and manage to extract myself without waking her. I walk to the living room and check on Dylan, who’s also sleeping soundly. I don’t want to wake him with the sounds from my phone, either, so I move down the hallway and then out the front door. The late November morning air has a chill to it, reminding me how much time has passed since I first showed up at Valerie’s door.

All those weeks ago, back in early October, I let my boss know that I would be unavailable for a while. I told him six weeks, max, and he okayed my absence. But over the past two weeks, he’s been texting me every day, asking me when I’ll be back.

I flip open the small cellphone and scroll through his messages. Apparently, he has urgent work for me. Everything is urgent for this guy.

Over the past month, I’ve learned a few things about setting stress and anxiety aside. I’ve learned what it feels like to feel happy and relaxed. My boss, on the other hand, seems to have never learned those lessons.

I stare at the messages. At one point in my life, the thought of a new target and mission would have excited me. I’d feel excited to do what I do best: track and kill bad guys. It was what I was trained to do in the Navy. It was what I was skilled at.

But now, I’ve found out that I have other skills, too. I’m learning to nurture life, not impose death. I’m learning how to support Valerie—how to show her love and affection. I’m learning to be a good father and a good boyfriend.

I don’t want to take the job.

Before I can figure out what to say in response to my boss’s text, the phone rings. I know that it’s him, the impatient bastard.

I sigh and lift the phone to my ear.

What’s up, Clint? I say.

When he speaks, it’s through that damn voice distorter. His words are slightly garbled, as if he’s underwater. The tone is deep and artificial.

Garrett, I have work for you. You didn’t respond to my messages.

I’m still tied up with some family stuff, I say.

Well, you’d better get yourself untied, because this job can’t wait.

Clint, I don’t…I don’t want the work.

I hadn’t planned on saying this, in such definite terms, just yet. I thought I might need