Formatted Seal Of Honor edit2 (5 page)

me. Maybe I just ruin it al by myself.”

“Don’t you say that, sweetheart. I can promise you I’m spending forever with you in my heart,”

Zack said. “I’m a man of my word and as a SEAL I promise on my honor.”

“That’s good enough for me,” she whispered and impulsively stood on her tiptoes to kiss him.

He took her kiss deeper until they were both breathing heavy.

“Go take a shower, baby. If I keep kissing you like that I may not be able to stop myself from

taking you,” he growled. Without waiting for an answer he left her at the master bedroom door and

went into a bathroom down the hal .

“Don’t hold back on my account,” she whispered and smiled as arousal made her sex throb.

She’d ask some questions at her doctor’s appointment to make sure intercourse was safe for

her. She wanted to be his wife in every sense of the word.

Thanksgiving dinner was served outside on his patio. It was just him and Jordyn since neither of

them had family to invite. She was raised without any and he had a mother he cared not to

remember. But it was just as special as if they had a house ful of guests. They made a meal of

turkey, dressing, and green bean casserole together and she baked two pumpkin pies from scratch.

The breeze was cool and soft off the sea while they ate. Later, in the evening, they sat in his gazebo

under the stars eating pie with whip cream. They were happy, but he couldn’t help his wandering

thoughts. Her skin gleamed in the moonlight and he wondered how her naked skin would feel

against his or what making love to her would be like. He wanted his wife in the worst way.

“You know, we stil have to turn the bedroom across the hal into a nursery,” Zack said.

“I don’t do Black Friday shopping no matter if I’m in the city or on an island,” Jordyn said. “The

crowds are insane.”

Zack chuckled. “I’ve been to war a few times and even I’m scared of Black Friday shoppers.

How about after your doctor’s appointment on the first?”

“Um, we can get a few things. I get my latest check from the Java Hut that same day and I have

some savings,” Jordyn said. “I haven’t worked there long enough for maternity leave, but we can get

a crib and stuff.”

Oh, this woman
. Zack gave an inward sigh. “Jordyn, honey, we’re married now. This house is

yours as wel as mine and I can buy things for her as wel .”

“I can’t ask you to do that—”

“Jordyn, I didn’t marry you for shits and giggles. I want to be a husband to you and a father to the

baby. Speaking of which, you said you picked a name a few days ago and didn’t share with the

class. Honey, I know you’ve been alone and you have been accustomed to holding it down—Jordyn

the warrior princess who takes care of it al on her own—but I’m here now. Lean on me, depend on

me, use my back account. Ask me to get up at three a.m. to feed the baby. I want her to cal me

Daddy but that won’t happen unless you see me as your husband and her father.”

“Her name is Marianne,” Jordyn said. “Marianne Celesta Hennessey, and you wil be her father

in every sense of the word. But you’re right, I keeping slipping back to thinking like I’m stil alone. But

it doesn’t mean that I don’t think about you every day and realize that I’m the luckiest woman to be

married to you. So, yes, let’s go shopping and I won’t try to rein you in from spoiling our girl.”

She couldn’t have made him happier than when she spoke those words.
Our girl
. The words
I

love you
hadn’t been spoken yet, but he would wait until she was ready. God knew that from the first

time he set eyes on her he loved her. Zack never took anything for granted; his life and his military

career taught him that. He loved her with every fiber of his being and he’d love Marianne too. He

took her hand and kissed it gently before resting his head on her bel y and feeling the soft kick in

response.

“Hey, little girl, Daddy’s gonna buy you a mockingbird,” he crooned. “And diamonds and a

BMW. Then, when you grow up, a taser for stupid boys with cooties.”

Jordyn laughed. “Hey, how about we let her believe in prince charming for a long time, a man

like you?”

Zack looked up and grinned. “Okay, then the taser is for me when they come cal ing at our door.”

“Come here, goofbal .”

Jordyn opened her arms and this time it was him who snuggled against her happily. The baby

nestled snuggly in her womb, pushing against her stomach until they both laughed while they

watched. He loved being her husband, having this feeling of family so near to him. This felt perfect

and he was going to cherish the feeling forever.

* * * *

“Let’s get you checked out, Jordyn.”

The days ran quickly by and before she knew it, it was her usual prenatal appointment. Dr. Patel

was the nicest obstetrician she’d ever met. Heck, the nicest doctor in the world as far as she was

concerned. Her first appointment in New York was with a family health clinic that was understaffed

and overbooked. The nurses were snippy and the doctors were indifferent and acted like their office

was just a conveyor belt of women coming and going. They didn’t answer questions ful y and acted

impatient when she told them the prenatal vitamins they had given her made her il . Basical y, they

said if she wanted a sick, underweight baby she’d stop taking them and if she wanted a healthy

baby she’d suck it up.

It was a complete surprise when she met Dr. Patel for the first time. He made sure his office

worked out a payment plan with her. They helped her fil out the paperwork for the hospital so she

could have her bil reduced. Each question was answered and they made her feel at ease. Even

now, lying down with her feet spread apart in sterile stirrups while he checked her cervix, she felt at

ease.

“You’re not dilated and there is no thinning of your cervix yet,” Dr. Patel said.

“It feels like she’s ready to just slip out of there.” Jordyn sighed as Dr. Patel snapped off his

gloves and then helped her to sit up.

“At this stage, you could thin out and efface in days,” Dr. Patel said with humor in his voice.

“January fifth wil be here in no time. Do you want to bring that strapping soldier in here to see the

baby?”

“He’s not the father,” she said and bit her lip. “I don’t know why I just said that. Maybe I feel like

everyone is looking at me for marrying a man while carrying another man’s child. Geez, I’m sorry, Dr.

Patel, you are probably wondering what the heck is this girl talking about.”

He chuckled. “Pregnancy is an emotional time and who else can you talk to if not your doctor?

But I’l tel you this, Jordyn, I’m from a county where poverty is more prevalent than any other part of

the world and children are orphans in the blink of an eye. They raise each other in the slums and

claw their way to survival. Let me tel you that if you have a man who is going to be a good father to

this little one, then it doesn’t matter who was there at her conception, only who is there now.” He

patted her hand when she started to sniff. “Okay, let’s dry those tears and get your guy in here to see

this baby.”

Jordyn put her hand on his to stop him. “One more thing, Dr. Patel. Um, if we wanted to, um, you

know, be…intimate, would that affect the baby?”

“It may actual y help get your cervix thinning out,” he said. “You’ve not been sexual y active in this

pregnancy, but my concern would be
his
sexual activity.”

“He’s not been in a serious relationship in almost two years and his last physical and tests were

two months ago and he had a clean bil of health,” Jordyn supplied the information. “If you feel I

shouldn’t or she’d be in danger then that means an instant no for me.”

“I’m not saying that in the least. Everything sounds good and if you trust him, then the decision is

yours.” Dr. Patel draped her lower body with a warm sheet. “No wild romps or acrobatics, of course.

Let’s wait until she’s official y in the world for that.”

Jordyn smiled and felt her cheeks get warm. “Don’t worry, Dr. Patel. I don’t think this body can

do any of that right now.”

He opened the door to the exam room and ushered Zack inside. He had to go to base that

morning before the appointment so he was in a blue navy digical working uniform. She had kissed

him goodbye that morning and watched him get into his Armada thinking how sexy he looked. He

had explained that for her security someone would be watching the house. A police car was at the

end of his driveway when he left and when he came home it pul ed away. Zack took her hand as he

sat down beside her and Dr. Patel dimmed the light before walking over to the sonogram machine.

Surprisingly, the gel was warm when he squeezed it onto her bel y and soon they were looking at

pictures of the little girl nestled in her womb.

“Her heart sounds great and it’s one hundred and sixty beats per minute,” Dr. Patel said.

“Isn’t that high?” Zack asked worriedly.

“No, a baby’s heart beat is supposed to be that way. If it goes down quickly or goes beneath a

hundred in labor then we know the baby is in distress,” Dr. Patel explained.

“Okay.” He pul ed out his phone and took the stylus from the bottom.

“What are you doing?” Jordyn asked.

“Taking notes.”

Dr. Patel laughed and shook his head. “Now, here’s the good part—a four-dimensional image

of your baby.”

Jordyn gasped and her heart simply melted. Unlike the grainy image of the usual ultrasound, the

image was smooth and she could see Marianne's chubby cheeks and little mouth. Zack gave a soft

laugh of amazement and squeezed Jordyn’s hand. Her little finger moved and she yawned before

popping the finger in her mouth. That made both her and Zack laugh and she wiped tears of

happiness from her cheeks.

“I hope you caught that image, Doc,” Zack said. His voice was husky with emotion.

“I surely did,” Dr. Patel replied.

“Look at her, sweetheart. She’s gorgeous,” Zack said and kissed her hand.

“She’s amazing,” Jordyn whispered in awe. This was her girl, her baby. She would never feel

alone in the world or unloved. By the time they left the office, they had a handful of pictures and Zack

had one tucked into his wal et to show off to his team. Just seeing the baby made them both feel

closer and connected. They walked out holding hands and Jordyn felt like she was beaming from ear

to ear and floating on air.

“So now we hit the mal , and I have a surprise,” Zack said. “Wel , two—one today and one

tomorrow night when we get home.”

“What do you mean when we get home? We’re not going home tonight?” she asked. “What are

you up to, Commander Hennessey?”

“We’re going to Honolulu for shopping, dinner and then staying for the Thanksgiving luau.” Zack

kissed her as he helped her into the Armada. “Tomorrow’s surprise wil be seen when we get home.”

He got in beside her and she tapped her hand on the window. “Let’s go, Commander. I’m al

excited now.”

He laughed as he pul ed away. Jordyn hummed along to the Christmas music playing on the

radio as they drove and talked about Marianne showing off for the Sonogram pictures. The sun was

shining and the water off the sea was a sparkling sapphire. By now, it would be as cold as heck in

New York and she would have been bundled up in double or triple layers of clothes. Here, she was

wearing a white cotton maternity top and Capri pants.
I could definitely get used to this.
Somehow,

this was turning out to the best holiday season of her life.

* * * *

excitement build in your chest and made you watch with fascination for something to happen? The

sound of the conch shel made her jump and she giggled as the Samoan master cal ed the dancers

out between the lighted torches. The ambience of the event was amazing. There were lush flowers in

shades of reds, yel ows and whites against dark green palm fronds. The island version of Christmas

was in every flowered lei around the necks of dancers and the audience. White string lights were

strung in the trees. The music in the background was Christmas songs blended with the traditional

Hawaiian island music. Everyone quieted as the warriors took the floor.

The dancers used flames and daring moves to entice the audience while Zack and Jordyn fed

each other bits of roasted meats and rice and fruit. Their day of shopping was fun and the furniture

they had picked out for the baby’s room was scheduled to be delivered in the next few days. The rest

of the things like clothes and diapers were packed in the back of his Nissan Armada. She took a sip

of her virgin piña colada and sighed happily. It was a perfect night. The stars blanketed the sky, the

air was cool but not cold, the music was upbeat and fun and she had an amazing man by her side.

They were sitting in a low-to-the-ground lounge chair that was big enough for the both of them to

share. Zack had planned everything down to the last detail because the plush pil ows at her back

kept her upright but comfortable as she moved her bare feet to the music.

Jordyn was enraptured by the sensual moves of the women dancers and sighed. “I wish I could