SEAL's Baby (Navy SEAL Secret Baby Romance) (21 page)

“Whoa,” Lizzie said as
she took a seat at the table. “You made all this.”

“I decided to try my hand
at cooking,” I said. “It’s been awhile.”

“I’m the guinea pig huh?”

I smiled. “You are,” I
nodded as I put a blueberry pancake onto her plate. “You want some maple syrup
with that?”

“Sure,” Lizzie nodded.

  
I got the maple syrup and she got some glasses from the top
cupboard just next to the fridge. She got out some fresh juice and poured us
both a couple of glasses. Then she took a bite of pancake. “Wow,” she said.
“That’s really good.”

“Really?”

“It is,” Lizzie nodded
and I could tell she wasn’t just humoring me.

“Is it weird that I feel
this massive sense of accomplishment?”

Lizzie laughed. “Not at
all,” she shook her head. “I would feel as proud if I were you.”

  
She looked so lovely; there was that dewy suppleness that came
from just having woken from a good sleep. Her eyes were soft and filled with
warmth, it made the blue of her eyes seem tranquil, almost subdued. Her hair
was a mess around her and I knew she had just rolled out of bed. I loved the
way she looked; there was something so raw and natural about it. She wasn’t
hiding behind makeup or foundation. This was what she looked like and it was
beautiful.
 

“Do you cook often?” I
asked.

  
“I hate cooking alone,” Lizzie admitted. “When I first moved into
this apartment, I used to cook quite a bit and I realized that it only made me
depressed. After that, whenever I cook I have Maddie or mom come over and we cooked
together.”

“Does that change it for
you?”

  
“It changes everything,” Lizzie nodded. “I’ve never been one of
those people who like living solitary lives. I need people, I like people.”

“I know,” I nodded. “You
always have.”

  
Lizzie smiled sadly. “I know it seems a little ironic given the
way I’ve lived of late … it’s just … it was hard for me, dealing with Paul and
his lies. It was humiliating and after a point I just couldn’t face people the
same way.” She looked up. “You’ve probably heard the things he told people
about me.”

  
I hesitated. “Well, a little,” I admitted. “I knew right away they
were all lies and I’m sure everyone else did too.”

Lizzie smiled. “Actually,
you’d be surprised.”

“Come on,” I said. “No
one who knows you would have ever believed a word that Paul said about you.”

  
“The thing is, people believe what they want to believe,” Lizzie
said quietly. “It was more interesting and more entertaining to believe the
things that Paul was saying about me than to question his honesty. If he was
lying, then there was no story there and people love a good story.”

“You deserved better than
that.”

  
“That’s beside the point though isn’t it?” Lizzie said without
emotion. “I was fodder for gossip. That was the reason I withdrew a little and
stuck to my little circle. I wasn’t interested in feeding the rumors and the
gossip. I realized that it didn’t matter what people thought of me. I had to
block out all the extra noise.”

“And did you succeed?” I
asked.

  
“I’m still working on it,” Lizzie said with a small smile. Then
she brightened suddenly and her tone changed. “This breakfast is wonderful.”

I laughed. “I’m a regular
Rachel Ray.”

“I always knew you were,”
Lizzie winked. “So, since we have the whole day, what would you like to do
first?”

  
It was easy to let her enthusiasm rub off on me. I tried to search
for any bitterness that might have lingered from our earlier conversation but
her eyes were clear and her smile was as bright as ever. “Let’s start in town
and walk our way around,” I suggested.

“All right,” Lizzie
nodded as she started clearing the plates away.

“No I’ll do that,” I told
her. “You go get ready.”

“You did all the cooking;
it’s only fair that I clean up.”

“No way,” I insisted.
“I’ll handle all this.”

“You sure?” she asked looking
pleased.

“Completely,” I nodded.
“You go ahead.”

  
It felt nice to take care of her, even in a small way. It felt
good to feel as though we were a couple with a practiced routine and a
comfortable set of habits. It was easy to pretend, to imagine what our life
would be like if we chose to spend it together. By the time I finished cleaning
up in the kitchen, Lizzie was ready. She was wearing a light-blue sundress and
her red hair was draped over her shoulders like a shawl.

“You look breath taking,”
I said as I took a moment to appreciate her.

  
She came towards me and kissed me softly on the lips. It felt so
easy that I could almost forget about the last eleven years. I could see the
future we might have had if I had never enlisted in the army. I would have
stayed in Bastrop, gotten a job, and built a life for myself here with Lizzie
by my side. If I had chosen differently we might have already been married a
few years and who knows: we might have even had a child or two.

“What are you thinking of
so hard?” Lizzie asked as we made our way out of her apartment and into the
street.

“Just the ‘what ifs’,” I
replied.

“Funny,” Lizzie said.
“I’ve been thinking about that a lot too.”

“Do you think …?" I
started before I trailed off.

“What?”

“No, maybe I should leave
that question alone,” I backtracked.

“It’s ok Dylan,” Lizzie
said taking my hand as we walked down the street together. “You can ask me.”

“Well … I guess I was
thinking about what would have happened if I had never left Bastrop,” I
admitted.

“You mean if you hadn’t
enlisted?” Lizzie asked.

“Yes.”

“I have to admit, I’ve
thought about that a lot too,” Lizzie said.

“And?”

“I don’t know if we would
have ended up together,” she said her tone softening a little.

“Why not?”

  
“We were so young, Dylan,” she said. “And we’d been together so
long. Maybe we wouldn’t have lasted if you’d stayed in Bastrop and we had
stayed together. Real life is different, it’s harder, and it’s harsher. Who’s
to say we wouldn’t have grown apart anyway?”

“You really believe that?”
I asked.

  
“Honestly?” Lizzie asked. “I don’t know. Sometimes I believe it
and other times it feels like a way to console myself because you left.”

I nodded. “I suppose I
can understand that.”

  
We turned the corner and came to a line of stores and shops on
either end. “It hasn’t changed much,” I observed. “The Pink Scooper is still
around, I see.”

  
“Please, the Pink Scooper will be around as long as this town
stands,” Lizzie said. “It has the best ice cream in town.”

“This is nice,” I said.

“Walking around town?”
Lizzie asked.

  
“Well, that and being able to talk to you so openly,” I admitted.
“At the beginning, I was always scared I’d bring up a topic or a question that
would upset you.”

“Why shy away from
certain conversations?” Lizzie said with a shrug. “It’ll just make things more
awkward later.”

“I agree,” I nodded. “We
always did have a great back hand, didn’t we?”

  
“It’s funny how quickly those things come back,” Lizzie nodded and
I felt that same comforting bond that we had shared in high school.

“Hey look,” I said
pointing out the music store. “Did they go through a re-model? It looks
different.”

“A few years back,”
Lizzie nodded. “They’ve got a bit more choice now.”

“That’s a nice piano,” I
said pointing out the display in the store window.

“Very,” Lizzie nodded and
I detected a note of missed opportunity in her voice. “Let’s walk on.”

“No,” I said. “I want to
go in.”

“You’re interested in
musical instruments?” Lizzie asked disbelievingly.

“Why not?” I asked. “I
have a great many interests. Come on.”

  
I grabbed her hand and dragged her across the street. I could tell
she was reluctant to go in because she sensed I had a motive, but I persisted.
The store was cool and the scent of wood filled the store. “I don’t know much
about instruments,” I said. “But even I can tell that is a gorgeous piece.”

Lizzie stared at the
piano. “It’s nice,” she nodded and turned her face away from it.

“How would you like to
own a piano like that?” I asked.

She turned to me in
surprise. “Why?”

“Just asking,” I said
with a shrug.

“It won’t even fit in my
apartment,” Lizzie pointed out.

“True,” I nodded. “But
you can always keep it at your mother’s until you get a bigger place.”

“Why are we having this
conversation?” Lizzie asked suspiciously.

I looked back at the piano.
“I think you would look amazing behind this piano,” I said ignoring her
question.

“Dylan…”

“Hi,” I said signaling to
the clerk behind the counter. “How much is the piano in the display window?”

“Four thousand, six
hundred dollars sir,” the clerk replied.

I didn’t bat an eyelid.
“Seems reasonable,” I said to Lizzie.

“Are you insane?” she
demanded. “You are not buying me a piano.”

“Ok,” I shrugged. “Then
I’ll buy it for myself and keep it with you for safe keeping.”

“Dylan …” Lizzie said
narrowing her eyes at me. “You are not buying this piano period. I will not
accept it.”

  
“Aw, come on, Lizzie,” I insisted. “It’s perfect for you and
you’ll be able to practice whenever you want. You’ve always wanted a piano.”

  
“I don’t even play anymore, Dylan,” Lizzie said. “And even if I
did, I would never accept a gift like that from anyone. It’s far too
expensive.”

“But I want to—”

  
“I know,” Lizzie said cutting me off. “And I appreciate that, you
have no idea how much, but I just won’t let you buy this for me. Not a chance.”

I sighed. “You’re being
stubborn.”

“I’m being realistic,”
Lizzie countered. “And practical.”

  
I turned back to the piano. “I really want to do this for you. I
have so much money saved up, more than I know what to do with.”

  
“You know what to do with it,” Lizzie said sternly. “You’re going
to save it so that you can build your rehabilitation center once you decide to
retire from the Navy. You need your savings for that. I love that you want to
buy this for me, but it’s unnecessary and extravagant.”

I sighed. “And you’re not
going to budge are you?”

“Not even a little bit,”
Lizzie said with a small smile.

“Fine then, but I’m not
leaving this store until I find something to get for you.”

“Dylan—”

“Nothing extravagant,” I
promised. “Something both reasonable and practical; ok?”

Lizzie stared at me for a
moment and then she sighed. “All right,” she said at last and I smiled in
triumph.

  
“It’s a small victory, but I’ll take it,” I said as I took her
hand and moved through the store. It took my only a few minutes to spot the
range of keyboards they had. “What about one of those?” I suggested. “It’s the
next best thing to a piano.”

  
I could see the little glint in her eye and I knew how tempted she
was, but I also knew she didn’t want to look too interested. “I’ll have a
look,” she said as she moved closer. “This is really unnecessary, you know?”

“It’s necessary for my
happiness,” I countered. “Now pick one.”

  
As I had expected, she picked the cheapest keyboard of the lot. I
turned to the clerk. “Which one is the best?” I asked.

“The one in the middle,”
he replied. “It’s a hundred dollars more expensive but it’s well worth the
price.”

“That’s ok,” Lizzie said
quickly, pointing to the plain, cheaper model she had chosen “I’ll stick with
this one.”

“We’ll take it,” I told
the clerk pointing to the one he had recommended.

Lizzie turned to me with
narrowed eyes. “That’s not the one I wanted,” she said.

“Of course it is,” I
nodded. “You’re just trying to save my money.”

Lizzie sighed. “You’re
not going to back down here, are you?”

“Not a chance.”

She sighed again and then
she smiled in defeat. “Well … thank you. I love it.”