Baby for the Navy SEAL Next Door

BABY FOR THE NAVY SEAL NEXT DOORACCIDENTAL BABY BROTHER'S BEST FRIEND ROMANCE MADISON RICE CONTENTS Chapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 8Chapter 9Chapter 10Chapter 11Chapter 12Chapter 13Chapter 14Chapter 15Chapter 16Chapter 17Chapter 18Chapter 19Chapter 20Chapter 21Chapter 22Chapter 23Chapter 24Chapter 25Chapter 26Chapter 27Chapter 28Chapter 29Also by Madison Rice CHAPTER 1 JOSEPHINE Although South Beach provided a breeze now and again, the temperature still rose to nearly ninety degrees by the afternoon, so sweat was dripping down my skin as I worked in the small kitchen of the auditorium. The air conditioner whirred as it tried to kick back on, and a burst of cool air flowed by me. Facing the artificial breeze, I chopped off a sliver of the vegan meatloaf I would be serving as a meatless version of the main dish for this charity dinner. I loved cooking and had been working as a chef for a while now. And though business was doing okay, it wasn’t where it could be. There were household names already established, so I was struggling to find my place in the market, but there was no way I was giving up my dream for anything, which meant taking on every gig that came my way, including this one. Okay, so I didn’t quite remember what this specific dinner was for, exactly, only that the price point for this four-course dinner had four digits, and that everything must be perfect because this dinner was being hosted by the CEO of Ironman Titanium, the largest manufacturer of titanium in the United States. I also didn’t quite remember the man’s name because I had been working on the menu for this dinner for a solid month in between catering gigs, but had no interaction with the man himself. My best friend and personal assistant came around the side of the steel workstation I had set up yelling, “Corner!” at the top of her lungs, just like I taught her. Gretchen didn’t have the experience that I did working in kitchens, but she picked it up fast, just like everything else. She’d been my right hand since I began my catering business, and I’d loved her like a sister. We met at thirteen and were living in a trailer park in Valdosta, Georgia. It was easy to forget that she was my employee at all. The sight of her holding a huge metal fan above her head so as to not elbow or bump into any of the staff brought actual tears to my eyes. “Angel. Godsend. Light of my life.” Her setting up the fan on a crate in the corner, angling it up so the air blew into my face, might have been the most religious experience I’d ever had. Nearly sensual in how amazing it made me feel after hours of working in a hot, cramped kitchen with a spotty AC. It was also probably the most sensual experience I’ve felt in years, but I couldn't think about that too much without getting a headache. Speaking of headaches, Dominic Richards, my dearly beloved older brother, entered the kitchen, not yelling “corner” or “behind” the way I told him he had to, and nearly knocking over a server who was simply trying to set out a series of plates for me to prepare. Narrowing my eyes at him had him holding his arms out as if in apology. Unfortunately for him, I knew he wasn't sorry. “The vegans are rioting,” he said, nonchalantly, as if that was a common and totally normal thing to say. “The vegans are going to get the best dish of their lives, so tell them five minutes,” I snapped, and Dominic rolled his eyes. “Watch your tone,” he warned me, but I was twenty-six, not six, despite what my brother might think, so I didn't bother to respond. “Elijah will be livid if you fuck this up, Jo. Seriously.” “Jo knows what she’s doing, Dom. Chill out,” Gretchen said, using a clean fork to taste the sliver of meatloaf I’d cut off. Her eyes rolled back into her head and I found another grin spreading across my face. I loved watching people eat the dishes I created. My one passion in life was to make food that evoked feelings, and Gretchen was getting all the feels. “It tastes just like meat, Jo-Jo, honestly. I would have thought it was the lamb loaf.” I knew that I was beaming because even Dominic smiled a little, although lately, smiles had been rare coming from him. It wasn’t that I felt like he disliked my cooking. In fact, I knew he adored it, I’d been cooking for him since we were teenagers. He had just been crazy about this charity dinner. The CEO of Ironman Titanium was apparently some old friend of his, and Dominic wanted everything to go smoothly, so I cut him some slack and sliced him a tiny sliver so he could try it, too. When he tried to go in for a second bite, I slapped his hand. “Time to get out of my kitchen,” I warned, and Dominic groaned but made himself scarce, thank God. “Your brother is lucky he’s so cute,” Gretchen began, and I made a gagging sound in the back of my throat. “Gretch, I love you, but if you talk about how hot my brother is one more time, I’m going to fire you.” “You can’t fire me,” Gretchen shot back cheerfully, and she was right. I couldn’t. She was definitely irreplaceable and invaluable. And Dominic was objectively attractive, I guessed, in his own way. I got a lot of my looks from him, especially the dirty blond curls that I was trying desperately to tame in this humidity. But he was my brother, for god’s sake. Who wants to think of their brother as hot? Gag! Anyway… I didn’t have time to be too mad at Gretchen for salivating for my brother, though, because the servers came in and it was time