Page 131 of His Surrender

The line inches forward. I adjust the hood over her little antlers.

“So cute,” I tell her as I admire her outfit again.

“I know.”

The familiar voice comes from directly behind me. I spin around.

Dean.

His charcoal overcoat hangs open over a navy sweater, and there’s still a little crease in his tie, like he loosened it while rushing over.

He’s slightly out of breath.

“You actually came.”

“I told you I was.”

His attention drops immediately into the stroller, and then his entire face melts.

“Oh my God.” He crouches beside Liana. “Look at you.” His voice becomes impossibly soft. “What are you wearing?”

Liana immediately reaches both arms toward him.

He laughs, lifting her out of the stroller without even looking at me. “My little reindeer.”

She grabs his nose but he doesn’t seem to notice.

“I mean …” He shakes his head. “I wasn’t prepared.”

I smile up at him. “I told you.”

“No.” He grins as he looks at her. “You severely undersold this.”

He kisses one chubby cheek, then the other. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything this cute.”

His eyes travel over me for the first time. They stop, then slowly make their way back up.

A grin spreads across his face. “Oh no.”

My forehead creases. “What?”

He points at my sweater. “You matched her.”

I glance down at the Rudolph sweater I threw on that morning. “I did.”

He laughs. “You two planned this.”

“We absolutely planned this.”

His smile grows even wider. “I can’t decide who’s cuter.”

For a few seconds, he just … looks at me. The kind of look that always makes my heart beat a little faster.

His smile softens while his eyes linger long enough that I almost forget where we are.

But they dart away to the families around us and the people standing in line before coming back to me.

His jaw tightens almost imperceptibly.