Page 29 of His Surrender

Dean strolls into the family room, tossing his suit jacket over the back of a chair. His white dress shirt is wrinkled from a long day, the sleeves rolled to his forearms, and his navy tie hangs loose around his neck, as though he gave up trying to look put together hours ago. The top few buttons of his shirt are undone, revealing just enough of his chest that my brain decides now is an excellent time to completely abandon me.

I tear my eyes away before he catches me staring.

“How was your first day?” he asks as he makes his way toward the couch, loosening his tie the rest of the way and pulling it free from his collar.

Before I can answer, Liana lets out a loud, surprisingly impressive belch against my shoulder.

Dean and I both laugh.

“Well,” I say, looking down at her, “I think that’s our cue.”

He holds out his arms without hesitation. “I’ve got her.”

I carefully transfer Liana into his embrace, making sure her head is supported before letting go. The second she’s settled against his chest, Dean instinctively presses a kiss to the top of her forehead.

It’s such an automatic gesture that I don’t think he even realizes he did it.

Just two weeks ago, he didn’t know she existed. Watching the way he looks at her makes something warm settle in my chest.

He’s completely smitten with his daughter.

I stand and smooth the wrinkles from the front of my T-shirt.

“It was great. We did some tummy time this afternoon, which she actually did really well with. She got lots of snuggles, took a few good naps, and”—I smile at Liana— “she discovered she likes ceiling fans.”

Dean’s eyebrows pull together. “Ceiling fans?”

I laugh. “I know. Apparently, babies are fascinated by them.”

He glances up at the one spinning lazily above us before looking back down at Liana. “Good to know.”

A small smile tugs at his mouth. “We’ll have to circle back to whatever tummy time is, but I’m glad it went well.”

I can’t help smiling. “It’s exactly what it sounds like. You lay her on her stomach while she’s awake so she can build up her neck and shoulder muscles.”

He nods slowly, committing the information to memory. “I’ve got a lot to learn.”

His honesty catches me off guard.

“So does every new parent,” I say gently.

He looks up at me, the exhaustion still lingering in his blue eyes despite the smile on his face.

“Yeah,” he says quietly, “I guess that’s true.”

“Well,”—I tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear— “I’ll let you two have your evening.”

Dean looks up. “What do you mean?”

“I figured I’d stay out of your way.” I gesture toward the hallway. “You’re home now.”

“Ah, okay. Just to confirm, you’re off the clock.” He adjusts Liana a little higher against his shoulder. “Feel free to go out or whatever when I’m home.” His tone is gentle but matter of fact when he says, “When I’m home, she’s my responsibility.”

I blink. “I don’t mind helping if you need me.”

“I know.” A faint smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth. “And I’ll probably take you up on that more than I’d like to admit. But I don’t expect you to spend every waking hour taking care of her.”

He nods toward the hallway leading to my bedroom. “This is your home now too. If you want to read a book, watch TV, go meet a friend for dinner, or just lock yourself in your room and pretend neither of us exists for a while”—he shrugs— “that’s your time.”