Page 50 of His Surrender

His gaze drifts toward the windows before returning to me. “I told myself there were a dozen perfectly reasonable explanations.”

“But?”

“My brain wasn’t interested in reasonable.”

I study him for a second. “You thought something happened.”

He doesn’t answer right away.

Instead, he lets out a slow breath.

“I’ve never …” He trails off, searching for the words. “I’ve never reacted like that before.”

His eyes drift to Liana again.

“When I couldn’t reach you …” He shakes his head. “Every worst-case scenario my mind could come up with decided to introduce itself.”

He gives a small, self-conscious smile.

“Turns out, I’m a little crazier than I realized.”

A smile tugs at my lips. “I think you’re just a new dad.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“I am.”

I rest a hand lightly on the stroller handle. “Why don’t you go take a hot shower before everyone gets here?”

He looks at me.

“I’ve got Liana,” I assure him.

“You do?”

“I want to put her in a different outfit.”

His eyebrows lift. “A different outfit?”

I grin. “I can’t let her meet all of her honorary uncles, wearing pajamas.”

For the first time since the elevator doors opened, Dean laughs.

A real one.

“Fair enough.”

He reaches down and gently brushes one finger across Liana’s cheek before disappearing toward his bedroom.

I watch him go.

Poor guy. The last four weeks have completely turned his world upside down.

No wonder he panicked.

I glance down at Liana. “Your daddy’s got a serious case of first-time-parent syndrome.”

She answers with a sleepy yawn.