Victoria Pade - Special Forces Father

Liam flashed her a full smile that seemed to say he liked that she could take a little ribbing. And that made him all the more attractive. And appealing. Damn him...

“And you can talk to them,” she went on. “Directly to them. Today you just talked to them through me.”

“But will they understand if I talk to them the way I would talk to anybody?”

Dani tried not to reveal just how silly that sounded. “They will. They mispronounce some words themselves, but they have a better-than-average vocabulary for four-year-olds. And if they don’t understand a particular word or phrase, they’ll let you know. Then that gives you the opportunity to expand their vocabulary. But they’re not babies. Think of them as just small people. Today you didn’t say word one to either of them after you said hello.”

“To be fair, they didn’t talk to me either.”

“Uh-huh, but kids don’t talk to people who seem unfriendly.”

“I seem unfriendly?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“I’m a nice guy,” he defended himself, seeming to really drop some of his guard in that defensiveness.

Dani laughed once more. “Okay. But you have to come out from behind the military shield and show it because that isn’t what they’ve seen of you. You’re more like the secret service on duty with the president’s kids. Except that you aren’t completely hiding that it bothers you when they do what kids do—like running to catch up to the hostess seating us at the restaurant.”

He made a face that acknowledged that he’d found that inappropriate. “And the stuff with the grilled cheese sandwiches...” he added, showing his disapproval.

“I know. But like I said, they’re kids . You use moments like that to teach them that spitting out a bite of food is bad manners and what to do in polite society.”

“That’s what you did.”

“While you looked like you just wanted to crawl into a hole.”

“Yeah, all right, I did,” he conceded. “So, where should I go from here? Shall I, like, ask them to throw a ball with me or something?”

“Why don’t you just start by being yourself...well, the self you must be with your own family or your friends. Just let your hair down a little, speak to the kids to acknowledge them and kind of roll with things until you get a feel for them and what they respond to.”

With the mention of hair his gorgeous blue eyes went to her hair for just a moment—the first time it seemed he’d noticed that it was different than it had been the night before.

Then he redirected his gaze and in a tone that was slightly controlled again, he said, “Yeah, okay, I’ll give it a try.”

“They like to have a book read to them before bed. I can ask them if they’d let you do it and you could start with that...”

“Tonight?” he said as if she’d suggested something terrifying.

“You need to prepare yourself?” she teased him, dishing out a little of the goading he’d served her.

“I do,” he confessed.

She let him off the hook since the simple suggestion seemed to have rocked him all over again. “Okay. Sure.”

The ending song for the show the twins were watching sounded faintly in the background and Grady called, “It’s over.”

“Which is the cue for the bedtime book,” Dani said.

“And you have to get back to them,” he finished for her. But this time his tone seemed to hold some disappointment. “I should probably go up and unpack anyway. Prepare myself for tomorrow—they’ll still be here tomorrow, right?” he joked.

“They will be.”

“I don’t know how early things start around here but I like to run at sunrise—”

“Not that early.”

“And then I have an appointment at eight in the morning with the attorney my brother hired. I haven’t met with him yet. How does that work with you and the kids?”

“They’ll usually sleep until seven thirty or eight so why don’t you just do your run, then go to your appointment and we’ll see you after that.”

She told him the code to the security system in order for him to leave without incident.

“And what about breakfast?” she asked. “There’s bread for toast—”

“I saw cereal in the pantry, milk in the fridge. That’ll do.”

Dani nodded. “If you need anything or have any questions about things around here, just holler. Or text me. There’s an intercom all through the house but it’s kind of complicated. You have to know the place pretty well to know which button connects you to which room.”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine. Unless I hit the wrong button up there and launch myself into orbit.”

Another joke. She liked that he had a sense of humor. “You’re safe. I put duct tape over the launch button so you wouldn’t hit it accidentally,” she joked back.

He took a breath that expanded his impressive chest and sighed it out. “Guess I’ll start the great climb then,” he said as if he was at the foot of Mount Everest.

“You can use the elevator,” she goaded.

“I’ll pass. I’ve never been in a house with its own elevator either. Seems weird.”

Dani nodded.

“I’ll see you tomorrow and try to loosen up,” he pledged.

She nodded again.

“And by the way,” he said with a beautifully devilish smile, “your hair looks better today.”

Dani laughed, glad to finally have her weird hairstyle of the previous evening acknowledged.

“Thanks. I did it today instead of Evie.”

“I don’t think the kid has a future ahead of her as a stylist.”

Dani laughed yet again. “I don’t think so either.”

Then she watched Liam Madison walk out of the kitchen, hoping that tomorrow he might show the twins more of the human side he’d finally shown her tonight.

And enjoying the sight of tight buns in khakis as a secret reward to herself for a day that hadn’t been any fun until just now.

Chapter Three

“Bryan! Did you see our socks?” Evie asked by way of greeting Dani’s best friend as the twins rushed him Tuesday morning when Dani let him in.

“Let me see ’em,” Bryan Dreeson instructed, peering down at their feet. “Oh, my gosh! Those socks are great! Red Minnie and Mickey? Why don’t they make them in my size?” he lamented.

“Let’s see yours,” Grady said as he bent over and pulled up one leg of the attorney’s suit pants to reveal snazzy argyles. A love of flashy socks united Dani’s friend with her charges.

“Pretty,” Evie judged with awe.

“And he brought you one of his special quiches for breakfast, too—”

The twins cheered and jumped around like crazy people, laughing at themselves as they did.

“Okay, okay,” Dani said to contain them as she closed the front door behind her friend. “I want you to go down and finish getting dressed while I talk to Bryan, and then you can have breakfast.”

Bryan’s family had lived in the house next door to her grandparents. Being the same age, Dani and Bryan had grown up together and been best friends since soon after Dani had gone to live with Nell and Nick Marconi.

Bryan had called the night before and told her that he would stop by on his way to his office this morning to bring her papers. He was an estate lawyer and had handled the trust Dani’s grandmother had left.

“Mmm...fresh tomatoes, spinach and cheese,” Dani said as she carried the quiche to the kitchen. “The kids love this. And so do I.”

“Because it’s delicious,” Bryan said with no humility whatsoever.

“Are you eating with us or have you already had breakfast?” she asked as they got to the kitchen and she set the quiche on the island.

“I waited so we could eat together. And I’m desperate for a cup of coffee!” he said dramatically, going to the cupboard to get a mug—a familiarity that had developed since he became a frequent visitor after Dani had taken up residence here and left the apartment they shared.