Page 82 of Under His Watch

“Is he normally punctual?” Romeo asked.

I deadpanned at him. “He’s just been discharged from the military. Of course, he’s punctual.”

“Hate to say it, Tess, but…” Franco made a show of checking his watch.

Numerous guests had already arrived. They were mingling in the ballroom of the mansion, out of sight so I could welcome Liam in the more private living area of Dante and Nina’s home. But sooner or later…

The back door opened, and we all turned toward the glass doors sliding open from the patio. A soldier led my tall friend inside, but the surprise he’d been hinting at…

“Oh, my God.”

Nina and I said it in unison, gawking at the adorable little blonde in his arms. A toddler. She peered at us all, clutching Liam’s shirt.

He looked the same, yet not. Rugged, dressed down in jeans and a T-shirt, sturdy boots on his feet, and a ruffled mess of hisshort hair. He’d aged and had been hardened with his time in the service, but…

“Ababy?” I exclaimed.

“Surprise,” he said in a gruff greeting.

Romeo leaned toward me and pressed his fingers up under my chin, prompting me to close my mouth. I was so stuck in shock, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

“Since when…” Nina was no better than me, puzzling it out.

“Well.” Dante strode forward. “Since they’ve forgotten how to say a simple hello, welcome to our home. I’m Dante Constella.” He held out his hand, and Liam shook it clumsily, looking like he’d never learned how to hold a baby.

“Nice to meet ya,” Liam replied, looking at Dante quickly.

“Adaughter?” I asked him. “You have a daughter?”

“Yeah.”

“But…how?” He’d been gone so long, and now, all of a sudden, he was carrying an adorable little girl who somehow resembled him.

He shrugged. “I got a letter that I had a kid, and…” He whooshed out a long breath. “And here I am.”

Here he was—heretheywere, and I lowered my shoulders and winced at how out of his comfort zone my old friend seemed.

“Recently?” Nina asked.

He nodded, raking his hand through his hair as he looked us all over. “Yeah. Very recently. Olivia is a very recent discovery in my life.”

So recent, it seemed, that he was still getting used to the idea of having a child. His hold was awkward, but firm.

The second Olivia pouted, then sniffled with pending tears, Liam’s eyes went wide, like he was bracing for a combustion.

“Shit. Which cry is this? What’s wrong?” he was concerned, but his tone was more for a peer, an adult he commanded in the field, not a toddler.

She wailed, and a soldier covered his ears off to the side of the room.

“Oh, darling,” Danicia cooed, rushing from the kitchen where she’d been lingering, away from the guests. “Want a hand with her?”

Liam nodded quickly, hope in his eyes as he handed the toddler over. “I definitely need a hand with her.”

Romeo chuckled as the family’s doctor bounced and swayed with the toddler.

Liam grimaced, watching how Olivia settled quickly. When I looked at Romeo, seeing the amusement lighting his blue eyes, I knew he’d take pity on my friend too.

“What would you like to drink?” Romeo asked as he held my hand and brought me closer.

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