Page 41 of His Surrender

“It was,” he replies with a deep, controlled voice.

A tiny smile finds its way onto my face. “Can we pretend it never happened?”

Dean looks at me for a second before nodding. “I’d like that.”

“So would I.”

Neither of us believes it for a second.

When Liana lets out a loud yawn between us, we both laugh.

And somehow the awkwardness feels just a little bit lighter.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

DEAN

Iknow I promised to forget it, but my brain won’t let me. It’s all I see when I close my eyes at night.

As soon as they shut, I’m right back in the foyer with rainwater dripping onto the hardwood. Aubrey laughing as she pulled her soaked sweatshirt over her head. The split second before she realized what I’d realized.

I squeeze my eyes shut. “Enough.”

I’ve replayed those few seconds more times than I care to admit. The memory sits like a weight in my stomach.

How did one unexpected moment blur lines I never even had to draw?

Now I can’t seem to put them back where they belong.

A soft cry crackles through the baby monitor on my nightstand. Relief washes through me for something else to think about.

I throw back the covers and head for Liana’s room, determined to leave the rest of those thoughts behind.

Even though I already know they’ll be waiting for me the second I’m alone again.

I loosen my tie as I step off the private elevator and into my penthouse.

“I’m home.”

The words have barely left my mouth when Liana, who is three months old today, lets out a squeal from the living room.

A smile pulls at my lips before I can stop it. “Hey there, sweetheart.”

Aubrey looks up from the play mat spread across the rug. She’s sitting cross-legged on the floor beside Liana, who immediately starts kicking her legs the second she hears my voice.

“Somebody’s been waiting for you.”

“I can see that.”

I set my briefcase beside the entry table and shrug off my suit jacket, draping it over the back of a chair before crouching beside Liana.

“Hi, beautiful.”

She rewards me with a grin so wide that it nearly knocks the wind out of me.

I laugh quietly as I scoop her into my arms. “Missed me?”

She reaches for my tie, wrapping her tiny fist around it.