“Well, I’m not. He’s a friend—again, not my boyfriend. You guys are so weird!”
“Whatever, Chase William Leighton has a clean driving record, is currently on the honor roll, and lives in Baylake Pines—I have his exact address here in case you’re home late.” Liam hold up a sheet of paper for emphasis. “His parents are Katy and Josh, and he has a younger sister.”
“Oh, my God!” Aarabelle yells. “Are you insane? You had him investigated?”
She has no idea the lengths this man will go to ensure her safety. Liam gives me a look because he’s taking the heat for this one. He wasn’t the one who had Chase’s information checked, it was me.
I trust Aarabelle, but working for a security company has its perks sometimes.
“Of course we did,” he says unapologetically.
“I can’t believe this.”
“Believe it, princess. A father will do just about anything for his kids.” Liam steps into the room and looks at her dress. “Where’s the rest of it?” he asks, waving his hand up and down.
“At the store.” The sarcasm is thick as she rolls her eyes at him.
“Funny, go back and get one that’s not missing material.”
“Dear God,” I mutter to the ceiling.
“It’s fine, Athair. It’s a dress. All the girls have them just like this.”
Liam rubs the bridge of his nose. “You look beautiful, princess. Truly. You also aren’t leaving in that.”
“Mom!” Aarabelle spins to face me as if expecting me to stick up for her. I told her he wouldn’t approve of it, but she wouldn’t budge.
Having kids is so much fun.
“Don’t cry to her, I’m not letting you out of the house in half a dress. Your stomach is showing, Aarabelle!”
Hadn’t I told her he would say that?
Yes. Yes I did.
Overprotective and Liam should be synonymous. She’s his little girl that still climbs on his back, runs into his arms when he gets home from work, and wants him to teach her how to shoot.
He doesn’t get that none of that is reality anymore.
“I’m not changing. This is more than my bikini I wear on the beach.” Her lip trembles.
I see the tears threaten to form and step in. “You’ve helped raise her into a beautiful girl, you have to let her shine. She’s wearing the dress, put your macho crap away and knock it off.”
“She can shine wearing a sea bag.”
“Liam.” I sigh.
“Natalie.”
I turn to Aarabelle. “Finish getting ready, and we’ll meet you downstairs. You don’t worry about him.” Then I shove my husband out the door. When we’re far enough away that I know she won’t hear me, I shove his chest. “Really?”
“What?”
“Are you nuts?”
He raises his brow. “Only about you.”
“Don’t be cute, Liam.”
“I can’t help it.”
He makes it so hard to stay mad at him. “She spent hours searching for the perfect dress. She needs you not to be a lunatic father for once and be the man I know you are.”
Liam smirks and taps my nose. “You’re giving me more credit than I deserve. I am a lunatic father, and that boy is going to shit himself when he comes here. Accept that, and we’ll be much happier.”
I really pray Aarabelle doesn’t put Exlax in his brownies next time she bakes, but if she does, I won’t blame her.
“What am I going to do with you?” I ask rhetorically.
“I can think of a few things . . .”
“I bet you can.” I giggle as my hands glide up his strong arms.
“If I behave, will you be naughty later tonight?”
I’m bartering him sex for not acting like a dumbass. The things we do for our kids. Who am I kidding? This really only benefits me.
“I guess you’ll have to see.”
“Don’t tease me, woman.”
I sigh and press my lips to his. “I thought you liked a little teasing.”
Liam pushes our bodies back so he has complete control. I feel him harden as he moves so he’s at that perfect spot. “I think it’s you that likes to be teased.”
“Gross,” Shane says as he gets to the top of the stairs. “Seriously, you guys are ridiculous.”
Liam shrugs. “Cover your eyes then.”
Shane shakes his head. “I need bleach and some kind of memory eraser.”
“That can be arranged,” Liam tosses back as I try to shove him away. “Where are you going?”
“Downstairs.” I try to move, but it’s pointless. He has me right where he wants me, and he’s ten times stronger than I am.
The doorbell rings, and he groans. “I really have to be nice to this tool?”
“For Aara.”
“Fine.”
We trudge down the stairs with Liam grumbling about locking her in her room until she’s thirty. When I open the door, I’m a little shocked to find that it isn’t her date.
“Douchecanoe!” Mark yells as he steps inside. “I brought reinforcements.”
Sure enough, in walks Jackson, Quinn, and Ben—the new guy. Ben is heading up the protection detail side of the company, and he might be the only person in the company who scares me a little. The guy is huge, and I don’t know that he knows how to smile, except when he looks at Gretchen . . .
Which is definitely the reason that Liam had him come.
“What the hell are you clowns doing here?” I ask. “No one told you to be here.”
“Liam invited us,” Mark informs me.
“Well, this is me telling you to leave.” I hold the door open and point outside.
There is no way this is going to go over well. If Aarabelle sees that her uncles came to join the party, she might lose it.
Mark laughs. “Not this time, Sparkles.”
“Jackson?” I plead since he’s the most reasonable of this lot.
“I have girls, this is par for the course,” he says with a shrug. “I expect the same courtesy. This is what we do.”
“Your funeral,” I say. “Aara is not going to like this.”
Jackson grins. “That’s the point. We know what boys think, we were those boys, we want to hunt those boys down and beat them if they have those thoughts about our girls.”
As if they didn’t break hearts as adults. Please. I’ve had ringside seats to their circus for most of my life.
Right on cue, Aarabelle comes down the stairs. The look of horror on her face is almost comical. “No, no, no, no way! No! You have half the SEAL team here?”
“I protect my family,” Liam explains as he pops the top off his beer.
“No one in the world has this much insanity in their family!” Aara screeches.
“I swear,” I warn them all in a harsh whisper, “that if you ruin this day for my daughter, I will make each one of you pay for it . . . got me?”
They may be big bad former SEALs, but I’m not afraid of any of them. Plus, their wives will ensure it continues far past the rain I bring.
“We’re just going to scare him a little,” Quinn says. “This is the fun part of what we do.”
“If she sheds one tear”—I point around the room—“dead.”
“Isn’t she cute when she gets all mama bear?” Liam says and I level him with a stare.
“You really shouldn’t test me.”
“Sweetheart, that’s all I live for.” He smirks and leans back.
There’s no point in continuing the conversation. I know that he knows better than to really try his hand about this.
Satisfied that they won’t do anything stupid, I head in the kitchen as the group of guys talk about sports and deployments. Aara comes in, typing on her phone.
“I’m going to meet him there,” she says.
“Aara.”
“No way am I going to let him show up here with them in the living room. Uncle Mark is going to . . . I don’t even want to think about it.”
“Your family just loves you. They protect what they care about.” I try to explain their craziness.
“Yeah, well, they’re nuts.”
“Yeah, they are.”
I push her phone down from her face and tilt her chin up. “I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“And you look beautiful.”
She smiles. “I look like you did when you went to prom with Dad.”
God that feels like forever ago, well, it was. I wore a deep plum-colored dress with my hair down, and Aarabelle is doing the same.
“Well, you look much prettier than I did.”
“Your date is here!” One of the guys yells from the living room.
“Please help me,” she gives me one last plea.