Special Forces Father. Victoria Pade

will. But I’m not doing anything about my own future until I know the kids will be okay.”

      He kissed her cheek. “That’s why I love you, lady.”

      And that small comment brought tears to her eyes that she had to blink back.

      “So tell me more about our marine,” he encouraged.

      But the twins were finished dressing and both came into the kitchen. Grady was in red-and-white star leggings with a salmon-colored T-shirt—he called it his toucan shirt because of the long-beaked bird on it—and sparkling blue tennis shoes that lit up when he stomped his feet, which he demonstrated for Bryan. Evie wore her predominantly navy blue flowered knit dress with green striped leggings under it and her own light-up, sparkling pink running shoes.

      “Wow! You guys are colorful!” Bryan said as if he was impressed.

      “Dani let us pick out our own clothes because it’s our bacation and we don’t have to wear umiforms.”

      “And what a great job you did,” Bryan commended. “Now come and eat my quiche and tell me how good it is,” he added.

      The twins eagerly went to two of the bar stools to climb up and do as he’d instructed.

      And Dani wished that Liam was there to watch her friend and maybe pick up a few tips on how to build rapport with the twins.

      Although, for some strange reason, she’d been wishing that Liam was there since she got up this morning.

      And it didn’t have anything to do with the kids.

      * * *

      “You say it pit-sails—not piz-els. And these are ours that get saved for us. They’re the broken ones Dani lets us have,” Grady informed Liam.

      Liam had been alarmed that the kids had gone behind the bakery case at Marconi’s Italian Restaurant and begun to help themselves from a drawer below it. He’d warned Dani that they were getting into the Italian waffle cookies, pronouncing the name the way it was spelled on the sign where stacks of them were displayed for sale.

      “It’s okay,” Dani assured him. Then to the twins she said, “But not too many. You can each have two broken pieces and put the rest in a bag to take home.” Then, using a tissue to take an unbroken one from a stack, she handed it to Liam. “They’re traditional Italian cookies—my grandmother’s recipe with anise oil and anise seed. It tastes like licorice and the cookie itself is buttery and crispy and light...if you’ve never had one.”