“I’ll get Samuel,” Austin said, heading toward the nursery.
Damien went to Harmony, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as Lacey let in the other couple.“Is this too much?”
Harmony shook her head and grinned up at him.“Lacey is wonderful.”
Damien nodded.“She is.”
“She seems happy, too.”Damien filled Harmony in on Austin and Lacey’s history and the loss of her father on the way to their house.Harmony understood what it was like to lose a parent and was even more open to meeting Lacey after learning about their shared loss.
“Claudia had her own trauma this past year.But she’s strong, too.I think you’ll like her,” Damien said.
“Do you know anyone who hasn’t had trauma lately?”
Damien snorted.“Not really.Kind of comes with the job.”
Harmony pulled back.“They both got together through work?”
Damien bobbed his head side-to-side.“Austin and Lacey knew each other before, but they were both in danger because of her dad, so they were under protection together.Lance ended up protecting Claudia after she was kidnapped last fall.”
“Whoa.That’s terrifying.”
Damien nodded.“Thankfully, she’s safe now.And they’re happy.”
“I see that,” Harmony whispered.
Lance stared at Claudia like she was his world.The months since they met were full of healing and lots of help, but the two of them were finally on the other side of things from the look of it.
Austin came back into the room with a squirming, chattering Samuel.Lacey looked at the two of them with clear affection.She went to them, smiling when Samuel reached for her.
“Hey,” Lance said, approaching Damien and Harmony.“I didn’t know you were going to be here.”
Damien nodded.“We brought dinner.Needed to get out of my place for a little while.It’s been a rough few weeks.This is Harmony Gibbs.Harmony, meet Lance and Claudia.”
“Nice to meet you both,” Harmony said.
“You, too,” they said at the same time.
“We have plenty of food if you want to stick around for dinner,” Damien said.
“Thanks.We didn’t want to invade them, but if you already are, then we’ll stick around,” Lance said with a smirk.
“Good.Should we go unpack everything?”Damien jerked his head toward the kitchen where the boxes of food were.
Lance followed Damien, leaving Claudia and Harmony to talk.“I thought you were working.Who’s Harmony?”Lance asked.
“I am working,” Damien said, letting Lance fill in the blanks.
Lance threw his head back and laughed.“Oh, boy.This is becoming a trend for us, isn’t it?”
Damien nodded.“Yep.But I can’t say I’m unhappy about it.”
“Didn’t you just meet her?”
“Not all of us are oblivious to what’s right in front of us,” Damien volleyed back.
Lance glowered at him, knowing he missed out on months with Claudia and keeping her safe because he was completely unaware of his next-door neighbor.“Yeah, well, I’m making up for lost time.”
“Good.You ask her to marry you yet?”Damien asked softly.Lance had been waiting for the right time for months, not wanting Claudia to feel rushed.
