Candids were his specialty. One would think that a guy with the bulk of Roman couldn’t blend into the background, but he’d perfected that art over the years.
Sadie went back inside.
Roman waited a few beats. It used to be that posed photos were a necessity when he came home, and his mom had always insisted he do a family photo shoot. He used to think they absolutely sucked the life out of the enjoyment of capturing a moment.
He had preferred the real kind.
The unexpected.
These days, the posed shoots offered the control he craved after the chaos of combat photography.
On that note, he carefully opened the door so it made no noise and quietly closed it behind him. He was so silent the three of them in the room—well, four if you counted the kid—had no idea he’d joined.
Baby snug in her arms, Marlee did not look like she’d been laboring for the past hours. Hell, even her makeup hadn’t smudged.
Sadie tossed her head back and laughed at something Eli said, and Roman did what Roman did best—he captured the moment so they’d never forget.
Then, he snapped an extra picture of just Sadie.
Another of Marlee grinning down at the baby.
Another of Eli still in his tux with the backdrop of Denver lights out the window. He looked dazed and seemed to be in some kind of blissful shock.
Then, the jig was up because Eli noticed he’d entered.
“I got some good ones,” Roman said, holding up Louise in illustration before Eli could get pissed and protective that Roman had managed to slip in the room unnoticed.
Eli gave a not-pissed chin jerk in response. “Thanks, man.”
“Can I come over?” Roman asked Marlee. “Get some close-ups of the kid?”
“Luke. This is Luke.” Marlee nodded, but some kind of realization passed across her features. “And you’re Roman.”
“Roman,” he confirmed. Stepping up to the bed, he started clicking.
“Wait.” Marlee startled. “Roman?”
“Yeah?” He kept snapping the shutter.
“Roman with an R?” she asked, her voice rising.
“Yeah?”
“You’re military?” Marlee asked.
“Former.” Roman shifted position and crouched to get a solid shot of the baby without disrupting where he was burritoed in blue blankets.
“Well…” Marlee tried to smile, but it wasn’t a natural one.
He stopped snapping pictures. With that expression on her face, they wouldn’t turn out at all.
It was his turn to bite his lip. What had just happened?
“Hey, Eli?” Marlee looked at her husband. “Can you grab me a cranberry juice from the kitchen thing?”
“Now?” Eli asked.
“I’mseriouslycraving it,” Marlee replied. “And some of those cracker things, too?”
