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Dominic moved with practiced ease, unlike the only other time Gavin had seen him in person with the baby. One hand reached for the infant carrier while the other snagged the diaper bag from the floor and slung it over his shoulder. He lifted Lucia out of the car, nudged the door shut with his hip, and shifted the carrier higher against his side without breaking stride. Lucia stirred, and Dominic rested his free hand against her chest and spoke quietly to her. She settled immediately, and Gavin smiled. Six weeks ago, every moment had looked deliberate, as though Dom was mentally talking himself through each step. Now he moved with the confidence of a parent who knew exactly what to do. He looked like a father.

“You’ve gotten good at that,” Gavin said when Dom got to the bottom of the stairs.

Dom looked up and grinned like he was genuinely happy to see him, and Gavin had the absurd thought that Dom ought to warn people before smiling like that.

“I’ve had a lot of practice.” He jogged up the stairs and turned the carrier so Gavin could see his daughter.

Gavin followed his gaze and found Lucia staring up at him with warm hazel eyes that were identical to her father’s. He smiled. “Hey, Lucky.”

She regarded him for a long moment, then gave an enormous yawn.

“I think that’s the closest thing you’re getting to a greeting,” Dominic said with a laugh. “She must like you already. Usually strangers get screamed at.”

“I feel honored.”

They stood there smiling at each other a beat too long before Gavin dropped his eyes and Dominic adjusted the carrier against his hip.

“So…” he trailed off, and his eyes lifted past Gavin into the house. His smile faded into something softer.

“You ready?” Gavin stepped aside.

Dominic didn’t speak before he crossed the threshold. At the entry to the living room, he stopped dead, and Gavin watched as his gaze swept slowly across the room. The afternoon sun poured through the windows, warming the oak floors until they almost glowed, and fresh white walls reflected the light into every corner. Dominic turned slowly in a circle and his fingers tightened around the handle of Lucia’s car seat.

“I…” He laughed once quietly. “I don’t even know what to say. It doesn’t even look like the same place.”

“I hope that’s a good thing.” Gavin rubbed the back of his neck.

“It’s even better than it looked in the pictures you sent.” Dom placed the carrier on the floor in the middle of the living room and turned in a slow circle. “I bought this place because my apartment was too small and Lucia deserved a place that could really be a home. I don’t think I ever believed it would actually feel like ours.”

“Welcome home, Dom,” Gavin said quietly.

Dom looked at him, his expression softening in a way Gavin couldn’t interpret.

“Thank you.” Dom’s voice was rough, and he hid his face as he crouched in front of Lucia and freed her from the carrier. “Let’s go see your house, principessa.”

Gavin cleared his throat and pretended he didn’t see Dom wipe his eyes. “Come on. I’ll give you the grand tour before the movers show up.”

“Lead the way.”

Gavin slipped into familiar territory. “Let’s start down here and work our way up. Most of the changes are exactly what we talked about, but there were a couple of surprises.”

“Good surprises?”

“Surprises usually aren’t good when it comes to house renovation,” Gavin said with a laugh. “Unless you find a room hidden behind a bookshelf or something. In the kitchen, the biggest surprise was the garbage disposal. It sounded like it was trying to eat silverware, even when there wasn’t anything in there. Easy to replace though.”

They entered the kitchen, and Gavin automatically stepped to the side so Dom could take in the whole room. He found himself watching as Dom’s gaze wandered over every detail. Gavin knew he’d seen all of it in photographs over the past six weeks, but the pictures didn’t show how the natural light through the windows and the French doors made the room feel warmer. Or how opening the wall between the kitchen and dining room made the entire first floor feel connected.

Dom ran his fingertips along the edge of the island. “It feels bigger.”

“It isn’t.”

“It definitely is.”

Gavin smiled. “It’s the same square footage, but taking down that wall opened it up. Add in the lighter paint and the flooring that carries straight through from the other rooms, and your brain thinks the room got bigger.”

Dom shook his head with a quiet laugh. “You say ‘your brain’ like you make a habit of tricking them.”

“Occupational hazard.”