Annabeth Albert - Squared Away

In the wake of tragedy, SEAL Mark Whitley rushed stateside to act as guardian to his sister’s three young children. But a conflicting will could give custody to someone else—someone Mark remembers as a too young, too hot, wild party boy. Even after six years, Mark can’t shake the memory of his close encounter with Isaiah James, or face up to what it says about his own sexuality.
Isaiah’s totally over the crush that made him proposition Mark all those years ago. In fact, he’s done with crushing on the wrong men altogether. For now, he’s throwing himself into proving he’s the best person to care for his cousin’s kids. But there’s no denying there’s something sexy about a big, tough military man with a baby in his arms.
As the legal details get sorted out, their long-buried attraction resurfaces, leading to intimate evenings after the kids are tucked in. A forever future is within reach for all of them, if only Mark can find the courage he needs to trust Isaiah with his secrets—and his heart.

Comment: This is the 5th full length installment in the Out of Uniform series by Annabeth Albert, following a group of Navy Seals while they deal with life and romance.

In this story, tragedy changes the lives of Isaiah and Mark, when their cousin and sister, a married couple, die in a car crash. Now, conflicting wills make them the guardians of the couple's three children and since Mark had been deployed, Isaiah has been there to take care of the kids. They met at the wedding and it seemed they were on the same page regarding their mutual attraction but Mark refused to admit anything and this left them kind of estranged. There are some family members who would not mind take care of one or two of the kids but not the three, and Isaiah is adamant they will not be separated. Financial issues come to play too, but if Mark and Isaiah could come up with a plan, everything would be easier, but will close proximity be what they needed to finally have a frank conversation?

This story had a very predictable premise but I kind of liked where things went, in terms of the family relationships. Coping with mourning and taking care of three children under five cannot be easy and Isaiah made it seem like love and dedication are half the ingredients one needs to make it work. I think the author addressed some key elements here but, in a way, not as deeply or as complexly as it probably required. Still, this is mostly a romance novel, so...

Mark and Isaiah met at the wedding of Cal and Danielle, the children's parents, and Isaiah felt like there could be something between them but Mark, although only four years older, and being very serious type of person, wasn't ready. Now six years have gone and Mark has been on his Navy Seal missions and so on, and Isaiah has been drifting between several things, even though landscaping gardens and horticulture seem to be the field where he is truly himself. Despite their differences, they now need to be a team, since they were named guardians of the kids, but there are still things left unsolved between them.

Reading this story was engaging because the focus wasn't on them having an insta-relationship. There were several details about themselves and their personal lives that had to be dealt with before anything really serious happened. I liked it that the plot addressed some issues regarding what it means to be guardian of children, how it works (I assume it is the correct process) and what is necessary for approval. I also liked that the way things happened, Mark and Isaiah were the most obvious choices, and not the other, slightly more elderly, family members.

A big part of the story is the adaptation to parenting and how the two guys need to work for the sake of the children's welfare even if that meant to put aside some personal issues. Still, they did talk like grown ups and even dealt with other situations, namely Isaiah's apparent lack of focus and Mark's often unavailability to be present due to work. These things were mentioned and sort of "solved" but considering the certain emotional complexity, for this plot, I feel these things were rushed.

The romantic relationship was cute and the HEA at the end was beyond sweet but their path towards this wasn't as easy as one might imagine. In fact, both of them had way more emotional baggage to deal with than what it seemed and, again, these things were a bit too big and I feel something else could have been done to give us the notion they had dealt with them properly.I feel some of their decisions weren't as strong as it seemed. Besides, the romantic part of them being a couple was also a little superficially presented, in my opinion.

As one can imagine, there are also financial and legal issues being mentioned in all this which give the story a more "serious" vibe, which I don't mind, but it did clash with the romance sometimes and made that part feel like it had less focus. I feel glad the guys worked things out and that they are a family for themselves and for the kids, so that has to count more than other things, but yes, there were situations throughout the novel that weren't as smoothly presented as, perhaps, they should.

Grade: 7/10