Page 7 of Gunner

“Let me just check on the lasagna.” Instead of taking my suggestion to sit, Lily peeks inside the oven before leaning against the counter, while Caleb darts back out to the living room.

“Your drink?” I ask her.

“Oh, um… tea, please. Glasses are in the cabinet next to the fridge.” She smiles with appreciation in her eyes. Fuck, I’ve missed that smile. Every day for the last ten years. I hand her a glass of sweet tea, then grab a beer for myself.

“Dinner should be ready soon.”

“I’m in no hurry. I’ll stay as long as you let me.” I give her a smirk and she looks away, trying to hide her amusement. Then I open my bottle with the edge of my keys and take a few long pulls of my drink.

She shoots a look my way. “You know I do have a bottle opener. You could’ve asked.”

“I could have, but I didn’t.”

Her grin grows wider. “Nice to see you haven’t changed. You’re still a smartass.”

“It was one of your favorite things about me. I see you haven’t lost your sass either.” I wink, loving that I still make her laugh. “So, you gonna show me around or do I have to beg?”

“Oh, right. Sure, let’s go.”

We leave our drinks in the kitchen while Lily gives me a tour of her home, our first stop being the living room. It’s the definition of homey with framed pictures of her and her son, cream-colored walls, and plush amber-brown furniture. A large TV hangs above a fireplace that I’m sure keeps the place cozy in colder temps. And there’s Caleb, sitting in the middle of the floor, playing on his iPad.

I bend down beside him. “What are you playing?”

His attention is glued to the screen. Without turning his head, he replies, “Speed Devil. You heard of it?”

I smirk and pull out my phone. Clicking on the app, I show him my scoreboard. “Yeah, I think I know that one.”

Caleb pauses his game, staring wide-eyed at my phone, then up at me. “You got almost seven hundred thousand points! That’s really high!” His eyes sparkle brightly like a cartoon character.

“I get bored a lot at night.” I shrug as Lily looks between the two of us, confused by our conversation.

“I’m only at ten thousand,” Caleb pouts.

“Keep playing. You’ll get there.” I’m about to get up but pause midway. “But I feel like I should tell you to do your schoolwork or something responsible like that.”

“Nice save.” Lily shakes her head with a laugh. I grin and finally stand, moving to her side once more.

“Where are you going?” Caleb asks me, his attention no longer on the iPad.

“I’m giving him a tour of the house, sweetie,” Lily tells him.

“I wanna help!” The little boy jumps to his feet and reaches for one of my hands, pulling me down the hallway that leads farther into the house. He’s warmed up to me now, which leaves me pleasantly surprised.

I spend the next couple of minutes getting the rundown of the place from a six-year-old’s point of view. He shows me the bathrooms, the dining room, the garage and of course, his bedroom, pointing out all his toys and his “super cool” Spiderman sheets. The kid is cute. I’ll give him that. And he hasn’t let go of my hand once.

“Now I’ll show you Mommy’s room,” he announces, and Lily’s eyes widen.

“That’s okay.” She’s quick to dismiss the idea. “He doesn’t need to see my room.”

“Aw, but then my tour wouldn’t be complete, now, would it? We can’t have that, right, buddy?” I shoot the kid a wink and he returns my smile with a wide grin.

Ignoring what his mom says, Caleb leads me to Lily’s bedroom while she reluctantly follows behind us. My first thought when I step inside is that it smells just like her, a basket of fresh summer peaches with a hint of warm vanilla.

God, I’ve missed her scent.

My second thought is that her room is a fucking mess. There are scattered clothes all over the floor and on top of the king-sized bed. She quickly brushes past Caleb and me, picking up the discarded clothing and throwing it inside her closet before slamming the door shut. I can’t help but smile at the thought of her worrying about what to wear for tonight’s dinner.

Do I make her that nervous? Good. I like knowing I still have an effect on her.

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