Page 111 of Gunner

“Hmm, I’ll have to check my calendar and see if—”

“Stop the fucking car.”

I grabbed the door handle and opened the door.

“Gunner, you crazy son of a bitch. Close the fucking door.” The car swerved to the left as he slapped me on the arm.

“Will you go to dinner with me or not?”

“Yes, I’ll go with you.”

Smirking, I shut the door. He smacked me on the head hard. “I swear you’re a fucking kid sometimes.”

He smacked me again for good measure, but it didn’t matter. Ben had said yes.

29

BEN

Tonight I watched Ben sleep while missing Gunner.

Adinner date between Gunner and me wasn’t wise, but I had a feeling he didn’t make a habit of asking anyone out. How could I turn him down? I was being given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get close to this man. For some god-forsaken reason, he had a thing for me, and as the days went by, I had to admit to myself I didn’tnotlike the attention he gave me, especially the way he looked at me.

How a man like Gunner made me feel special was wild, but that he did. I’d taken extra care to dress, even as I tried talking myself out of this date idea.

“It’s been a while, but it’s not like you’ve never been on a date,” I muttered as I checked my appearance in the mirror once more. Had I gone a little overboard with the cologne?

“What do you think, Zeus?” I asked the dog lying on my bed. I’d felt so guilty about how often I had to leave him lately for work that I hadn’t scolded him. “Am I presentable for this date?”

I didn’t expect fancy, so I’d dressed in a pair of black jeans and a lightweight tan sweater with black Chelsea boots. Simple but smartly casual and urban.

The doorbell rang, and Zeus’s ears flicked up, but he didn’t move. I grabbed my wallet and opened the door.

But instead of Gunner, Jamie stood on my doorstep.

“Hi, Uncle Ben!”

“Jamie, what are you doing here?”

He pulled a face. “To visit you? Or were you expecting someone else?” He gasped. “You were expecting someone! All dressed up, looking like someone’s hot Daddy. Are you going on a date?”

“Uh.” Talking to him about dating someone else when he knew I’d been in love with his father was awkward, but it was almost two years, and we had broken up before he died. “Kind of.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t be in your way. I’m actually on my way to work and wanted to drop this off before I forget again.”

Jamie handed me a brown leather-bound book, which had scuffs and scratches as if it had been used often. Neither the softened spine nor the plain cover gave any indication of the contents.

I took the book from him gingerly. “What’s this?”

“Dad’s journal. I was going through the last of his things—his very personal things—and found it. I wasn’t sure what to do with it at first, but then I read an entry where Dad talked about your relationship. Don’t worry. As soon as I saw what it was, I closed the book, but I thought you’d like it as a reminder of him.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, even as I held tightly on to the book. The journal might have the answers that had plagued me as to why Mason had never wanted to move to the next stage with me. I couldn’t give the book back to Jamie, yet I felt obligated to protest. “It’s your father’s. You should probably keep it.”

“It would be too painful reading it, but if he mentions how proud he was of me, send me a picture. I don’t think I could bear knowing otherwise how much I disappointed him.”

“Nonsense, you were Mason’s pride and joy. Do you know how much he talked about you and how smart you are? He bragged about you studying medicine to anyone he met.”

Jamie smiled, his eyes shiny. “Thank you for that. Actually, there was a reason I was going through his personal stuff.”

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