Page 25 of The Soldier's Homecoming

“Can I ride it?”

Daniel raised an eyebrow at her.

“How about we get dressed first, then we can take it outside,” Penny suggested.

“And you’ll need to get your new matching pink helmet from the table first, too,” Daniel told her.

Gabby sprinted off to find her helmet, leaving Daniel standing forlorn with the bike.

“That’s a seriously good present, Danny,” Penny said.

As soon as his nickname fell from her mouth she felt a burning flush hit her cheeks, She hadn’t said his nickname, the name thatonly she called him, since she’d been home.

Somehow, sitting in bed, in their bedroom, and calling him Danny felt too intimate.

“Can I tempt you with breakfast?” he asked.

Penny tugged the sheets a little tighter around herself. “That would be great,” she said honestly. Her stomach rumbled in agreement.

“Waffles still your favorite?”

She closed her eyes and leaned back for a beat. “Yeah, they are.”

And they were only her favorite because Daniel had made them for her every Sunday since they’d been together, when- ever they were both off-duty at home.

“Do you remember the first time I made you waffles?” he asked, voice low, almost hoarse.

Penny nodded, fighting the smile that so desperately wanted to escape to trace her lips.

She remembered, all right. How could she ever forget?

“It was the first morning we’d woken up together,” she remembered out loud. “I stayed tucked up in bed while you went out to the store.”

Daniel leaned against the wall, his eyes never leaving hers. It was as if he was caressing her with his gaze, with his memories. His face showed an openness and warmth that she couldn’t turn away from.

“I made you waffles with maple syrup.”

“With strawberries, melon and blueberries on the side,” she finished, too carried away with the memories to stop.

“We had a pot of coffee and we sat out in the sun, talking about everything and anything.”

Penny didn’t know what to say. Or where to look.

Daniel was still watching her, conveying so much feeling in his gaze that she could feel a slithering-snake kind of nervousness building in her belly.

“Are you coming?” Gabby called at the top of her lungs.

They continued to stare at one another in silence.

Until Daniel broke the quiet that had fallen around them.

“Yeah, in a sec, honey.”

Penny folded the sheet beneath her forefinger and thumb.

The air around them seemed limited, like there wasn’t enough of it in the room to service both their lungs.

“We should go,” she said.

---