Page 22 of Beneath the Surface

I shake my head, tsking. “Noooo, who told you that? Dragons are beautiful.” My eyes jump back to Lily’s. “Strong. Independent.Fierce. Especially this one. She was a mama dragon, and there’s something special about mamas.”

“Like mine?” Chase asks.

Lily grins, a glossy sheen coasting across her eyes.

I nod again. “Exactlylike yours.”

Chase’s finger trails up my arm and stops on a different one, pressing down. “Thwee. One. One.” My eyes drop, but I already know what tattoo he’s reading before I look. A weight drops in my gut, pain lancing through my esophagus and wrapping around my throat. He asks something else, but I can’t focus enough to decipher his toddler talk.

“What?” I rasp.

I see Lily walk closer from my peripheral, scooching into the booth on the opposite side. “He’s asking what the numbers mean.”

My heart stutters. “They don’t…” I clear my throat. “They don’t mean anything.”

Her mouth opens and closes, her eyes searing through the ink on my arm. But she nods and focuses her attention on her kid.

Chase.

It’s no coincidence she named him after her brother, which makes me wonder why the hell I’m still fucking around here instead of just reuniting them. But Ineedto know why she left and hasn’t gone back.

“You ready to go, baby?”

I smirk. “Well, we went pretty quick from strangers to pet names, but I’m ready whenever you are.”

She frowns, but there’s a twitch at the corner of her lips. “I was speaking to my son, dummy.”

My grin grows. “Whatever you say, little bird.”

“Speaking of pet names… why do you call me that?”

I shrug. “Why not?”

A giant sigh coming from next to me interrupts our conversation, and both of us turn our attention to Chase, who is yawning and rubbing little fists in his eyes.

“Okay, sleepyhead,” Lily says. “It iswaypast your bedtime. Let’s get you home.”

“I’m too sweepy to walk.”

She stands up, leaning down and gathering him in her arms. “I’ll carry you.”

My brows shoot to my hairline. “You’re gonna carry him all the way to your place? That’s like half a mile.”

“So?” She cocks her head. “How do you know where I live anyway?”

Shit.“Just a guess. There’re only so many square blocks in this town.”

“That’s true.” Her eyes are calculating. “Why did you say you’re here again?”

“I—”

Another yawn interrupts me and she runs her hand over Chase’s back. “Never mind.” She turns to walk away, but then turns back. “You have to come with me you know. We’re closed.”

“Oh, shit—shoot—my bad.” I jump up from the booth and follow her out.

She stops on the sidewalk, glancing at me and pursing her lips. “I guess I’ll see ya when I see ya.”

“Don’t miss me bad while I’m gone.” I grin.

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