Warrior (First to Fight #1)(51)
I urge Livvie forward when Chloe gestures us in. We find Gabe in the kitchen, whipping up something that looks like Heaven and smells even better. Chloe walks past us and leans in to give him a kiss.
“Move over,” I tell him. “That smells so good, I might have to kiss the cook, too.”
The girls laugh and Chloe says, “Sorry, Ben. He’s all mine.”
Livvie settles down onto a dining room chair with Cole in her lap. Chloe appears with an ancient set of blocks that must have weathered both of our families combined and dumps them in front of Cole on the table.
As Chloe sits down to chat with Olivia, I leave them to commune with Gabe over beer. Both to escape the feelings that caused me to impetuously kiss Livvie again and to get a feeling for Chloe’s new boyfriend.
“Beer?” Gabe asks from the fridge.
“Sure, thanks.” I accept the cool bottle gratefully. “What’s for dinner?”
“Salad, stuffed shells and homemade brownies for dessert.”
“That sounds amazing, man. Thanks again for inviting us over.”
“No problem. Chloe’s gone on and on about her infamous family, so I couldn’t wait to get up here and meet all of you.” He finishes stirring some sauce in a pan and turns to me. “I was sorry to hear about your girl. Did they ever catch the bastard who did it?”
I shake my head. “Not yet, though not for lack of trying. My buddy Logan is a cop here. Thankfully.” I take a sip from my beer. “No leads yet, but we’ll find them.”
If it was the last thing I did, I would find whoever threatened my family. That was for damn sure. I may not have a clue as to what the f*ck I’m doing with my life or how I’m going to be a dad to a kid when I could barely hold myself together, but I could at least keep them safe. I had to.
The phrase my family reverberates through my brain as I take another drink. Olivia laughs in the other room, and my eyes automatically flit to her. I remember the night we spent together and the way she’d laughed when I tried to convince her to make love with me just one more time, even though her body was still shaking from the last orgasm.
“So,” Gabe begins as he plates the shells. “I hate to ask this, but Chloe will eviscerate me later if I don’t at least try to get some information out of you.”
I can’t help but smile. It’s good to know she has him wrapped around her finger, though I do feel sorry for the fact that he has to face the little tyrant. “Sure, what’s up?”
“How did you not know you had a kid? You sure surprised the hell out of Chloe. And trust me, I’ve given significant time and effort to the plight.”
“We’ve been on-again, off-again for a while now. I was in the Marines until a few months ago. Anyway, I deployed a while back and we hooked up just before I left. I didn’t have access to internet, and the mail service was spotty at best where we were. And I…” I look over at Cole, who’s gnawing on a block. “I wasn’t in the best shape after that last deployment, for a lot of reasons, and when I saw her, with the baby and all, it was like I shut down. I won’t forgive myself for that.”
Gabe looks like he wants to say something, but Livvie chooses that moment to holler into the kitchen, “Hey, we’re starving here. Are you ladies going to keep clucking, or are we going to eat?”
I help him finish the rest of the food, but the actions don’t distract me from my renewed guilt.
After dinner, I walk Olivia and a sleeping Cole back to the car.
“That was nice,” Olivia says. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to see Chloe. And Gabe seems like a good guy. They make a cute couple. The way they met was so sweet.”
“He’ll do,” I tell her.
Olivia buckles Cole into his seat, and I set his bundle of things next to him. Though it’s only been a short time since we’ve been going out together as a family unit, we’ve already gotten things like this down to a rhythm. I find myself watching the street for a white SUV as Livvie buckles herself in next to me.
As I make the short drive back to Livvie’s house, I scan her yard for odd shadows. Her security system is top-notch, Jack made sure of that, but ever since I moved myself in, I’ve kept an eye out. Just in case. After the past ten years, it’s become second nature to keep an eye on my surroundings. The break-in and the shooting have left a bad taste in my mouth and make the hairs on the back of my neck stand on edge. Even though Logan’s co-workers covering the case think both are isolated incidents, I know better than to let my guard down.
Her house is quiet and seemingly safe when we enter. She smiles at me then takes the baby upstairs to put him down. I lean against the back door while Hank runs excited circles around the kitchen. As I wait for Olivia to make her way back downstairs, I cycle between wanting to push her away and never letting her leave my sight.
I FELT HIS charged stare all through dinner and it’s left me unsettled in my own skin. I escape to the bathroom after settling Cole in for the night to splash some water on my face, though it does little to cool me down.
I take a few deep breaths and tell myself not to be such a child. We have a kid together, for Christ’s sake. I’m going to have to face him for at least eighteen more years. We should be able to do things like have dinners and go on outings without there being this kind of tension between us. I resolve to ignore whatever lingering feelings I may have because even if Ben can trust me after my lie, who's to say he even wants a relationship now?