Back in the Soldier's Arms (9 page)

Daniel bent to retrieve his sweater, pulled it on then let himself out the gate. He needed to take a walk, even just down the street.

And he needed to give Penny some breathing space to gather her own thoughts, too.

Their discussion hadn’t gone well, but then he’d never really expected it to.

Although he’d never thought it would be quite that bad.

Penny was furious. Mind-jarring, body-shaking, wild kind of furious.

How dare he? How could he think that there was any excuse for the way he’d behaved? The way he’d hurt her?

She’d been away on tour with a huge number of men. All types of different guys, plenty of them handsome and charming, but she’d never once even considered giving in to temptation. No matter how sad or lonely she was.

Because her marriage meant too much to her.

Was she meant to feel sorry for him? Think it was okay that he’d been with another woman because he’d been lonely?

She would have traded anything not to have to go away again. To be here with Gabby instead of serving overseas. She’d done her time, fulfilled her duty, and now she wanted to come home. No matter how much she loved her unit, liked being part of a team and making a difference.

And Daniel was wrong. She knew exactly what it meant to be lonely.

She’d been living lonely ever since she’d flown out and left her husband standing beside her daughter. Looked over her shoulder and seen the pair of them holding hands while she had to board a plane and leave them for months on end. 201Áhs on endWhen she’d never expected to have to go on tour again. When her contract said that after four years of service she’d be free to be a civilian again.

She’d miss the people she served with, too, but she’d trade it all for being right back here at home.

Penny threw a pillow and a blanket out onto the sofa and hoped Daniel got the message.

Pretending or not, she had no intention of sharing a bed with him. Not tonight, and maybe not ever again.

Back in the Soldier’s Arms/Here Comes the Groom

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CHAPTER EIGHT

A KNOCK echoed out down the hall. Penny looked up. She was sitting on the sofa reading to Gabby. The last thing she needed was a visitor. Her head was still pounding from the night she’d spent tossing and turning, eyes no doubt verging on seriously bloodshot.

“I’ll get it!” Daniel called out.

She glimpsed him as he walked past the living room door, jeans slung low on his waist, towel still in his hand as he rubbed at his damp hair.

Penny wished she hadn’t seen him. The last thing she needed was to be reminded of how good he looked bare. The golden color of his flat torso, the breadth of his shoulders.

Clearly leaving the navy hadn’t taken a toll on his appearance.

“Oh, hey,” she heard him say.

Gabby jumped up. “Is that Grandma?”

Penny strained her ears but couldn’t hear. “I don’t know, hon. Why don’t you go take a look?”

She watched as her daughter bounded off down the hall, returning less than a minute later towing her grandmother.

“Hi, Penny.”

“Oh. Hi, Vicki,” she responded.

She ran her hands over her rumpled jeans before playing anxiously with her ponytail. She was suddenly conscious that the house was a mess. That she didn’t even have dinner on yet.

But she’d been having such a lovely time with Gabby, Daniel had spent the afternoon at work, and she was only talking to him when she had to, to make sure Gabby didn’t figure out there was anything wrong. She hadn’t even thought about what they were going to eat.

“I, ah, didn’t know you were coming over.” Why hadn’t Daniel told her? “I’ll rustle up something for dinner if you’re staying?”

Vicki sent a confused look at Daniel.

“I’m sorry, darling, was tonight supposed to be a surprise?”

Daniel groaned, the noise only just audible. “I forgot to cancel.”

Great.

“Daniel …” Penny#x2 D‡ started.

Vicki frowned before bending to talk to Gabby. “Why don’t you run and get some of your presents to show me again,” Vicki asked her. “Silly Grandma’s already forgotten what you got for your birthday.”

Gabby ran off with a smile on her face. Vicki’s face was more solemn.

“I don’t know what’s happened here today, but I’m not going to stand around and let you mope,” she said to both of them, her voice stern. “I’m here now so you may as well go out and enjoy yourselves.”

Penny held up her hands. “I’m sorry to waste your time, Vicki, but I think dinner’s off the cards.”

Daniel didn’t say anything. He looked at the ground, before raising his eyes slowly to meet Penny’s gaze.

“Are you sure?”

She glared at him. “Yes.” She had no intention of going through with their date night. “Besides, Gabby seems to have a bit of a cold or something coming on.”

Vicki looked deflated. Like she’d been looking forward to seeing the pair of them go out.

“What time was the booking, Daniel?” his mother asked. “Seven.”

Vicki took a step forward and touched Penny’s shoulder. “You’ve got an hour to get yourself ready,” she said, voice low. “Can you not both put aside your differences and enjoy a meal together? You can have your dinner, chat about your daughter and then come home. I’ll make Gabby dinner, then put her to bed.”

Penny felt her mother-in-law’s gentle squeeze to her arm. She looked at Daniel. His gaze was … hopeful.

Penny shut her eyes, thought for half a second, then gave in.

It would be nice to have a meal out. To discuss what they were going to do custody-wise once she was home for good. Talk about Gabby and how they were going to deal with her leaving. About telling her what had happened between them, and perhaps even being honest with her about what it was her mother did for a career. Daniel must have told her something, but it was about time they came clean about her being a soldier.

“Pen, why don’t you have a shower and think about it?” She forced a smile on her face. “You know what? Maybe it’s not such a bad idea.” So long as it wasn’t a date.

Vicki beamed at them both, reaching out for Gabby as she appeared, arms laden with goodies.

“Grandma, you do remember about my bike, don’t you?”

“Of course, sweetheart, it was all the other things I needed reminding about.”

Penny tried to avoid Daniel’s gaze as she went to the bathroom, but it wasn’t easy. His eyes followed hers, she could feel them burning into her as if his pupils were laced with acid.

Her stomach churned at the thought of a night out, just the two of them. After their argument last night, the words they’d said, the anger that had blasted between them … she wondered how they’d even manage to sit across from one another for an entire meal.

But maybe it was what they needed, she thought, as she stepped out of her clothes and under the hot stream of water in the shower. They couldn’t argue in pubintÑrgue in plic. She wouldn’t embarrass herself by walking out of a restaurant.

So maybe, just maybe, dinner wouldn’t be so bad. They could eat, have a civil conversation and head home, like Vicki had suggested.

Daniel tugged at the edge of his shirt.

He guessed it was nerves making him on edge, but he wasn’t sure.

He didn’t ever remember being this nervous before. Not before his first flight up in a helicopter. Or the first time he went up solo after joining the navy as a pilot.

He decided to tuck the shirt into his jeans. He’d snuck into the bedroom to grab clothes from his wardrobe while Penny was in the shower. He was still waiting for her to emerge.

“You look lovely.”

He smiled at his mother’s words, not having realized she’d been watching him. “Yeah, but you have to say that.”

Gabby laughed, slapping her hand down with glee on the table.

“I beat you again, Grandma!” she squealed, before coughing.

Daniel exchanged looks with his mother as she put up her hands in defeat. “So you did. But don’t forget to cover your mouth when you cough.”

Daniel went to sit on the sofa to wait, but his body stuttered to a stop. He didn’t even have a chance to ask Gabby how she was feeling.

Wow.

“You look fantastic.”

He couldn’t help but stare as Penny walked into the room. She had on jeans that were so snug he could see almost every contour of her legs, paired with a low-front, slinky looking T-shirt, and she had her favorite leather jacket on, hanging open.

Geez. He’d forgotten how incredible she looked dressed to go out.

And he’d always loved that worn biker-style jacket on her. “I haven’t worn this stuff in forever,” she said with a sigh, cheeks flushing ever-so as he watched her. “I hope it’s still okay.”

Daniel was struggling to stop his jaw from hitting the floor. “You look fantastic, Penny.” Good enough to eat. He saw Gabby move from the corner of his eye. “You okay, hon?” Penny asked.

Their daughter nodded, before moving slowly over to her mother. She took her hand, looking her up and down.

Daniel realized she probably didn’t remember Penny ever looking like this.

It was the Penny he knew before they’d gotten married and had Gabby. This was the smoking-hot Penny he’d first fallen in love with.

“You look so pretty, Mommy.” Gabby was clearly impressed with her mother. “Like, really pretty.”

Penny laughed and bent to kiss her on the cheek.

“Will you be okay with Grandma? Are you feeling okay?” She pressed her palm to Gabby’s forehead.

Gabby nodded. “Is Daddy going with you?”

He took a step forward, his body recovering from the shock of Penny standing in front of him.

From his wife.

Daniel grabbed his keys. “Yeah, I’m taking Mommy out for dinner.”

“Have a nice night, kids,” Vicki called from the table.

“We won’t be late,” Penny told her, walking ahead of Daniel toward the front door.

Daniel ran a step ahead to grab the door for her, to hold it open for Penny to walk through.

“Thanks,” she said, eyes flickering over his as he passed.

It was the little things that counted, he knew that. Just like he knew that she’d always liked being treated like a lady. Liked the fact that she could be in a male-dominated career like the army and still feel like a woman when she was home.

Maybe it had been the little things he’d forgotten about. And maybe she had, too.

But tonight, he was going to remember every single little detail.

“I’m really glad we decided to go out,” he said, unlocking the car by remote as they walked.

Penny looked over her shoulder at him, eyes twinkling his way. There was a softness there he hadn’t seen since the day of Gabby’s party.

“Me, too,” she replied.

And from the look on her face, the openness he saw there, he knew she meant it.

Daniel jumped out of the driver’s side and moved quickly to open Penny’s door. If she was surprised, she didn’t show it, but she did manage to avoid taking his hand as she stepped out onto the sidewalk.

He watched as she tilted her head back to look at the front of the restaurant. It was an old building, rustic but pleasant, with a modest, solid timber door hiding stairs that led up to the restaurant. Wrought-iron placed over the windows was softened with pots of bright-colored flowers.

“Hasn’t changed a bit,” she said, sighing.

“That’s what I love about it,” he told her, locking the car and holding the heavy restaurant door open.

She paused before walking past him. “Have you been here lately?”

“You mean while you’ve been away?” She nodded. Hell, no. Never.

“I’d never come here without you, Penny. It’s always been our place.” Daniel couldn’t stop the huskiness in his tone. He’d never even considered coming here without her.

“I don’t even think I’ve been out for dinner since you left,” he told her, following her up the stairs. “To Mom’s place and through the drive-through with Gabby, but nowhere like this.”

The scent of Spanish food hit Daniel’s nostrils as they left the staircase behind and found themselves in the middle of the restaurant. Every table was full, the atmosphere happy and lively.

“It feels like so long.”

Daniel looked up at Penny’s words. It looked as if she had tears in her eyes, but he couldn’t be sure, didn’t want to ask her.

“It has been a long time, Pen. We left it way too long to come back here. To do a lot of things.”

Her eyes questioned him but she didn’t say anything. They’d been treading on eggshells since their argument the night before.

“Welcome!” A dark-haired waiter appeared with menus and pointed to the only empty table. A small candle blazed in the ceokeÑd in the nter, sending a flicker of light out across the tablecloth.

Daniel waited for Penny to be seated before sitting down himself. He smiled at her across the table and received a tight smile in return.

He knew he had to say something, do something, now before things became even more awkward and strained between them.

“Penny …”

“Daniel …”

They both laughed.

“You go,” she said, smile genuine now as it hit her eyes.

“I just wanted to say that I’m sorry about last night.” He paused, ran a hand through his hair before leaning back in his chair. “I hate arguing and I’m so sorry if I upset you.”

She shook her head. Sadly.

“I’m sorry, too, Daniel. It’s just, well.” This time it was Penny who paused, who looked at her hands before raising her eyes to meet his. “I don’t want us to be like this, but I can’t help how I feel. I’m still so angry with you, but I do want to get past this.”

Hope flickered within him. He almost didn’t want to ask what she meant. Didn’t want her to elaborate.

But he didn’t want to be left hanging, hoping, either.

“When you say you want to get past this …”

She leaned back like she hadn’t realized how her words had sounded.

“What I mean is that I don’t want to ruin our relationship so much that all we can do is fight. We owe Gabby more than that. Hell, we owe ourselves better than that.”

There was so much that needed to be said. So much they needed to talk about.