Page 68 of A Heart of Little Faith
Before he could answer, Lily cut in. “I’d be happy to embarrass you Tom, but I’m afraid I need a little time to choose the most appropriate stories.” She plastered a bright smile on her face at the interplay between the two men and tried to figure out how to get Gideon to leave. As much as she wanted them to like each other, the thought of them together made her cringe, and she wanted a chance to prepare herself for the meeting. It was like introducing a boyfriend to ones parents when you knew there were pitfalls. She needed time to prepare herself.Not now, not when I’m feeling like this. A sour taste rose in her mouth as her nerves wound tighter and tighter. She swallowed, and rubbed her stomach.
“Let’s have dinner together,” Gideon suggested.
Tom looked at Lily. “I’ve got meetings all day tomorrow, but I should be free for dinner afterward.” He raised an eyebrow at Gideon.
“Yeah, tomorrow works for me,” he affirmed. “What about Claire? Do you want to bring her? We could eat early.”
Lily would have liked more than twenty-four hours to prepare herself, but since she suspected they would meet with or without her, she agreed. “Why don’t we have dinner here? That way Claire can go to bed on time and we can relax. Just come over after work, okay?”
The three of them agreed, and Gideon said goodbye. Lily and Tom caught each other up on their lives and by nine o’clock, he returned to his hotel. She spent the rest of the night tossing and turning as she thought about dinner.
****
The next day, Lily rushed home from work, picked Claire up from aftercare and started cooking. Tom and Gideon together. Her old life and her new one were on a collision course, and she would be stuck with the wreckage if things didn’t go well. The thought was a better appetite suppressant than the most expensive diet pill and her stomach roiled.
When Tom had first called, she’d been excited for him and Gideon to meet. But now, she didn’t know. Tom represented her old life, her life with Daniel. He had been Daniel’s best friend. What if he didn’t like Gideon? And what if Gideon felt uncomfortable having someone around from her previous life? Not to mention how prickly Gideon could be at times. What had she gotten herself into?
“What if, what if?” she muttered to herself as she stirred the chicken soup.
“Cackling to yourself over your witch’s brew?” Tom snuck behind her and planted a kiss on the top of her head. “That’s reassuring.” He dipped a finger into the pot to sneak a taste.
“Quit it!” She smacked his wrist with a wooden spoon, the crack echoing in the kitchen, and he danced away, surprisingly nimble for someone of his size.
“Or what, you’ll put a spell on me?” He grinned. “This is delicious, by the way. When’s the boyfriend arriving?”
Lily shrugged and busied herself over the stove again. “Whenever he gets here.” She opened cabinets and took out plates and bowls. She slammed them on the counter. The sound reverberated through the apartment and Tom coughed. “Claire, come set the table, please!”
As Claire and Tom set the table, the doorbell rang. Claire squealed and ran to the door, while Tom finished up. Gideon hugged her while handing a white paper bag to Lily.
“Hey, Gideon,” said Tom.
“Tom.” The two men shook hands. Lily fled into the kitchen with the bag, leaving the men alone to size each other up. She peeked in to see them stare at each other and then glanced away as strains of Western music before a shootout played in her mind.
“What did you bring, Gideon?” Claire asked.
Gideon smiled at Claire and led her into the living room. “Dessert.”
“What kind of dessert? Am I going to like it? Can I have some?”
He hugged her. “Is there any kind of dessert you don’t like?”
As Claire stuck out her tongue at him, Tom looked at Lily, who watched from the kitchen.
“Can I help you with anything?” Tom asked.
“Nope, I’m all set. Gideon, are you making the salad?”
Gideon entered the kitchen. “Of course,” he answered with a grin.
Lily gave him the salad bowl, opened and shut random drawers and cabinets, dropped a spoon on the floor and almost put the dishtowel in the refrigerator. She took a deep breath. Every muscle in her body screamed with tension and she clamped her mouth shut to keep her scream from escaping.
Gideon washed and shredded the lettuce and she clenched her fists at the side. Did he always move this slowly, or was he dragging it out on purpose? She shifted her gaze to the living room where Tom played with Claire. Her heart ached as she thought about how much of her life he’d missed. She swallowed the lump in her throat as Gideon finish tossing the salad. With a deep breath, she followed him into the dining room. Everyone sat at the table. As usual when Claire was present, she dominated the conversation. Tom and Gideon took turns asking her about school, her friends and her favorite TV shows.
“So what’s your favorite thing to do at school, Claire?” Tom asked as he served himself salad and passed it to Lily.
“Math. Spelling is boring. Oh, and I like gym, too.”
Tom raised an eyebrow. “Really? You like math the best? That’s fantastic.”