Firefighter Tanner Hall is used to running into burning buildings and risking his life to save others. It's just another day of work for the father of two. But when he gets a call from the San Diego zoo about an animal attack, he has no idea what he...
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I used to think the worst thing in the world was getting walked in on by your parents when you're about to hook up with a girl.
Turns out, it's not.
It's getting walked in on by your ex-wife when you're about to hook up with a girl.
Zoe's taillights disappear around the corner and I rub my forehead, preparing myself for Hurricane Gwen as I walk up the front steps. The timing could not have been worse. It's like the woman has some kind of sixth sense that's sole purpose is to identify ways to make my life more difficult. It's the one thing she's ever been consistent with in her entire life.
I'm glad to have the boys home safe and sound, but I certainly could have done without the interaction I'm about to have with their mother. She's leaning on the door frame, a glass of wine in her hands and a wicked smirk on her blood-red lips. I don't even get fully into the house before she starts in.
"She's a little young for you, don't you think?" Gwen baits, hoping to get a rise out of me. She's always been big on the reaction, and since my entire job is keeping my cool, I never give her one. Doesn't stop her from trying, though.
"I don't remember you asking for my opinion when you got into your last relationship." I lean back against the countertop, shoving my sleeves to my elbows and folding my arms across my chest. "How is Riley, by the way?"
Although her latest boyfriend is about as aloof as she is, and there's no guarantee he even knows she's gone. Still, he can't be thrilled by this perpetual trip back home, and that might be the one thing the guy and I have in common.
Gwen gives a disinterested shrug. "I ended it. Things had gotten...boring."
A heavy laugh thunders from my chest, and I don't even bother to hide it. "Boring, huh? I'm sensing a pattern here..."
"Don't be mean, Tanner." Gwen glares, batting those spider-leg lashes at me.
It's a look that would have brought me to my knees at one point, but tonight, it's lost all its effect. The only thing I'm feeling for her is frustration and disdain, and this conversation can't be over soon enough. Usually, our only communication is by text, for the boys' sake, and all of this face-to-face bullshit is wearing on me. "Why are you here, Gwen?"
"I brought the boys home from a camping trip." She gives me a strange, twisted look.
"I mean, why are you still here? Usually your visits only last a few days and we're approaching weeks' territory here."
"That eager to get rid of me, huh?" She scoffs.
I shove a hand through my hair, surprising that explosive reaction she so badly wants. "I just need to know so I can prepare the boys. You know they get their hopes every time you spin through here like you do..."
"Well, what if I'm not getting their hopes up this time?" She presses her lips into a firm, thin line. "What if I want to be back here more permanently?"
