“You’re going to be a great mother, Elle. I’m really happy for you.”
The front door swings open, and Lennon steps inside. She’s dressed in a hoodie and yoga pants with her hair braided down her back, and she’s never looked more beautiful to me as she beams at me the moment she walks in.
I push off the arm of the couch and gesture to the phone in my hand.One minute, I mouth to her.
She nods and takes the bag she totes with her to the kitchen counter.
“Thank you,” Elle says. “I appreciate it coming from you.”
“It looks like we’re both getting what we needed, huh?”
“I guess so. It was good to talk to you. And I’m glad to see that you’re doing well.”
“You too. Thanks for calling.” I walk over to the kitchen where Lennon pretends to be on her phone, but I know she’s trying to figure out my conversation. “And I wish you nothing but the best.”
“Same to you, Luke. Good luck to your team.”
“Thanks, Elle.”
Lennon’s head whips up at the sound of her name, and I hang up the phone. She turns hers off and lays it face down the counter, her sole focus on me now.
“Was that Elle as in…”
“My ex-wife?” I finish for her. “Yeah, it was.”
Lennon’s posture turns rigid. “Oh. I didn’t realize you guys were speaking.”
“We’re not. I mean, not exactly. That’s the first time we’ve spoken in years.”
“Why were you on the phone with her?” She tucks her hands in the pocket of her sweatshirt as she adds, “That sounded bad. I didn’t mean it like you can’t talk to her. I mean, like, why were you talking after all this time?”
It’s sort of cute seeing Lennon flustered like this. “She just called to check in,” I say. “Nothing for you to worry about. I promise.” I run my hands down her arms in reassurance.
Lennon smiles warily. “Sorry, I know, I trust you. I’ve just never dated someone who’s been married before.”
“Well I doubt there’s too many divorcees at your age.”
“You never know.” She steps back and unpacks the brown paper bag she brought. A box of pasta, two jars of sauce, a round loaf of bread, and a box of ready-to-bake cookies. “We’re carb loading tonight. Are you hungry now or do you want to wait to eat?”
“I’m good to eat now if you are.”
She nods once and begins getting a pot filled with water. I ease myself onto the barstool and watch her flutter around my kitchen. So natural, so at home. It brings a warmth to my chest that I spent so long without.
As Lennon puts the pot on the stove to boil, she nonchalantly tosses over her shoulder, “So what did she want?”
I cover my mouth with my hand, not wanting Lennon to see the amusement on my face. She loved calling me out for getting jealous of Mason, and now it’s my turn to see her turning a little green. “She wanted to congratulate the team on making it to the tournament. One of the blogs who covers a lot of Flash alumni wrote a story about my new venture.”
“That’s so cool! You’ll have to send me the link. The girls will wanna see.”
I grab my phone and text it to her.
“Was that all she wanted?”
“Are you a little jealous there, Killer?”
She crosses her arms and leans against the counter next to the stove. “No.”
“Liar.”
