Free Lily's Outlaw (Once a Marine, Always a Marine Book 2) by Kori David Page B

about you too. I’ve never stopped caring about you, pumpkin.”
    Lily winced at the pet name, but thought he looked convincing enough. Even though they’d been divorced over eight years, he was a fixture in her life whether she wanted him or not. Because of her mother. Politics was a small, incestuous world populated by the same people. And those people all moved in the same circles, played golf at the same country clubs and attended the same social functions. It was why she stayed out of town. This was the first time he’d tried to convince her that he missed her, however.
      “Tell my mother that I’ll call her later. I just got back into town.”
    Robert moved toward her. “Have dinner with me? Fill me in on what you’ve been doing lately.”
    It was her turn to arch an eyebrow at him. “Have you been drinking?”
    “Don’t be rude.” He reached out and stroked her arm, frowning when she flinched away. “Come out with me, we used to have fun together.”
    “I don’t think the lady is interested.”
    Lily leaned around Robert to see Jesse leaning against the front doorjamb, arms crossed and his ‘go-bag’ at his feet. His posture was relaxed but his eyes were alive with something Lily wasn’t sure she wanted to name. Her heart thumped with excitement as she took in his faded jeans, tight black T-shirt and scuffed boots. Jesse was the kind of man she wanted to go to dinner with, not the overstuffed peacock standing in front of her.
    “Jesse, what are you doing here?”
    He grinned, ignoring her glowering ex and focused on her. “I woke up and found out I’d been a one-night stand.” He winked. “I’m feeling used and thought I’d swing by for an explanation. And if I’m lucky, you’ll use me again.”
    “One-night stand?” Robert scoffed. He’d already dismissed Jesse as a lower class citizen and turned his back on him. Lily could see it in the sneer on his face and hear the acid in his tone. “Well, well, I guess Ms. Prim and Proper has a wild side after all. Maybe if you’d shown a bit of spunk when we were married, I would have stayed home at night.”
    Lily’s face heated up in anger. How dare he say that to her! He was the cheating hound and it was now somehow her fault? And Jesse was twice the man he could ever be. But before she could put a voice to her indignation Jesse moved.
    “Time to go, asshole.”
    Then he grabbed her ex-husband by the collar and seat of his expensive suit. Robert’s arms wind-milled as he was turned, walked outside as if he were no more than a rag doll, and thrown off the porch and out into the yard. His thousand-dollar dress shoes lost traction in the wet grass and he ended up on his hands and knees.
    Lily came up beside Jesse, covering her mouth to stifle the giddy laugh that threatened to escape. How many times had she wanted to do that very thing to her pompous, self-righteous pig of an ex-husband?
    “I can’t believe you just did that.”
    Jesse wasn’t even out of breath, just standing with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. “He touched you.”
    Lily shook her head. “He likes to get his way.”
    “Not anymore.”
    The “he” in question was struggling to stand up with as much dignity as he could muster, considering that his pants were wet from the knees down and his perfectly coiffed hair was now a complete disaster.
    “How dare you lay hands on me,” he sputtered.
    “Let’s get something straight,” Jesse began as he stalked closer.
    Lily followed, afraid Jesse would punch Robert and get arrested for assault. Robert must have thought the same thing because he backed up a step.
    “You ever touch her again and I will break every single one of your fingers.”
    Robert puffed his chest out and pulled a cell phone out of his pocket. “What’s your name? I want to be able to tell the police exactly who assaulted me in the home of my wife.”
    “Ex-wife,” Lily interjected.
    She put her hand on Jesse’s arm as he started forward