Free Lone Star Valentine (McCabe Multiples) by CATHY GILLEN THACKER Page A

son had adapted far more quickly than she had ever imagined he would.
    Gannon gave Lily another look. Letting her know that he, too, thought everything was going to be fine. Otherwise, he would have stepped in.
    Recognizing any further delays would not make things any easier, Lily swallowed and turned back to Bode. “You’ve got my cell number. I’m staying in the area tonight. So...”
    “I’ll call you if we need anything,” Bode promised, really seeming to mean it.
    And that, Lily noted, as she and Gannon were ushered out the door, was that.
    * * *
    “Y OU OKAY ?” G ANNON said after they had exited the home and driven away.
    Compared to what? Lily thought, blinking back tears. She felt as if a semitruck had just driven square through the center of her heart. Aware she was near the breaking point emotionally—which was something she definitely did not want Gannon to see—she sucked in a quavering breath. She looked out the window until she felt she could speak in a calm tone, and sighed with a weariness that came straight from her soul. “You can just take me straight to my hotel.”
    The corners of his lips lifted. “Sure you want to do that?” His voice was low, comforting.
    “Do what?”
    He sent her an intuitive glance. “Be alone?”
    Actually, no, she did not want to be alone. But what were the alternatives?
    “What are you suggesting?” Her breath hitched in her throat.
    He stopped at a traffic light and turned to flash her an understanding smile. “Dinner first.”
    Lily didn’t want to think about what might come next. “I’m not sure I can eat.” Her stomach was clenched as tight as the rest of her.
    Something hot and sensual shimmered in his smile. “Then, it’s the perfect time to have me cook for you. If you don’t like it, you’ll have a great reason to just nibble a little here and there and pretend it’s due to an understandable lack of appetite.”
    His joking made her smile. For a moment, she let herself imagine what it might be like to make love with him. Not just once, but many, many times. “You’re really inviting me to your place?”
    “Might be a good time to see how the other half lives.”
    Romantic notions bubbled up inside her. Suddenly feeling a whole lot feistier, Lily pivoted toward him as much as her seat belt would allow. “Other half?”
    He commanded his luxury pickup with a sure, steady hand. “Us city slickers.”
    She hesitated, curious despite herself.
    What would his place be like? Would it—like the vehicle he drove—have any vestiges of the ranch and small town Texas where he’d grown up? Or be city all the way?
    “Come on.” He waggled his brows, as if sensing she was on the edge. “It’ll give you a good chance to vent.” He reached over and briefly—playfully—squeezed her knee. “’Cause I know you’ve got a lot to say about what went down tonight. And who better to spout off to than someone else who was there?”
    He had a point. “Okay,” Lily relented finally. “But you can’t do all the work.”
    His low chuckle filled the cab. “You’re offering to be my sous chef?”
    And that was all. No matter how attractive she found him, she was not going to end up in his arms tonight, not even for comfort.
    Disguising her desire, she murmured, “Somehow I think the busier I am, the better.”
    Gannon sobered. “Probably true,” he conceded with a commiserating smile. “In the meantime, start venting. And don’t hold anything back.”
    So Lily didn’t.
    As Gannon drove the freeways connecting Dallas and Fort Worth, she let loose her feelings on everything Bode had done the past few days. From manipulating the terms of their custody agreement to initiate a sleepover to the massive gift presentation and the way he had turned on the charm to lure Lucas in while simultaneously sending out photos of the event via social media and his PR team.
    “The worst of it is,” Lily lamented when they reached the high-rise condominium building