Valentine

Opening the front door I was immediately hit by the comforting heat and the delicious smell of Chinese food.

My favorite.

Maybe Nate felt bad for being all grumpy and jealous on the phone earlier. “I’m home!” I called out as I closed the door.

I was usually barraged with something along the lines of ‘Mum! Jan stole my Barbie!’ while said thief came running at me from wherever she was in the house.

Nothing.

“Nate?”

“In here, beautiful.”

Smiling at the compliment I shrugged out of my coat and shoes and followed the smells of divine food to the dining room.

My eyes widened at the sight before me.

The room was lit with candlelight and there was a huge bunch of stunning red roses in a vase on the middle of the table. A table that was set up for dinner.

Nate stood by the table in his favorite jeans and a long-sleeved black top that did nothing to hide his still muscular and trim physique. He was barefoot and relaxed and staring at me with a familiar heat in his eyes.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, babe.”

I grinned, my stomach letting out a rumble at the sight of the Chinese food. “Did someone remind you?”

He shook his head, mischief in his eyes. “I called my dad last week and asked him if he’d take the girls tonight. My parents picked up Lily and Jan this afternoon.”

“But… you made it sound like you’d forgotten?”

He shrugged and laughed. “I was just messing with you.” He strode toward me and grabbed a handful of my shirt to tug me to him. His kiss was hot and deep and I instantly wrapped myself around him.

When we broke apart, he stared into my eyes and whispered, “I’ve missed you, Liv. I thought we could use some time alone.”

And just like that the knot in my chest loosened completely. “I’ve missed you, too.”

***

A few hours later I laid on our sofa, my legs stretched out across Nate’s lap, while I sipped at the ice cold beer he’d just handed me before settling in. The living room was lit by the flames in our fireplace. It was cozy and intimate and romantic.

It was also weirdly quiet.

“You feel it too?” Nate drew circles on my ankle with the tips of his fingers.

“The girls?” I said softly.

He nodded. “It’s quiet without them.”

“Yeah. You get used to having them around.” I chuckled. “Lily said something so funny this morning.”

Nate smiled. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, I just can’t remember what it was.” I rested my head on the back of the sofa hearing Nate laugh. “It’s been a weird day. I can barely remember any of it.”

“Except for the part where you had lunch with an ex?”

I shot a look at him. He was drinking his beer and still tracing my skin casually but the lines of his shoulders were tense. “Ben wasn’t an ex.”

“Close to.”

My brows drew together. “You honestly had a problem with me seeing him today?”

He turned his head and our gazes locked. “Yes. I had a problem with some guy getting to have a quiet lunch and a nice conversation with my wife because until right now I couldn’t remember the last time I got to have a quiet lunch and nice conversation with my wife.”

“Nate.”

“I know I’m being an arse.” He rubbed a hand over his face and groaned.

I smiled. “You’re not an ass. On retrospect, considering how little time we’ve had for each other lately, I would have been mad if you had lunch with some other woman who had some affiliation with your romantic history.”

Nate squeezed my ankle. “Doesn’t matter now. We’re here.”

“Yes we are.”

We lapsed into comfortable silence, the only sound the crackling of the flames in the grate of the fire.

And then I couldn’t help myself.

“Would you rather take part in The Hunger Games or the Tri Wizard Tournament?”

Nate contemplated the question. “Depends. Am I competing in the 74th annual Hunger Games or the 75th?”

“Why?”

“Well the 75th was the one where all the previous winners were pitted against each other.”

“You’ve seen those movies too many times.”

“You’ve seen Harry Potter too many times.”

Well I couldn’t argue with that. “True.” I frowned. “Does it matter if you’re in the 75th annual hunger games?”

“I take it I am then?”

“Yes, for the sake of expedience you are in the 75th annual Hunger Games. So The Hunger Games or the Tri Wizard Tournament?”

“It’s kind of an easy decision. I’ll probably die in The Hunger Games. I’ll live in the Tri Wizard thing.”

“Uh no!” I shook my head. “You will inevitably face Voldemort at the end of the Tri Wizard Tournament.”

“Still not as difficult as The Hunger Games, Babe.”

“Hello, it’s Voldemort. He’s the second most powerful wizard in the world.”

“Third if you count Harry Potter.”

“But not at the Tri Wizard Tournament point in the books and movies.”

“That Voldemort guy has no nose. How scary can a man without a nose be?”

“He has nostrils.”

“But no nose.”

“I feel like you’re underestimating him.”