`` i like it when you call me sweetheart . '' she finished off the pudding and claimed my cup of water , tossing my straw aside and drinking from the rim . its just a matter of sorting it all out in your head . we looked at one another like a couple of clowns with smiles painted on our faces . `` i apologize , '' he said , then turned back to his reading . `` i wo n't have her sitting on the front lines while there 's a war brewing just outside our gates . 