Be Mine: Valentine Novellas to Warm The Heart

by Nicole Flockton

  Ros dropped ice into her glass. She drizzled lemon cordial over it, then filled her glass from the tap. Oh, she forgot the mint.

  Not giving Soli the dignity of a reply, she headed out to the garden. When she returned with a handful of mint, she found Soli had spread the doona on the floor, adjusting it in relation to the light coming through the back window. Ros dumped the contents of her glass and the mint into the blender and blitzed it up while Soli returned with one of the bags of candy hearts.

  "This will be fun," she chirped as she dumped the bag all over the doona.

  Ros's hand paused on the blender, its grinding noise halting. "What are you doing?"

  Soli inspected the fall of candy. "All right, have a seat."

  Ros sank into the couch.

  "No, no. On the doona."

  At this, Ros only raised an eyebrow.

  Soli cleared a space of candy hearts in the middle of the doona. "Have you ever seen that American Beauty picture with the model surrounded by rose petals? That, but with candy hearts."

  "I'm not getting naked."

  "You don't have to, especially as we're sending this to your family."

  Ros sighed. She took a drink of her virgin mojito--rum another thing she'd forgotten--and set her drink on the table. "Fine. Where do I go?"

  In mere seconds, Soli had her splayed out on the doona, hearts scattered everywhere, even on her skin and chest. She held real still. "Okay, now what?"

  Soli had claimed Ros's phone. She fiddled with it, finding the camera setting. "Well, relax." She held the phone up over Ros, looking at the settings, and even accidentally setting the camera off. "Sorry, I'm not used to your phone."

  Ros lifted two candy hearts off her chest and read their messages. One said, 'UR Hot'. "You got that right," Ros muttered to it. The other said, "Call me". Maybe later. Cold drink first, then some chillax time. She popped them in her mouth together.

  Her camera clicked again. "Sorry, still trying to figure out the settings." Soli turned away from the light and poked at Ros's camera. Once Soli was done doing whatever it was she was doing, she turned back, and held the camera over Ros one more time.

  She adjusted the fall of Ros's hair, shoved some hearts into a more artistic alignment, then took a rather tasteful picture.

  Ros looked at the shots while Soli cleaned up the hearts and the doona. She dumped the hearts into a large plastic bowl and left these on the table. Ros adulterated her drink with a shot of rum and sat back to admire her housemate's work. The first couple of mistake shots were off, but one of them looked positively sensual, with her just about to pop those two hearts into her mouth. The third one, with her hair all artistic and the hearts scattered about, even on her, looked downright gorgeous. She had gazed up into the lens with soft eyes and a smile on her face. Of course, she was smiling, she had a mouthful of two candy hearts and the promise of rum after.

  That she had to send to her family. Soli came back to find Ros chuckling. "You were right. My family is going to love it."

  "Yeah," Soli drawled, backing away to the fridge. "So," she said, quite chirpy. "Any dinner plans? I was thinking of pasta salad."

  Ros had no plans. Pasta salad it was, and an evening of doing Not Much. She'd text Everett back tomorrow, once she could think of a clever reply. How did one top a picture like that?

  By the next morning, Ros had forgotten all about the picture Everett had sent her. An impending meeting at the Day Job had absorbed her focus and anything not related had fled her poor brain. There and back again, with public transport during the hottest time of the day had not jogged her memory.

  Not that it mattered to Ros, until she remembered to unstealthify her phone.

  She's received a total of five text messages that day and three she could ignore. The fourth was gushing with excitement from her mother who loved the candy hearts pic Ros had sent. They had a bit of back-and-forth with Ros sharing the story of how they came to be. Just her luck, her mother thought it was romantic and asked when she was seeing Everett again.

  Naturally, her mother was enthusiastic. Romance ran in their blood, she had said.

  Yeah. And here was Ros with the recessive genes for love.

  Then there was the last text. Everett. She only had a brief glance as she stepped off the bus. "Can I pop by tonight on my way home?"

  Her heart thumped. Ros had no idea what to say to that.

  What would Soli say? She'd have already sent a "Sure, come on over!" text back by now.

  But Ros hesitated. It wasn't that she wanted to say no. Great Godiva, she had no intention of saying no. So why was it so hard to say yes?

  Why would Soli have said yes?

  Because Soli often didn't string two thoughts together but went with the moment.

  But why go with the moment unless she saw something good in it?

  Why not have him come over? It wasn't like she'd be home alone. Soli would be there, as she always was, making her Etsy pretties, listing them, and then stuffing them in Prepaid envelopes as soon as they sold. Day in, day out. She never seemed to tire of it. Ros would have gone spare with a life like that, but it suited Soli's lack of grasp on reality.

  Her fingers typed out the text before her brain could reason herself into a lonely corner. "Sure, come on over. I'll be home after 5pm." No. She revised that. "4:30pm." It was four twenty now, and she'd be home in less than five. By giving herself no wiggle room, she'd not have time to talk herself out of the invitation and sending him a recanting text. That would be poor form.

  Like her brain needed a half-hour to mess with her. That five minutes of walking home it questioned Everett's motives. He'd sent her the picture of his approving sister yesterday--a text she hadn't replied to yet--and now he was asking to come over? Wasn't that a little fast?

  As she mounted the porch steps, her phone chirped when his reply came through. "Great. See you soon."

  Ah. Right. Her nerves tied themselves into knots in her gut. Maybe it wasn't Tyler who was the stalkerish creep but Everett?

  I mean, who sends a picture of his sister to a stranger you only met that day?

  Ros scrolled back through the messages to look at that picture again.

  Only it wasn't the picture she'd received that caught her eye, but one that had been sent.

  A picture of a rather sexy-looking woman spread on a duvet surrounded by candy hearts, her eyes closed and her mouth open to receive.

  4

  "WHEN DID YOU SEND THIS?!" Ros waved her phone in Soli's face.

  Instead of flinching or at least looking guilty, her housemate gave Ros a delightful smile. "You needed to send that picture."

  "I would never send a picture like that."

  "I know," Soli replied. "That's why I did it for you."

  Ros whimpered. "But why would anyone send a picture like that to a guy they just met?"

  "Because that's what you do," said Soli, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Honestly, you need modern flirting lessons." Soli strode into the kitchen. Ros followed, not done with this conversation.

  "Don't you think this is a little too fast?" Ros chastised.

  "No. Fast would have been you climbing into his lap and tearing off his clothes five minutes after he invited you in for drinks. This is called 'proceeding at the right pace'." She grabbed a glass and filled it from a cold jug of something in the fridge.

  "I've only known him a couple of days. I thought you had to wait until after the third date before taking things up a notch." Ros waved her hand at the phone. "This... this is practically a marriage proposal."

  "Well," Soli conceded, "maybe a proposal of a different sort."

  Ros's cheeks flushed.

  Soli handed her the cold glass of drink. It looked orange, like a smoothie of some sort. "Drink this," she advised. "You need it."

  Ros drank. Mango, and something tart. No alcohol, though. Maybe that was for the best.

  Still, she had not overreacted. Soli should never have sent that pict
ure. She must have done it during the shoot, for she had no other opportunity.

  A knock rang out on the door.

  Ros's heart wanted to stop. "Aw crap, he's here." Her head gave itself over to a dizzy spin.

  Soli pushed her toward her bedroom. "You go get changed, I'll get the door."

  Ros's wits restored themselves quick-smart. "Oh no. You go change and I'll get the door."

  "I'm not the one in my business clothes."

  Ros got the door.

  Sure enough, it was Everett. "Hello," he said, brightening.

  Three things struck Ros. First, his chocolate bass voice melted all over her. "H-- hi..." she replied, as thin as the liquid that he'd just poured into her soul.

  Second, he looked damn hot in a business suit. Like, GQ hot. Billionaire Romance Novel hot. And physically hot, as the warm November weather was getting to him as well.

  "You want to come in?" was the best she could say.

  Third thing, he was carrying a large box. Wait. More candy hearts?

  She stepped back. He came in, gratitude evident on his face. "Best place to put this down?"

  Ros gestured to the side table in the entry.

  No sooner had he set it down, than Soli popped her head in. "Hello," she chirped, before sliding all the way into the entry. "You must be Everett." She held out her hand. "I'm Solcita, but you can call me Soli." She looked him up and down. "You can call me anytime."

  Ros gasped at this, and was Everett actually blushing?

  Soli didn't let the awkwardness linger. "Come on through. I've made a fresh jug of fruit smoothie." She paused. "You okay with fruit?"

  Now she was asking permission.

  Everett nodded. "A drink would be really nice." He paused. "It legal? I am driving."

  Soli winked at him. "I can make it illegal if you want."

  He laughed and waved that idea away. "I'd like to keep my Zero Hero status." He followed Soli into the back of the house.

  A Zero Hero. He had a perfect driving record, and all his demerit points intact? That was sexy.

  Ros trailed behind, afraid that if she didn't follow, Soli would indeed snatch up one of the handsomest men Ros had ever known. Her stomach did its swirly squirmy thing again.

  She looked down at her work clothes. She hadn't had time to change. But if she took the time, that would be an extra five minutes Soli had with Everett. No way was she giving her housemate a single shot at this guy.

  Ros had seen him first.

  By the time she got into the kitchen, Soli had settled Everett on one of the stools at the bench and had filled his hands with a glass of smoothie. Ros grabbed hers, half-drunk and demanded a refill before plunking herself down on the other stood. Soli could remain on the other side of the bench.

  Soli obliged the refill, but her eyes were on Everett. "So, on your way home from work? What do you do?"

  He told her, and shared what insurance company he worked for. Soli nodded. "Must be boring work."

  "I love it."

  Ros smoothed down her business skirt. At least she and Everett matched. She hoped Soli would realise this. "Nice of you to stop by."

  He shrugged, his jacket shoulders lifting. No padding there. His gaze fell across the bowl of hearts sitting on the kitchen bench. "I'm glad I brought you another box. You've gone through those hearts like a legend."

  Ros blushed but Soli laughed. "She loves them. Did she tell you? She gets a whole box of them from her family in the States every Valentine's Day."

  "It's not that big a box," Ros muttered. "Really, it's a tiny thing."

  "Maybe these will last until February." Everett sipped his smoothie. "Say, this is really good."

  "Thanks," Soli replied, sounding genuine.

  Ros pressed her glass to her cheek, hoping it would cool her face before the smoothie boiled over from her embarrassment.

  Everett kept his cool. "I loved the picture you sent. My sister thought it was great."

  What? He showed it to his sister!? "I don't know why I sent that. I'm so embarrassed." She wanted to crawl under the bench and slink out the back door.

  A cool hand fell on hers. "Don't be." Tingles spread out from where his fingers touched hers.

  Ros looked up into his dark eyes. They bore into her soul and there was nowhere to hide. Her breath shuddered. Not quite a sob, but...

  "I like your style," he finished. "I'm glad I met you."

  Soli looked expectantly at Ros. She raised her eyebrows twice as if giving a subtle nudge.

  Ros had no idea what to say. Her mouth dropped open, but no words came out.

  Soli stepped in. "She's been talking about you too. Says you carved that wooden box for Livvie."

  That broke the spell. Everett turned to Soli, his hand leaving Ros's. "It's a hobby of mine..."

  Ros sank in relief. Okay, maybe Soli wasn't so bad. At least she could read the room and respond appropriately, when she chose. Right now, she was listening to Everett, nodding at all the right times and prompting with all the right questions.

  Why couldn't Ros do that?

  Well, she could carry on a conversation with someone. Often did, when they were with friends or meeting new people, but Everett was different.

  What if she said the wrong thing?

  Soli didn't have that problem. Something nagged at the back of Ros's brain. Soli knew how to flirt.

  In fact, that's what she was doing right now. She'd gotten him talking, and she was looking back at him as if what he was saying was the most fascinating thing in the world. How had Ros never noticed this skill before?

  He was describing exactly how he carved his wooden boxes. Everett's eyes had come alive and his hands moved as he illustrated his words. "Chisels can leave edges, no matter how careful you are. But you can't risk spending too much time with a chisel, otherwise you might ruin the design. I get it close enough, then I go over it with sandpaper to smooth it out."

  If Soli could do it, maybe she could too. "What grade of sandpaper?" Her lips snapped shut. That had popped out before she had a chance to think. What a dumb question to ask. Who cares what kind of sandpaper he used?

  Everett cared, apparently. "Usually a medium to a fine," he replied. "With the intricacy of the carving I'm aiming for, anything rougher will take away the sharp edges I want to keep. I'll fold the finer sandpaper into a point and use that to get into the deeper corners." He demonstrated with an imaginary piece of sandpaper. "Smoothness is also necessary to ensure you get a smooth stain without colour variations. Stain can puddle in the ridges, giving it shadow."

  Soli gave a nod of approval, not over his sanding technique, but over the fact that Ros was talking with him.

  So, this was flirting? Maybe even getting it right? "You must find that relaxing."

  He finished off his drink. "Sometimes. I'll sit in front of the tv and work on a piece until it's done.

  "I'm afraid I'm not terribly creative," Ros replied.

  Soli gave her an exasperated look. Her expression cleared as Everett glanced over.

  What? Did she say something wrong? "I-- I mean, I love a good piece of art, but I couldn't create anything to save my life." Ruin her life, of course. That didn't take any special talent.

  Soli put her hand up to her temple and shook her head in disappointment.

  Honestly, what was Ros supposed to say? This figuring out flirting thing would be much easier without Soli spectating.

  To Everett she said, "We'll have to go out sometime," without the third wheel of her housemate.

  This must have been the correct thing to say, because Soli gave her a subtle thumbs up.

  Did she just ask him out on a date?

  "Sure," he replied. "You a movie or a music kind of person?"

  No one had ever asked her that question before. As he gazed into her eyes, she realised he meant it. She searched her head for an answer and came up lacking. "Really, I'm into anything." I'm into you. She caught her breath at that thought. She was. Oh gosh, Soli was right
. She was into him. "Movies are cliché. Let's try something else."

  His smile broadened across his face, lighting it up. "Okay, what did you want to do?"

  At this Ros froze, her mouth open. "I don't know," she confessed. Going out really hadn't been her thing.

  Oh, she'd dated before, but it had been the usual dinner-and-a-movie, or out to the pub. Nothing that thrilled her.

  Or maybe it was the company she was with.

  And there was another thought. She'd had sex a total of two times in her life. The first was awkward and unpleasant. The second time was somewhat better, but hardly thrilling. It was more a 'he wanted to do it' kind of thing, and she just went along. Hardly conductive to making her want to do it more.

  But what if it was all about who she was with?

  Maybe that was the secret to dating. It didn't matter where you went, only who you were with. Everett tangled her senses like the other two definitely had not.

  "Jazz club," Soli suggested, breaking the awkwardness.

  Both turned to her. "Is there a jazz club in Perth?" Ros asked.

  "There's like, five."

  Five? "Why did I not know this?"

  Everett shrugged. "I've never been to a jazz club."

  Soli slapped the bench. "Guess you're going to a jazz club."

  And just like that, Ros found herself agreeing to a date.

  How did that happen?

  After Everett left, Ros let out a whimper.

  Soli sucked on a candy heart. "What's up with you?"

  Ros held out her empty glass. "Got anything stronger?"

  She did. Soli topped up her glass with the remains of the fruit stuff from the jug before topping up the rest with a splash of coconut rum. Ros took a sip and waved her glass at Soli to make it stronger.

  After she'd obliged, Soli grilled her. "You like him, don't you? I mean, 'like him'." She grabbed at her crotch through her maxidress.

  Ros's cheeks flushed from the crudity. "Not like that!" Yet the back of her hand, where he'd laid his cool palm, still tingled from the contact.