Be Mine: Valentine Novellas to Warm The Heart

by Nicole Flockton

  “Just a few more minutes,” Trina pleaded from under the covers. She hadn’t been sleeping well and that was all Tony’s fucking fault. Yeah, Tony and the fucking they did, although the word really was too crude for what had actually happened between them. Trina like to use it anyway, to give herself distance from it and to remind her that it was a one-night-only deal. Closure. Not an open door to go back for more.

  Oh, but by God did she want to go back for more. Hence, the not sleeping because every single time she closed her eyes, there he was, larger than life in her dreams and making her feel things she shouldn’t feel.

  “The dressmaker is already at the house for the final fitting. And then I need you to go and check with Avery about the flowers.”

  Trina groaned as Julia tugged the sheets from her grasp. Thankfully, Trina wasn’t the ‘sleep naked’ kind of person, at least not when she was sleeping alone. Not that Julia would care, although if she did happen to catch a glimpse of Trina’s naked body she would probably have some diet and exercise tips for her.

  But Trina was over all that. Yeah, her mom and both her sisters were slim and gorgeous and Trina took after her stockier father, but she had learned to love her curves and if the other night was any indication, Tony still loved them too.

  Ugh! She needed to stop thinking about him.

  “Come on, the coffee’s ready and breakfast is on the table. Everyone is waiting for you.”

  With a huff, Trina swung out of bed and grabbed a cotton shirt to pull on over the tank top and shorts she’d slept in. If they were trying on their dresses, she didn’t need to get dressed.

  They walked toward the house, the hot February sun beating down on their heads as Trina tried to shake off her bad mood. Yeah, she’d been insanely jealous of Zoë and the surprise engagement that had sparked the downfall of her own relationship with Tony, but she loved her sister and she wanted her to be happy. Blake was great and he made Zoë happy, and Trina had worked really hard over the last few months to be more grateful and less envious of those around her. She just hadn’t realised she was still a work in progress.

  But all that fell away when she walked into the house and saw Zoë in her wedding dress for the first time. Because she’d been in Europe, Trina had missed all the previous fittings and had missed seeing The Dress.

  Tears filled her eyes and she sniffed. “You look beautiful,” Trina whispered.

  Zoë turned to look at her, the smile on her face lighting up the room. Where Trina had gotten their mother’s blonde hair and their father’s build, Zoë had been blessed with Julia’s slight frame and Samual’s dark hair and skin. The cream dress shone against Zoë’s olive shoulders, the thin spaghetti straps crossing over behind and leaving a long expanse of Zoë’s slim, back bare. The front dipped into a v-neck and the skirt fell from the waist in a narrow bell shape to the floor. It was unadorned satin and the crisp, clean lines were perfect on Zoë.

  “Do you think Blake will like it?” she asked.

  Trina crossed the room and pulled her sister into a hug, careful not to crush the gown. “Blake is going to absolutely adore it,” Trina whispered in Zoë’s ear.

  Trina let her go and stood back. They both waved hands in front of their faces to dry the tears, then laughed.

  “You remember my friend Willa?”

  Trina nodded. “Hey, Willa. Good to see you again.”

  “You too,” Willa replied. She was Zoë’s best friend and lived in Melbourne with her billionaire boyfriend—or was it fiancé now?

  “Hey sis,” Cassie said, waving from her spot on the couch, her feet elevated and her hands rubbing her baby bump.

  Trina went over and pecked her on the cheek. “Do you need anything?”

  “Just to have this baby already,” she grumped.

  “He’ll come when he’s ready,” Julia said.

  Trina’s eyebrows popped up. “You’re having a boy?”

  Cassie rolled her eyes. “We don’t know. We wanted it to be a surprise. Mum is just hoping it’s a boy.”

  “Okay, Trina, it’s your turn,” Zoë said. “I want to see you in your dress.”

  Trina took a breath and nodded, following the dressmaker into a bedroom that had been co-opted as a fitting room. She pulled on the dress, holding her breath that it fit. She’d had to send her measurements via email to the dressmaker and this would be the first time she could actually try the dress on. It was a similar style to Zoë’s dress, although the v-neck wasn’t as deep in front and the dress was pink. A pale, dusty rose pink that actually looked nice against Trina’s lighter colouring.

  “Looks good,” the dressmaker mumbled past the pins in her mouth as she adjusted the waist and tucked a few pins in here and there. “Come on out to the main room and I’ll do the hem.”

  Trina followed her back out to where the others waited and held her breath again. As much as she told herself she didn’t care what her mother thought of her body, she was still bracing for the backhanded compliment or passive-aggressive swipe at her size.

  Julia clutched her pearls—metaphorically of course, Julia didn’t wear pearls—and smiled. “You look beautiful,” she said. The others gathered in the room nodded in agreement.

  Trina let her breath go and grinned. “I make this look good,” she said with a wink.

  After the fitting, Julia sent Trina off on a list of errands. To be honest, Trina was kind of glad to get a break from the love-fest happening in the house. Between Zoë and Blake, Willa and her fiancé, Jonathon, and Cassie and Luke, Trina was drowning in coupledom. She needed a break and to maybe shake off the feeling that she was missing out on something.

  The whole point of taking off to Europe was to prove to herself that she could be a strong and independent woman who could be perfectly happy without the marriage and the white picket fence. Coming back to Hope Springs brought back all those old wants and Trina needed a break from it all to get her head back on straight.

  She pushed through the door into Avery’s florist shop and smiled at her friend.

  “Did Julia send you?” Avery asked as soon as she saw Trina.

  “Yep,” Trina responded, popping the P as she slid onto a stool beside Avery’s work bench.

  “Seriously, your mother is driving me mental.”

  “It happens top the best of us,” Trina replied.

  A thumping bass came through the walls from the shop next door and Avery growled. Trina quirked her eyebrows at her friend. “Problem?”

  “Have you met the new baker?” Avery growled.

  “New baker? What happened to Mrs. James?”

  “She’s retiring,” Avery said as she jammed some flowers together and then growled at them like they’d offended her. “Her grandson is taking over.”

  “O-kay…and that’s bad because?”

  “He’s just…he’s so…” Avery gave up on the flowers, tossing them to the bench. It was a testament to how much the new baker must be getting to her. Avery was usually so precise and detailed with her bouquets.

  “You like him,” Trina sing-songed.

  Avery rolled her eyes. “Please, like I need an arrogant arsehole like him in my life. It’s bad enough that we share a wall between our shops.”

  “Sure,” Trina said with a shit-eating grin. “Is he hot?”

  “If you like the bearded, broody, man-bun-wearing hipster kind of guy.”

  “So, basically he’s your catnip.”

  “And he’s a jerk,” Avery replied. “Now tell me where you disappeared to after the B&S ball. I didn’t see you leave and I haven’t seen you since.”

  Trina groaned. She did not want to talk about Tony, except really, she did. She just didn’t want Avery to tell her she was an idiot for leaving with him and getting down and dirty with him in Daniel’s parents’ shearing shed.

  “At least tell me you got some,” Avery said, picking up the flowers again and trying to make something of the messy bouquet.

  “Yeah,” Trina breathed. “I got some.
”

  “It was good, wasn’t it? I can tell, just by looking at your face. He rocked your world.”

  “And then some,” Trina admitted. “But…”

  “But?”

  “But we can’t go there. I’ve got to move forward, not look back.”

  Avery tossed the flowers again and looked Trina in the eye. “Why can’t you move forward together?” she asked. “It’s obvious you still have a thing for him and the sex was good and he’s a great guy. It’s not like he cheated on you or was an arsehole or any of those things.”

  “I know,” Trina said, dropping her head.

  “But?”

  “But what if we try it again and it doesn’t work out? It would kill me, I think. It hurt so much last time and I just don’t think I can go through that again.”

  “And how much worse will it feel if you go through the rest of your life without him?” Avery asked. “What if you can make it work and you walked away because you were too scared to try?”

  When Trina didn’t reply, Avery sighed. “Do you still love him?”

  “Yeah, I do,” Trina replied. “But love isn’t always enough.”

  “Bullshit,” Avery replied. “If you and Tony—who obvious love each other—can’t make it, then what hope do the rest of us have?”

  “I want to believe you, but I just don’t know. I had everything I wanted once and I ruined it. What’s to say I won’t fuck it all up again?”

  “Because you know what you did wrong last time and you know how to avoid it. I’m not saying you won’t ever have problems, but you know what it’s like to be without him. Don’t you think that would make it more likely you’ll work harder to make it work?”

  Trina blew out a breath. “Yeah, maybe.”

  “You should talk to him.”

  “I don’t even know where he lives,” Trina said with a shake of her head. “I thought he was still renting the place we had together, but when I drove past there today, I saw someone else lives there now.”

  Avery was suspiciously quiet and Trina turned to look at her. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “Tony bought a house.”

  “He did?”

  Of course, he fucking did. They’d broken up over him refusing to buy a house and then as soon as she was out of his life, he fucking bought a house. She took a breath and exhaled all the anger. It was his money and he could do whatever he wanted with it.

  “Which house?” she asked.

  9

  Die from a Broken Heart - Maddie & Tae

  Trina pulled the car up to the curb in front of the house and stared, still not quite believing Tony had bought the house. The very same house she’d fallen in love with and then, in a drunken fit of pique, had used his secret money stash to put a deposit on. When she’d come to her senses the next day, she’d taken back the offer and tore up the cheque, but the damage was done. Trust was broken and it was the beginning of the end for her and Tony as a couple.

  He’d bought that same house.

  Trina honestly didn’t know what to think about that. She didn’t know why he’d bought the house, he’d been under no obligation to do so, and he knew she’d fallen in love with it. She’d told him all about it and about all the changes she wanted to make to it and even shared a Pinterest board with him of all her ideas in the hopes she could persuade him to say yes to buying it. He still said no.

  But that was before she found his secret account and all the thousands of dollars he’d been accumulating over the years. Seeing that money and remembering the promises he’d made to her, promises like, ‘when we have enough money, we’ll get married,’ and, ‘as soon as we have enough money for a deposit, we’ll buy a house,’ had sent her into a bottle of tequila that resulted in grand theft…residence? No, that didn’t work because she didn’t steal the house, she just stole his money, so maybe, the great bank heist?

  Either way it was wrong and when Tony found out, it was the end of them, although, Trina had already walked out by then. Knowing he kept that secret from her for their entire relationship was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

  Now the house that had been the catalyst for the worst moment in her life was his and by the looks of it, he’d been renovating it. She’d come here to talk to him, but now she didn’t know if she could cross the threshold into that house and be reminded of her greatest shame and biggest regret.

  The front door of the house opened and Sutton took a step out onto the porch. Of course, Sutton lived there. Tony needed someone to look after the place when he was working away and Sutton was the perfect choice.

  “Are you coming in?” she called. “Or are you going to sit there in your car like a creeper all day?”

  Trina sighed and got out of the car, her feet dragging as she walked up the driveway to the porch. She stopped at the steps and looked up at Sutton. “You’re going to let me in?”

  She shrugged. “I figured we should probably talk.”

  Trina nodded and walked up the steps, across the porch, and into the house. She took a deep breath as she looked around. She remembered what it looked like the first time she saw it. Cassie and Luke had been looking for a new house and Trina tagged along to look after Kaila. It hadn’t been much to look at. An old house, built in the seventies and sporting the original horrific colour scheme. But Trina immediately saw the potential in it and dreamed of making it the home it yearned to be.

  Tony had done just that. The small pokey hallway was opened up and the inside was now a large open plan space with bi-fold doors leading out to the back deck.

  “This is amazing,” Trina said as she explored the space.

  “He used your ideas.”

  Trina turned to stare at Sutton. “He what?”

  “Your Pinterest board. He used that. Made a few different decisions and some small changes, but pretty much he created the house you dreamed of.”

  He had. Trina saw it now as she looked around. The furniture wasn’t what she would have picked, and he still had that old couch, but the layout of the house and the new kitchen cupboards and splash backs were all taken from her Pinterest board.

  “Why?”

  “You seriously have to ask that?” Sutton asked.

  Trina spun around to look at her. “Yeah, I do. Why did he buy the house and why did he do this to it? I don’t understand.”

  “Then you’re a moron,” Sutton said with a roll of her eyes. “He still loves you and I think in his heart he was always hoping you’d come back.”

  Trina sank down on the nearest chair. “Why are you telling me this? You hate me and there is no way you want me and Tony to get back together.”

  Sutton sighed and sat down opposite Trina. “I don’t hate you. Oh, I thought I did,” she said when Trina opened her mouth to protest. “You hurt me and you hurt Tony and I was angry, but I don’t hate you.” She blew out a breath. “I think I may have overreacted.”

  Trina stared at her ex-best friend in disbelief. “I don’t even know what to say right now.”

  Sutton jumped to her feet and threw her hands in the air. “I was hurt, okay, and maybe I jumped to conclusions or maybe I was jealous because you and Tony were so close and I lost both my best friend and my brother at the same time. I know that was stupid, but I couldn’t help how it felt. And then when you broke up, I had to choose a side, and I was mad because you put me in that situation.”

  “Neither of us expected you to choose a side, Sutton,” Trina said.

  “Yeah, well, I felt like I had to. I know I said some awful things and I’m sorry and I’m hoping you will forgive me.”

  “I needed you, Sutton,” Trina said. “And you weren’t there. When I thought I was pregnant and you blew me off and accused me of trying to trap Tony, that hurt.”

  Sutton sank back down on her chair and dropped her head. “I know. That was selfish of me. But all I could think was it was another thing the two of you would have and I’d be left out again. I’m sorry. I really am, and I know
you’d never try to trap Tony into anything.”

  Trina groaned. “Until I stole his money and tried to trap him into buying a house.”

  “We both know that would never have happened if tequila hadn’t been involved. Besides, he should never have kept that money a secret from you.” Sutton took a breath. “You know why he did it, don’t you? You know why he was saving the money?”

  “Yeah,” Trina said. “He told me, or rather yelled it at me when we were fighting about it.”

  When Tony and Sutton’s parents died in a car accident, they left nothing for their kids. There was no life insurance or inheritance and Sutton and Tony grew up with no money. Their grandparents did what they could, but they were both retired and didn’t have a huge income to start with, without adding two young kids to their household bills. Tony wanted to provide a safety net for his grandparents and for Sutton, and ultimately for Trina as well, and he kept it a secret because he didn’t think Trina would be okay with it. And if Trina was honest with herself, she probably wouldn’t have been. In hindsight, she could see how much she tried to get approval and self-worth from things. If she’d known Tony had that money all along, she would have pushed to get married and buy a house and a new car and all the mod-cons and whatever else she could talk him into buying. In hindsight, she understood why he’d kept it from her.

  “Which begs the question, why did he buy the house?”

  “Because he realised having all the money in the world couldn’t bring back his parents.”

  Trina spun her head to see Tony standing just inside the door. Neither she nor Sutton had heard his truck pull up.

  “And he’s talking in the third person now?” Sutton asked as she got to her feet. She crossed to Tony and pressed a kiss to his cheek, whispering something in his ear Trina couldn’t hear. “I’ll leave you two alone to talk,” she said, disappearing from the room.

  Tony couldn’t believe his eyes when he’d seen Trina’s car parked out the front of his house. He was even more surprised to go inside and find her talking to Sutton. Talking being the operative word. Talking, not yelling.