A Valentine for Two

by Lia Davis

  “We just landed. How’s Alaina?”

  “The nurse spoke with me. They think she had an allergic reaction, but they wouldn’t tell me more because of the whole privacy thing. I’m at the hospital. Come to the ER and you can see her, though they’re limiting her visitors since they want her to rest. She’ll stay here overnight.”

  “Okay,” he answered, his voice unsteady, and Haley’s heart hurt for him. She couldn’t imagine how he must be feeling. “I’ll be there soon.”

  About twenty minutes later, Rob hurried into the emergency area, his hair sticking up in places and face pale white. Haley had already spoken with the nurse and warned them he’d be coming. Once he’d checked in with the receptionist, he turned to her and crushed her into a hug, his shoulders heaving.

  “It’s all right,” Haley murmured, rubbing his back and trying to take a full breath around the iron bands of Rob’s arms. “She’s going to recover.”

  “I know. I didn’t let myself really think about it until now.” He backed away and swiped at a tear. “I’m sorry.”

  She grabbed his hand. “There’s nothing to apologize for. You love her. I get that.”

  “I don’t know what I’d do without her.”

  “Well, since she’ll be okay, you don’t need to worry about that.”

  He pivoted when the nurse approached. “You must be Rob.”

  “Yeah. Can I see Alaina?”

  “For a few minutes. I’m sure it will do her good to know you’re here. Come with me.”

  Rob regarded Haley. “Thank you for being here, for doing all of this. You look tired. Why don’t you go home, and I’ll let you know if anything changes? I can’t even begin to express how much I appreciate you taking control of the situation and helping her.”

  “I just did what any decent human being would.”

  Rob snorted. “I doubt that. Thank you.” He squeezed her hand and then let go. “Beat it.”

  “Yes, sir,” she replied, smiling for the first time in hours.

  The nurse led him into the ward, and Haley picked up her coat, yawning. Yeah, I could use about a twelve-hour nap.

  Chapter Five

  Haley woke to her doorbell the next morning.

  “For the love of...” She pulled a pair of sweats on and shuffled to the door, pushing her hair behind her ears. Standing outside her door, a floral delivery person held a huge bouquet of white roses.

  “Oh, wow.” Haley signed for them and then carefully brought the vase into the kitchen. After setting it down, she reached for the card.

  Alaina and I are forever in your debt.

  Love, Rob and Alaina

  She began to tear up and fanned her hand over her face. Damn propensity to cry at everything.

  Dropping the card on the counter, Haley went back to the bedroom. Her phone’s notification light flashed, and she picked it up to find a message from Ian.

  You made some lifelong friends. See you soon. Valentine’s Day is on Friday, remember. We’ll let you know when and where dinner will be served. Call you later.

  Haley grinned. She had some paperwork to do and then planned to veg for the rest of the day. Hopefully, the guys would be down with a quiet night at home when they dropped by. Then three more days until Valentine’s Day. Her excitement was tempered by fears that the guys would want or expect something she wasn’t ready to give to any man.

  Being trampled by a guy tended to make a woman not real anxious to have the experience possibly repeated. Everyone’s heart had been broken at some point; Haley understood that. But she had her doubts about the viability of this type of ménage relationship. After all, they weren’t exactly commonplace to do for the long-term.

  Later, Ian and Derek stopped by. Both hugged her tightly.

  “We are so proud to know you,” Ian told her. “Everyone’s talking about what you did.”

  “I don’t get what the big deal is,” she admitted, feeling heat suffuse her face. “I really think anyone would have done the same.”

  “You have a sunnier view of the human race than most,” Derek remarked. “It’s one of the things we—” he coughed, “that attracted us to you.”

  Haley raised an eyebrow. What had the man been about to spill?

  “We know you want to chill, so we’re not staying,” Ian said. “But we had to see you to say how amazing you are.”

  “You’re going to inflate my ego,” she teased.

  “Nothing wrong with that.”

  Derek edged into the room a little more and pointed at the TV. “What on earth are you watching?”

  “I told you I had an obsession with documentaries. This is about all the art the Nazis stole and what happened to it. Fascinating stuff.”

  “We saw that movie about it,” he replied. “What was the name of it?”

  “The Monument’s Men.”

  “Yes. Good movie. I’m glad they got a lot of stuff back.”

  “But so many they’re still looking for. It’s happy and sad all at the same time.”

  Ian chuckled. “Have fun. We’re going to buy a new suit for Derek since he ripped a seam in his favorite one.”

  “Hey, I can’t help it my guns are so huge.”

  “Whatever, dude.”

  “Don’t you guys have more than one suit? You must,” she said. “You wear them several days a week.”

  “Oh, we do, but this was his favorite,” Ian answered, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

  Haley giggled. “And why are you going, Ian? Serving as the fashion police?”

  “Someone needs to make sure he doesn’t end up with something butt-ugly.” Ian shrugged, but grinned.

  “I think I’ll refrain from further comment.”

  Derek pulled her into another hug then took her lips in a hard kiss. “I want to do so many dirty things to you.”

  “Soon.” She turned to Ian and repeated, “Soon.”

  “It better be.” After another hard kiss, the men left, and Haley plopped onto the couch.

  “Those guys will be the death of me.”

  ***

  On Valentine’s Day, the guys arranged to have dinner brought to Ian’s apartment. Haley arrived just after the delivery people, and she sniffed in appreciation when she stepped into the kitchen area. “Everything smells amazing.”

  “Let me take your coat,” Ian said. He leaned over and kissed her, a mere brush over her lips. “I hope you’re hungry. Derek ordered enough for a small army.”

  “Or a hockey team,” Derek joked.

  Ian eyed the mounds of containers. “I’m not sure even an entire roster could make this volume of food disappear.”

  Derek shrugged. “I wanted to make sure there were plenty of things our baby liked.”

  “Well, ‘your baby’ is starving, so good job.”

  “We opened a bottle of wine and put it on the table,” Ian said. “Why don’t you make your gorgeous self comfortable while Derek and I get things set up in here? We thought a buffet might be easiest.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll pour some wine for everybody.” Haley wandered over to the table, already set, including a tablecloth and napkins in rings. She called back to the guys, “Should I light the candles, too? I assume you don’t keep those around for decoration. Or if you do, I’ve never noticed them.”

  Ian stuck his head out from the kitchen. “Yeah, um, those were supposed to be lit already. Go ahead.” A few minutes later, he called her back to check out the offerings. “All right, big guy, your turn. What do we have on the menu tonight?” He poked Derek with his elbow, and the other man glared at him.

  “You know Miller speared me last game, right? Ow. Anyway, here’s the lineup: lobster bisque—one of my personal favorites—a selection of various cheeses with fancy crackers and prosciutto, filet mignon medallions done medium rare as we all like, wild Alaskan salmon if you don’t want beef, broiled apples with sage and gruyere cheese because it sounded good, spinach salad with bacon so we could say we ate healthy, roasted potato wedge
s because they’re delicious carbs, New York-style cheesecake, and chocolate-covered strawberries for sweets but only if you finish your dinner.” He mock-wagged his finger at Ian, who laughed and grabbed it.

  “Get off me, man.” Ian handed Haley an empty plate. “Ladies first.” He glanced at Derek. “And don’t even think of making a joke about that. Just because I like to watch shows about landscaping and gardening doesn’t make a girl. Besides, tons of men garden. At least I’m secure in my masculinity.”

  Derek laughed. “If you have to announce that, I’m not sure we should believe you.”

  Haley shook her head, smiling as she filled her plate. Ian indicated other dishes for the salad, soup, and anything else she chose, and it took her and Ian both carrying items to the table to get it all over there.

  Ian and Derek got their plates together and then sat, making idle chatter as all three filled up on the fabulous food. Haley didn’t even want to think about how much a meal like this cost. Yes, both guys made millions, but Haley still felt a little guilty about gorging herself when so many didn’t have enough to eat. Ian and Derek were generous with their money, giving tons away to the various charities they supported, which made her feel a little better as she put forkful after forkful into her mouth.

  “Oh my God, I could not eat another bite. You’re going to have to roll me home.”

  “Or you could just stay here.” Ian grinned.

  Haley chuckled. “I don’t think I’m going to be up for any sexual gymnastics for a while. I need to digest.”

  “That’s okay. We’re pretty full, too. How about a movie? We added Love Actually to my Netflix queue since it’s your favorite.”

  “You spoil me.”

  Derek replied, “And we love doing it. I’ll clean up a little while you get situated.”

  Ian and Haley settled on the huge sectional that took up so much room it wouldn’t have fit in Haley’s living room, and soon, Derek joined them. They turned on the movie, and Haley snuggled between both men.

  After the movie ended, Ian reached back to the table behind the sofa and then handed her a small square box. “Open it.”

  She looked from man to man, frowned, and then did. Inside was a beautiful sapphire ring, her birthstone. “It’s...”

  “Not an engagement ring if that’s what you’re worried about,” Ian told her. “We wanted to get you something pretty, and you mentioned you liked sapphires.”

  Her head flew up so fast her neck cracked. “But why?”

  Derek cleared his throat. “Because we love you.”

  “Whoa.” It was the first time either of them had uttered those words. Her breath quickened, and her belly tightened. Things were moving so quickly. What did this mean? She needed to make the guys understand her viewpoint.

  “You must’ve known,” Derek insisted. “Or at least, I hope our actions were speaking for us.”

  “They...they were. It’s just—”

  “Just?” Derek’s jaw tightened.

  “I need to explain something to you guys.”

  Derek’s eyes narrowed. “What’s up? You look upset. Did we do something? Is it because of the ring?”

  “No, this is something to do with me.” Haley took a deep breath. “Okay, here goes.” Her next words rushed out of her mouth. “I’m having a great time with you guys. It’s exciting.” Heat suffused her face, but she pressed on. “But that’s all it is and all it can be. Fun.”

  Ian’s eyebrows shot up. “Why?”

  “I, um, I was almost married a year and a half ago.”

  “Almost?” Ian’s expression hadn’t changed.

  “Yes. Listen to the story. Let me get it out.”

  The two men nodded silently.

  “So I was supposed to marry a man named Dean. About three months before the wedding, a woman started working for Dean and a couple of other guys as their administrative assistant. We were less than a week from the wedding when his company took him out for a happy hour—a bachelor party of sorts.” She chewed her lip, unsure of how to express the rest of the ridiculous tale.

  Derek reached over, rubbing her shoulder. “Baby, you don’t have to—”

  “I do.” She looked away, staring at a faint mark on the wall across the room. This entire situation still made her feel like a naïve idiot. “This woman went to the happy hour. I guess a lot of women did. But none of them married my fiancé.” Her gaze darted back to the guys before returning to the wall. “Yep. Three days before our wedding, while they were at one of the casinos up in Niagara Falls, my fiancé married a woman fourteen years younger whom he’d known three months, jilting me, a woman he’d been with for nearly six years.”

  “That guy’s an ass. He didn’t deserve you,” Ian said, his tone fierce.

  Haley smiled, but not due to happiness. Irony, probably. These guys were so protective of her. But still, she couldn’t trust them fully, especially since as professional athletes, they no doubt had groupies around all the time. But her ex-fiancé was the main person to blame for her reticence. Thanks, Dean.

  “No, he didn’t. Of course, that wasn’t how I felt at the time, or I wouldn’t have been marrying him. Anyway, the way I found out Dean had married another woman was through him changing his relationship status on Facebook. At first, I thought he’d just gotten excited and done it early since our wedding was only a few days away. But then I noticed something. The ‘married to’ name wasn’t mine. It was hers. Surely that was a joke, right? One of the guys had grabbed his phone and done that. Nope. I texted Dean and told him to keep an eye on his phone, since the relationship change wasn’t funny.”

  “What did he say?” Derek asked.

  “He texted me back about an hour later and told me it wasn’t a joke. Dean confirmed he’d married another woman three days before our wedding through a text message. Not even a phone call. Certainly not explaining things to me in person. And hey, since they were already in Niagara Falls—the honeymoon capital of the world—and he was on vacation for the next two weeks, he and his new bride had decided to stay. He left the responsibility to cancel everything and inform the guests completely to me. So I got jilted and then had to face everything and everyone alone. Talk about adding insult to injury.” Haley blew out a hard breath. Even nearly eighteen months later, the pain still took her by surprise in its ferocity.

  “Can we beat the hell out of him for you? Maybe rearrange a few features?” Ian offered.

  “No, I’m pretty sure the punch I threw at him did that job. I broke his nose.” Now Haley smiled genuinely. “He didn’t see that one coming. I’m sure he thought I’d never react like that.”

  Derek laughed. “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

  “This is true,” she answered. “So anyway, I know it’s been a while since then, but I just don’t trust men anymore. I’m trying, but you’ve just thrown me for a loop.”

  Ian glanced at Derek and then said, “What do you mean?”

  An involuntary shudder stole up her spine. “We’ve only known each other a few months.”

  “It’s crazy, we know, and we can understand your hesitation,” Derek said. “But we know what we want, and that’s you. We were hoping you’d be on board with this, but given your reaction...”

  The words hung in the air. Haley warred with herself. What could she say to these men? Everything sounded like an empty platitude.

  “I’m flattered. Beyond. But I was with Dean for six years. I trusted him, and he betrayed and humiliated me. I don’t know about doing something like this with two guys I’ve only known a short time. I know it sounds like I’m waffling, and I am. But you have to admit, professional athletes aren’t the most reliable, either. We’ve all seen the news stories.”

  Derek tilted his head. “Do you actually think we’d cheat? I know what some other guys have done in our sport and in others. But we’re not like that. And we’d never deceive you like Dean did. I’d like to hang him by his toenails for doing that to you.”

 
“I don’t know what to think.”

  Ian sat back, frowning. “Then where do we go from here?”

  “I’m not sure,” Haley answered, rubbing the back of her neck. A headache had begun to form as they’d spoken.

  “I have an idea,” Derek said. “Hear me out, okay?” After Haley had indicated for him to go on, he continued. “How about we call this a promise ring, just between the three of us? Then we’ll know you’re committed to us, and we’re committed to you. When you’re ready, we’ll figure out the next step to take.”

  “You’d do that? You’d wait for me?” Her breath began to quicken. Too good to be true. It has to be. She wanted them, she wanted this relationship, but her fears wouldn’t let her give up her heart yet. The realization of just how much she needed this nearly stopped her heart. Haley gestured wildly, unable to control the emotions swimming inside her head. “What if I’m not ready for a while? What if I never want things to go farther than they are? How long are you willing to wait?”

  “From my point of view, indefinitely. Ian?”

  Ian cleared his throat and reached across to stroke Haley’s cheek. “Me, too. You’re it for us. We’re done. So if we need to wait for you to be as sure as we are, we will.”

  “You’re both amazing men.” Haley pushed a few stray hairs behind her ears to stall for time. Could this really happen? Was it possible for someone to get everything they wanted? “I can’t guarantee when I’ll be ready, but I’m trying. You guys are helping me trust men again, so I’m hoping total trust will come soon.”

  Holding a chocolate-covered strawberry up to Haley’s mouth, Ian said, “That’s all we want, baby. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

  ~THE END~

  About the Author

  Cassandra Carr is a romance and action adventure writer whose work has been praised by many prominent publishing industry media outlets such as Publisher’s Weekly and Romantic Times. Her books have won several “Best Of” awards. Her novella Power Shift was nominated in the E-book Erotic Romance category of RT’s 2013 Reviewers’ Choice Awards. When not writing she enjoys watching hockey and hanging out online.