“Okay. What else? Let’s see. Mom’s an artist. She teaches at the community center. Dad’s a retired cop.”
“So artist plus cop makes a computer geek?” I sat and braced my arms on my thighs. Her flowery perfume made me wish we were back in my bed.
“Apparently.” She let out a sigh, her gaze on my mouth.
I reached for her hand. “Did you love him?” What the fuck? Where did that come from? I couldn’t possibly be jealous of the asshole who left her six years ago, though I did want to understand what’d happened there. So not jealous, just curious.
“What? Who?”
Out with it, Cole. Might as well.
“You said it’d been a while since the last time you had sex. Am I wrong in a assuming that it’s been about six years?”
She pulled away and gripped her mug, her eyes focused on the coffee. I was such an asshole. But what was so special about Max’s dad that she’d take this vow of chastity just because he disappeared? I really wanted to know.
“You’re not wrong.”
“Were you waiting for him to come back?” I swallowed, my pulse racing. Why was I afraid of her answer?
“No.” The conviction behind her no sent a flutter across my belly, though the anger and fear in her voice were hard to miss. As if Max’s deadbeat dad returning was her worst nightmare.
“He didn’t just leave, like you said.”
She shook her head.
“That bad?”
She nodded and looked down at her hands. I slowly rose to my feet. She trusted me enough to share her past, but I was afraid if I moved too fast, she’d run away again. I tipped her chin upward with my index finger, expecting to see tears. But she wasn’t crying. She was out of tears for the jerk. Good. Whatever that guy did, Valentina didn’t deserve to carry this with her.
A slow burn swirled in my stomach, and my fist itched to punch the asshole’s face. Maybe it was a good thing I didn’t know who he was or where he lived. Did he skip town? Leave her alone for good? Or was he still around? Tucson wasn’t that big of a place. If he wanted to keep tabs on Valentina, it wouldn’t be that hard. Was that the real reason for her chastity vow?
“Did he—”
“I’m ready,” Max announced from the living room. He adjusted a backpack on his shoulder, his hair wet and combed to the side. He looked so much like her. Cute kid.
Valentina pushed me away. She jumped to her feet so fast I didn’t have time to react. I had every intention of getting to the bottom of this. But for now, having her trust was enough.
One step at a time, sweetheart.
“You like hiking?” I asked Max.
“I love it.” He headed for the door.
“Nope. Breakfast first.” She pointed to a chair.
“Fine.” Max dropped his bag and sat. The second Valentina put a plate in front of him, he started eating, only half chewing each bite. In two minutes flat, he’d scarfed down his meal, chugged the glass of milk Valentina set down, and bounced off his chair.
“Slow down,” Valentina said. But it was too late. Max was finished.
“I guess we’re leaving now.” I stood and offered my hand to Valentina. She took it, biting her lip. A Sunday morning hike with her and Max felt right, familiar. I kissed the top of her head, trying to contain this thing simmering in my chest.
The walk to the overlook took us a whole hour instead of the usual twenty minutes. Max kept going off-road to touch the plants, climb a rock, or follow a creature to its hiding place. The kid knew the craziest facts about the desert and all kinds of animals. When I challenged one of his factoids, he pulled a book out of his backpack and flipped to a page where, in fact, a golden eagle was scavenging a deer.
“Oh my God.” Valentina looked away.
“It’s just a picture, Mom. She doesn’t like blood,” he whispered to me, and closed his book on scavengers of the world.
“This has been a very instructional walk.” I winked at Valentina as I went after Max, who’d moved on to climb on a huge rock surrounded by tall saguaros and jumping chollas.
“Hey, look at that,” he called out when he reached the top. He quickly dug through his bag and pulled out a pair of binoculars. “Mom. Cover your eyes.”
“What?” Valentina’s laugh was contagious. “What is it?”
“Yep. It’s a vulture. And that’s flesh.” He riffled through his bag again and took out a book on vultures this time.
“Let me see that.” I climbed up next to him.
“Right there.” He pointed straight ahead.
“I’ll be damn. That’s pretty disgusting.” I turned to Valentina.
“Gross.” She covered her mouth, looking around her as if she expected the carcass to land at her feet.
“I guess it’s true what they say. The world is a completely different place when seen through the eyes of a child.” I jumped off the rock.
“I prefer my view with less scavenging.” She winced. “I don’t know why Dad keeps buying him those nasty books.”
I chuckled. “That was pretty cool, though. Never seen that before.” I looked back at Max, who was still scouring the skies with his binoculars.
“What the what?” he squealed. “Mom, can we go there? Mom. It’s a playhouse.” He slid down and took off running, his backpack bouncing all over the place.
“A what?” Valentina asked.
“I have no idea.” I checked my watch. I honestly had no idea. It was still too early for my surprise to be here. “But I’m sure Em had something to do with it.”
When we reached the overlook, Max was bouncing in a pirate-ship inflatable. So this was why Em had looked amused after I told her I was seeing Valentina again. She knew a whole day with Valentina meant I’d also be spending time with Max.
Across the way, canopy shades covered the pergola by the paloverde. Inside, Em had a table laden with fruit bowls and pastry trays. She’d skipped the champagne I asked for.
“This is great. Thank you.” Valentina planted a quick kiss on my cheek. She went in the tent and came back with two glasses of water.
“Thanks.” I drank from the glass she placed in my hand.
We watched Max jump around the pirate ship, comfortable with the silence between us. When I turned to her, she regarded me. Then her face changed. The laugh lines were gone.
“Why are you doing this?” She drew a line on the dirt with her shoe, avoiding my gaze. “I’m sure there are other girls way less complicated than me.”
“First of all, I didn’t do this. As much as I’d like to take credit for it, this was all Em.” I leaned closer. “Honestly, my entire plan consisted of getting you out here to convince you that your new no-sex rule is bullshit.”
She shook her head once and shuffled a few inches away from me. Okay, so she wasn’t ready to talk about that. Always running away.
“And second of all, you’re not complicated.”
“You are so stubborn.” She crossed her arms. Her eyes sparkled under the sunlight. The glow in her skin was beyond distraction.
“Do you think you’ll ever have more kids?” I asked.
“I think so.” She nodded. “I feel like I missed out by not having siblings. I don’t want Max to be an only child.”
“Siblings? More than one, huh?” I raised both eyebrows.
“Yeah. How about you? Do you see yourself with kids?”
“Definitely.” I rubbed the nape of my neck. The answer came out of me before I had time to consider it. “I don’t know. Up until now, I hadn’t given it much thought. But I think, yeah, I do want kids.” I racked my brain for the reason that’d brought me to this conclusion, but I couldn’t think of one.
She smiled at the ground, her cheeks flushed. I wanted to hold her, kiss her again.
“What are you doing tomorrow?”
“Working.” She raised an eyebrow. She could tell I was up to no good.
“What time?”
She laughed. “Eight thirty. Why?”
“Would you slam the door in my face if I bring you a latte in the morning?”
“Cole.” Her tone of voice reminded me her no-sex rule was still in effect.
“It’s just coffee.” I put my hands up to show her my intentions were honest. They weren’t exactly.
She squinted at me as she surveyed my face. I gave her my best innocent look, but she wasn’t buying it. Her dimple appeared for a split second. What was she not saying?
“Come on. What are you afraid of? You think a sip of latte will make you want to tear off your clothes?” I winked.
She laughed and turned away from me. “You wish.”
“You have no idea, sweetheart.” My pulse raced.
Max rushed toward us. “Mom. Look. At. That. It’s a big screen.”
Em had impeccable timing. My big surprise was here. We still had a couple of hours before sundown, but the screen setup would require a bit of time.
“We’re watching a movie out here. It’s really pretty at night,” I said.
“Let’s go see what movies they have.” Max took off again.
“This is too much. I can’t believe you had time to get all this together.” She watched as two of my security guards set up the projector across from us.
With a chuckle, I stuffed both hands in the pockets of my jeans. “I wish I was as smooth as you think I am. Las Nubes—that’s the name of the house—came with the equipment.”
“The clouds?”
“Yeah. The previous owner brought me out here when I was trying to make up my mind about the place. He called it his “walk in the clouds.” As soon as the stars came out and the movie started playing, I was sold. Made an offer that same night. I never found the time to come out here after that night, though.” I took in a breath and exhaled. I’d been too focused on work, too busy wallowing in my own misery. Until today.
Valentina squeezed my arm. Those brown eyes of hers were full of longing. “It’s time to move on.”
Chest tight, I nodded once, fighting the urge to hold her, kiss her. Was she ready to give herself a second chance? “How about you? Are you ready to move on?”
Max charged toward her and pulled on her arm. “Come on, Mom. Look at all the movies they have.”
Valentina took a few steps after him. When she turned to me, the wrinkles across her forehead disappeared just as her dimple showed up. “I can do coffee.”
Chapter Eighteen
The Ex
Valentina
A smile pulled at my lips as I opened the door. My heart did a little happy dance. There he was, Cole, looking as hot as heck and holding two cups of coffee with Cafe Triste’s logo on them.
“Morning.” He leaned in for a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Good morning.” I balled my hands into fists to keep myself in check, trying to sound as casual as he did. I stepped outside and closed the door behind me. “Max’s still sleeping.”
“How long do we have?”
“About thirty minutes,” I said. “Then I have to get to work.”
“I’ll take it.” He handed me the cup with big NL letters on it. I assumed that was the nonfat latte. “Let’s go sit by the pool.”
I nodded. “You know, you’re cutting into my yoga time.”
“Yoga, huh? That explains a lot.” He gave me one of his take-off-your-clothes smiles.
“I can show you sometime, if you’d like.”
He let out a breath. “I would love to see that.”
Heat crept up my cheeks. How was everything about sex with him? Or was that me? “I didn’t mean. Oh, forget it.”
“That’s going to be hard. Mental picture has already been saved.” He winked.
Ditto. This no-sex business was going to be brutal, especially since I couldn’t stop thinking about Saturday night. I couldn’t stop thinking of his lips on my skin, his…
“So what’s his name?” He asked as soon as we sat down, defusing the sexy thoughts in my head.
The way he’d asked, he made it sound as if we had been talking about this person the whole time. Unfortunately, I knew exactly who he meant. Was Max’s dad the reason for Cole’s visit?
“Who?” I asked.
“The ex.” He clenched his jaw for a moment.
“Alex Maio. Why do you wanna know?”
He shrugged, sipping on his quad americano. But I wasn’t buying the nonchalant act. Something about Max’s dad bothered him. Was he jealous? The thought brought a flutter of butterflies to my stomach. Did Derek Cole care that much? Was Saturday night more than sex for him?
“Why are you still on this?” I asked.
“I don’t like mysteries.” He reached for my hand, and my heartbeat kicked into gear. “What happened?”
I gulped a mouthful of the latte and plunked the cup on the side table. Cole’s warm fingers wrapped around mine. His touch was gentle, but the muscle along his jaw clenched tighter when I didn’t speak. He’d come here to get answers. To be fair, he wasn’t asking for anything he hadn’t already given me. He’d shared so much with me the night we spent together. Suddenly, I wanted to tell him the whole story.
“He was angry when I told him about Max. Called me names. Nasty stuff.” I rubbed my chest to ease the pressure. “He made it sound like I’d ruined his life. He…” I’d never told anyone about what had really happened with Alex. I was embarrassed I put myself in that situation, that I didn’t see Alex for who he was from the beginning.
“Go on. It’s okay.” Cole listened patiently, holding my hand.
“He said I only got pregnant to trick him into a relationship he didn’t want. I was nineteen. A baby was the last thing I wanted. I swear that wasn’t my intention at all.” I looked away, but I felt lighter already.
“It takes two to make a baby.” He put his finger under my chin and cocked his head. His eyes were full of compassion, serene. “Stop blaming yourself. He’s a coward.” He bit the inside of his lower lip for a moment. When he spoke, his words were soft, as if he was whispering a secret. “Yesterday I got the impression you were afraid of him. Why?” He clenched his jaw.
Now he knew what an idiot I was and why I couldn’t fathom being in another relationship after Alex. “He had a very short temper.” Heat flushed to my face. The tips of my ears burned. I’d hoped Cole would never find out what a coward I was, how small.
“Did he hit you?”
I ducked my gaze and swallowed a lungful of air. I nodded, feeling as if an anvil had been lifted off my chest. Slumped shoulders, I sat back in the chair. How did I manage to carry that with me for so long? When I glanced up, Cole’s eyes said he understood.
“This was not your fault.”
“It was a blessing he didn’t want anything to do with us. Max growing up with someone like that… I just can’t imagine what would’ve happened.” A cold shiver ran through me at the idea of Max with someone as violent as Alex. “Can we talk about something else?”
“How’s that latte?” He gave me his all-American-boy smile.
“It’s great, thank you. I miss their coffee.” I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed sitting with Cole at Cafe Triste every morning, keeping each other company in silence.
“Me too.” He braced his arms on his legs and surveyed my face.
Somewhere behind us, a waterfall muffled the sounds of the morning traffic. The real world seemed so far away. Alex and everything that happened six years ago felt so far away. I peeked at Cole over my latte. His body and face were fully relaxed, his gazed zeroed in on the city view below us. I sighed, and he clenched the coffee cup, long fingers digging into it as if it were someone’s neck—Alex’s neck.
I’d been so weak, letting Alex treat me the way he did. I hated that Cole knew that about me.
“I’m not that person anymore, you know?”
He nodded. “You got out. That shows who you really are. A strong and determined woman who deserves everything.” He took my hand and brought it to his lips.
Strong? I smiled. H
e thought I was strong. A bubble full of giddiness bounced around in my belly. I glanced at my watch. I could stay here all day. But I had to get to work.
“See you tomorrow?” he asked when I stood.
The sunlight hit his face. God, the man was magnificent. I wanted to kiss him so badly, but kissing would lead to more, and I had a full day ahead of me. Crap. Did I say no sex and kissing or just no sex? I ran a hand through my hair, glancing upward. I couldn’t keep my own rules straight anymore. No harm in a kiss, right?
What am I doing?
“Okay.” I did my best to ignore the desire I felt, the heat, the sweat running down my back.
He shook his head once. In one fluid motion, he left his chair, wrapped his arms around me, and kissed me. A long, searing kiss to make me forget why Cole and I were not a good idea. He wasn’t Alex.
All reasoning slipped away. I buried my fingers in his hair. I wanted his hands on me, but he just kept them around my waist. The man was impossible. How could he turn me on like this and not try more? I slipped my tongue past his lips, an invitation. He gripped me tighter, but his focus stayed on my mouth. Why? Right. Because of my stupid no-sex rule.
He pressed his forehead against mine, his breathing ragged. “If you’re feeling inclined to change the rules again, now would be a good time, sweetheart.” He nibbled the soft spot behind my ear, and my knees buckled. “Say it.”
An image of him undoing my dress, his hands on my lower back, flashed in my mind. Cole touching me, licking champagne off my… Okay. That’s not helping. We both stood still, entangled in this web of desire, my hands in his hair, his arms around me, both struggling to catch our breath. A standoff.
He wanted me to say it. And no, I wasn’t above begging him for sex. But again, what I wanted was irrelevant here. If I didn’t leave in the next five seconds, my resolve would crumble. If Cole got tired of me—and it was just a matter of time until he would—my heart wouldn’t be the only thing at stake. I had to consider Max, too, and the family life I promised him.
One, two, three…
“I have to go,” I said.
“You have to go.” He released me, stepped back, and placed his hands in his pockets. Through his pants, I could see how much he wanted me. He didn’t need that big of a clue to know I wanted him just as bad.
Love Over Lattes Page 15
