Forever My Girl

by Heatherly Bell

  “I never said—”

  She pointed. “Just—shush. Harper is a good person. She liked you, you idiot.”

  “She did?”

  “Oh my God! Men! You’re really helpless, all of you. You need a remedial class or something. Now it’s too late, not that you deserved her or anything—” She tried to grab another wine glass as the waiter went by but he angled the tray away from her. “You don’t deserve anything if you can’t figure it out.”

  “But—”

  “Excuse us.”

  David’s hand was on the small of her back, steering her away from Clay, away from the food, away from everyone. She wound up in one of the house’s bedrooms.

  David shut the door. “Want to tell me what’s up?”

  “Why did you interrupt me? I was getting ready to tell that man where he could stick it!”

  “Yeah, I got that, and while that was really fascinating I need to know what the hell is going on.”

  “Are you serious?” Why were men so vapid when it came to women? “You won’t answer my one question. Where are the panties?”

  “Man.” He shoved a hand through his hair. “I would tell you. It’s just stupid.”

  “Actually, two women in two weeks might be considered amazing by some.”

  He scowled. “That’s not what happened.”

  “It’s okay if it did. You and I were just pretend anyway. So I don’t know why you won’t just come out and tell me.” Oh wow, the historical room was spinning a little.

  “Nate.” He sighed. “Gave them to Nate.”

  Little bit of a shock there. Nate sure didn’t look like a cross-dresser. “Again, nothing to be ashamed of.”

  He went brows up. “Uh, no. When I came back that day, Nate was upset because he’d forgotten to get Frankie a gift. They were celebrating some obscure anniversary, like the first time they had a milkshake together. Naturally being a man, and also normal, Nate forgot. Frankie had baked him a cake. He had nothing. So…I slipped him the panties. Kept the condom.” He lifted a shoulder. “All I wanted anyway.”

  “Oh.”

  She digested that information, swaying a little bit in this heat. Apparently this historical home had not been updated to include air conditioning. It was blazing hot in here.

  “So, in answer to your question, I’m guessing that my lovely sister-in-law Frankie is wearing the panties.” He cleared his throat. “Now, I want an explanation.”

  She pointed to the door. “We should really get back out there.”

  “Nice try.” He gave her an easy smile. “If we’re just pretend, why are you doing such a good imitation of a jealous woman?”

  “I’m not jealous. Just a naturally curious person.”

  “Uh-huh.” David stepped closer.

  “I feel terrible.”

  “Well, you should.”

  “That’s not what I mean.” The room spun, her stomach lurched, and all that wine wanted desperately to come back up. Her neck was sweaty. Her palm went to David’s chest, hoping to steady the room. “It’s too hot in here.”

  David’s brow furrowed in concern, his hands gliding down her clammy arms. “Are you okay?”

  She would have answered, but she was too busy throwing up all over David’s boots.

  Chapter 9

  An hour later, David had cleaned his boots, fed Sugar, and had Mallory lying on the couch with a cool wet rag on her forehead.

  She peeked at him through splayed fingers. “I’m so sorry about your boots. Are they real leather?”

  “Who gives a shit?”

  Actually, he did, just not about his boots. This thing between them definitely hadn’t gone according to his plans. She was a huge mitigating factor he hadn’t counted on. And so far, his attempts to redirect weren’t going too well. Not at all smoothly. Most of the time, he wouldn’t have bothered to follow a woman from one house to another like a damn fool. But with her, he couldn’t stop himself. He’d followed her into one historical home, only to be sidetracked by Gabe DeLuca. When he’d finally disengaged from conversation, he’d found her and she’d run from him to the next house.

  She’d been too distracted tearing that poor dude a new one to run from him again.

  After throwing up all over him, she’d been mortified. Sobbed. He’d cleaned her up, dried her tears, and spirited her out of the house and the ridiculous crowds on Founder’s Day. Back to the quiet of her home. She’d been “sorrying” him ever since.

  “I’m sorry I drank the wine too fast. And it’s so hot today.”

  She had her dress hiked up to her thighs, which did nothing for his state of mind, but there was no air conditioning in her older Victorian duplex either. A fan simply circulated hot air, but he didn’t want to open the windows yet. It was hotter outside.

  “Drink.” He handed her a glass of water because he suspected she was dehydrated. “You were pissed at me. Should have told you about the panties.”

  “No, I’m sorry I wouldn’t leave it alone. You were entitled to give those panties to whoever you wanted.”

  “We both know I wouldn’t have done that when I could give them to you.”

  She gave him a watery smile. “They were my size.”

  “I remember.” He brushed aside a damp stray hair from where it lay plastered on her cheek.

  Was it just two weeks ago that he’d run into the shop hiding from Regan? Because it felt like a lot longer than that.

  “C’mon. You need to take a shower and cool off. You’ll feel better after that.”

  He pulled her up by her elbows, took her hand, and led her to the bathroom. She still seemed a little weak which worried him. He started the shower and helped pull the dress over her head while he got the water to a lukewarm setting. Cold water would be too much of a shock to her system. The lingerie she wore today was a bit of a shock to his system, though a pleasant one. He didn’t know a balconette from a balcony, but he sure appreciated the way this black bra presented her mouth-watering tits like a gift. He was almost sorry when she pulled it off. Almost.

  The black lace panties came next, followed by what was left of his sanity. At least he still had his control. She didn’t need him mauling her when she felt sick and worn out. And don’t forget “sorry.” He should take care of her, not take care of himself. He opened the shower door and helped her step inside, then shut the door. Counted to ten while he wished for the strength of a saint. He started toward the bathroom door. Opened it.

  “David? Where are you going?” Her voice sounded distant and muddled by the spraying sound of water.

  “I’ll wait outside.”

  “Come here.”

  Well, hell, a soldier didn’t need to be asked twice. He undressed in under ten seconds flat and stepped into the warm shower.

  “There you are.” She gave him the same words with the same heartbreaking smile she had on her lips the day she’d brought him lunch at the hardware store.

  “Right here, babe.”

  She met his gaze. “You took care of me.”

  No words came to him. That one fact seemed to shock her, and his heart seized a little suddenly knowing this was the first time for her. First time a man had put her first. He was in this with her deep, and in trouble, but he couldn’t stop. He couldn’t stop his hands as they tugged her close, palming her ass. He kissed her, and that wicked tongue of hers met his with fiery and barely controlled heat. Good to know she was rallying. Before he lost control and did her against the shower stall wall, he slowed them down and washed and rinsed her hair out, massaging her scalp until she moaned.

  That moan ripped the last of his control away, and then they were simply skin on wet and sliding skin. Kissing. Grinding. Reaching for each other again and again. Slipping and sliding like a couple of idiots. He held her like he’d never let her get away again. Man, he loved this. Loved this feeling that practically took him out of his own body. With her, he’d had the single most erotic experiences of his life. He loved being with her. Teasing
her. Laughing. Star-gazing. He loved her, damn it, and that was the fucking truth. It was a shit storm of crazy, but true.

  “I don’t have a condom in here,” he groaned.

  “That’s alright.”

  She smiled, dropped to her knees, and proceeded to rock his world.

  David woke the next morning at the crack of dawn as usual. Among many other things, he was now permanently a morning person. There were some lifestyle traits reinforced during his service that were never going to leave him. Fierce loyalty to friends and family. Dedication. Work ethic. But the facts were, he was not renewing his contract. He’d found someone worth staying stateside for, and there was absolutely no reason she couldn’t come to Colorado with him. She’d started over once before, and she could start over with him. If she felt half for him what he felt for her, and he thought she did, it would be a no-brainer.

  He got up quietly so as not to wake Mallory, dressed, and fed Sugar. The heat of the previous day had eventually dissipated during the night and he’d opened Mallory’s windows to let the cool air inside. Now he shut them, guarding against the heat that would undoubtedly follow later today. At the moment, the early September morning was crisp and bright. He took Sugar for a walk, laughing at the way she shook the dirt off her paws. He could picture her doing the same thing in the snow.

  “You’re going to love Colorado.”

  Both Mallory and Sugar would eventually get used to the altitude and the snow. With Sugar’s white coat of fur, she’d blend right in. They’d have to keep a close eye on her around berms or risk losing her for good. David stopped by the Savory Bistro for coffee and cookies, but first pulled his phone out, just outside the entrance. No use waiting another minute for the rest of his life to get started.

  “Hey,” he said to Quinn when he picked up the phone. “I’m in.”

  “Dude! I promise you won’t regret it. Can’t wait to see you.”

  “I’ll start the drive back Tuesday morning. Probably see you Wednesday. We have a lot to talk about.”

  He would have mentioned Mallory, but didn’t want to get ahead of himself. She’d want to work, he understood, and he believed that he and Quinn could find her something to do at the resort. Maybe not a lingerie store, but she could teach dance at the resort. There were always wives or girlfriends who weren’t as fond of the slopes as their significant others, and looking for things to do at the resort. He knew Quinn planned on a state of the art gym, for instance, and some kind of a spa.

  When he got back to Mallory with the coffee and cookies, she was up and in the kitchen, wearing a pink robe and a confused expression on her face. “Where were you guys?”

  “Got you coffee and cookies.” He handed her a coffee and pulled her in for a long deep kiss.

  “Thank you.” She ruffled his hair. “You spoil me.”

  “I’ll always spoil you.”

  Just like that the soft gaze in her eyes shifted and changed. Her eyes were hooded. Guarded. “Until you leave, you mean.”

  “Well, that’s what I want to talk to you about.” He braced the counter with one hand, while he nursed his coffee with the other. “I decided I’m not renewing my contract. Going to join Quinn at the resort.”

  “That’s wonderful!” Her eyes lit up again. “Thank you, David. I won’t worry about you anymore.”

  In more ways than one, he hoped. “Especially not if you come with me.”

  “Where?”

  “To Colorado.”

  “That’s not funny.”

  He set his coffee down and met her gaze. “I’m not joking.”

  “But…my life is here. I’ve got a job. Two of them.”

  “I know, and I already thought of that. We can find something for you to do at the resort.”

  “I already have something to do. And a house. Right here.”

  “You started over once before. You can do it again.” He reached for her, and pulled her between his legs. “I love you, and I can’t just leave you here.”

  Her palms went against his chest. “I already started over once before because of a man.”

  Not the response he’d expected to his first “I love you” to a woman. “This is different.” He pressed his forehead to hers.

  What they had between them was rare, but since she was a couple of years younger than him maybe she didn’t get that. But he did. He might never feel this way again and it was difficult to let her go even if he realized how much he had asked of her.

  “Of course it’s different. But I don’t want to do it again. I don’t want to start over.”

  Yeah, definitely not going as well as he’d hoped. He was new at these feelings, and he hadn’t expected such reluctance. When you loved someone, you were willing to give up some things. The important thing was to be together. Then again, it was possible that he was in this…alone.

  “And anyway, you and I were just…temporary.”

  David had seen too much pain in his life, most of it in the desert. But he’d never felt his own heart break over a woman. It did now.

  “That’s what you believe? This wasn’t temporary, or fake, for me. Not since the start. It isn’t about the sex. Which is great, by the way, but that’s not why I love you. I love the way you take care of your friends and Sugar, the way you stand up for yourself, the way you fight back. I love every part of you I know about, and I’m ready to love everything I don’t know yet. I just need you to come with me.”

  And now she was sobbing again. Great. He had such a way with women.

  “I can’t.” Her breath hitched. “That…wasn’t the plan.”

  “Plans change,” he said significantly. “I know mine did the moment I met you.”

  “David, I—”

  “Bye, Mallory.” He bent down to give Sugar one last rub and then was out the door. It was easier not to look behind him. He knew that from experience. Plans had changed once, and now they’d changed again.

  He was going back to Colorado.

  Alone.

  Chapter 10

  On episode two of The Crown, Elizabeth’s beloved father, the King, had just died. Everyone in the palace was despondent and inconsolable, or at least as much as a British monarch could be despondent and inconsolable. It seemed an appropriate episode to watch for the third time.

  “Yip! Yark!” Sugar said. That meant: Poor man. I’m very sad right now.

  Mallory reached for another tissue and blew her nose. She’d been crying on and off all day, or at least since David left. She was crazy about the man, but how could he possibly expect her to pick up and leave so easily? She’d made a home for herself here in St. Helena. Clovis needed her at the shop. Sara needed her at Tap and Barre. She’d finally lived down The Lingerie Incident, and people were starting to call her Mallory. Thanks to David.

  “Yark! Yark! Yark!” Sugar said.

  “Yes, of course I love him. That’s not the point. We just can’t do this anymore, Sugar! We can’t keep starting over because of a man. Or thinking that love will solve our problems. We decided we wouldn’t do that anymore, remember? Anyway, we need to make our own life.”

  And she had, damn it. She’d made a life here in St. Helena with good friends and people who were like family. But of course, this life would now be dull shades of beige with David gone. He was her heart and had been from the moment he’d stepped into the Boulder Holder and bragged about his condom size. She’d never imagined he would ask her to leave St. Helena for Colorado.

  The idea was crazy. But every time she pictured his sad puppy dog eyes when she’d told him this thing between them was temporary, she started crying all over again.

  This wasn’t temporary at all and she knew it. She’d forgotten to tell him that she loved him, and that she probably always would. Fine, she could still do it now. Leave him a note. She tore a piece of paper out of a bra-shaped notebook from the Boulder Holder and started writing.

  Reasons Why I Love You, David DeLuca

  You brought me cookies just because (
and coffee)

  You care about your family

  You fought for your country

  You love Sugar

  You wanted to kill Todd (but I wouldn’t have let you—jail time)

  You took care of me when you didn’t have to (and those boots are real leather)

  You’re the world’s best kisser (and also—you know)

  You want me to go to Colorado with you

  She was about to cry over number eight when her phone rang with It’s Raining Men.

  “Hi, Clovis.”

  “I hope you’re not busy.”

  “No, just sitting here with Netflix and Sugar. Need a trip to the clinic again?”

  “No, I just need you to come down here and be the sexy for a minute. I’ve got some tourists in here,” Clovis whispered into the phone. “I’m getting those funny looks again.”

  “Okay,” Mallory sighed. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll be right over.”

  Mallory showered, applied mascara over puffy red eyes, dressed in her blue shift mini dress, and once at the Boulder Holder, she made ten sales in the space of an hour. Five Parisian Peek-a-boos, two cheeky boy shorts, a push-up bra and two Banana Hammocks. Proof that they sold.

  “Even though we closed part of yesterday we’ll be back in black after this Founder’s Day weekend,” Clovis said. “I hope you’re feeling better. Heard you were sick yesterday.”

  “I’m fine. It was just so hot.”

  “Like today. The A/C isn’t even doing a good enough job in here.” Clovis fanned herself with one of the Come Again condoms. Extra Large.

  Mallory bit her lip and tried not to smile.

  “How’s your fella?”

  “David? That’s over. He’s going back to Colorado.”

  “Honey, I’m sorry. You can’t count on those DeLucas. I hope he didn’t break your big heart.”