Weapons of Mass Seduction

by Lori Bryant-Woolridge

  Valen stepped forward and spun around, bringing his lips down on hers and devouring any words about to be spoken with his ardent kiss. Their mouths and open eyes spoke a silent language of love, clearing up all the confusion and miscommunication that had gone on between them for months. At its end, their mutual tongue-tangling proclamation was clear: Love will not be denied, no matter how messy it starts or how complicated it becomes.

  “Pia—”

  “Me first,” she commanded, holding her gloved finger to his lips. “I have something to say and I need you to listen.

  “I said no to your proposal tonight because I thought you wanted to marry me only now that there was no baby. I didn’t know until I found Cookie Monster and your note that I was terribly wrong.”

  “It’s true,” Valen said, breaking Pia’s rule. “It took my losing the election to finally figure out what was important to me. And that was you—baby, liberal politics, and all.

  “If I had won, I’d be a senator, but it would have been such an empty victory. I’ve wasted so much time without you because I let my staff and the voters dictate whom I could and couldn’t love. I am so sorry.”

  “It’s so crazy that it took both of us losing the thing we wanted most to bring us together. Going through my baby’s death forced me to look at aspects of myself that I was keeping in the shadows and refusing to deal with. Losing Pom hurt so much, I couldn’t avoid feeling anymore. Through the pain I realized why I’d spent so much of my life avoiding love—because I was afraid that any man who loved me would leave me. I know my baby came and stayed long enough to teach me how to feel love again.

  “Valen, I never believed that marriage was for me. In fact, though I was hell-bent on becoming a mother, I never thought I’d ever be a wife. Well, motherhood is no longer an option, but here I am, standing in front of the only man I’ve ever truly loved and wanted to spend the rest of my life with.”

  “Well, you already know how I feel about that,” Valen said, his eyes and voice dewy with gratitude.

  “So you still want to marry me?”

  “More than ever.”

  Pia turned to squarely face the man she loved, removed his gloves, and took his hands into hers. With tears that for the first time in weeks were cried out of pure, unadulterated joy, she proceeded.

  “Then I, Pia Clarice Jamison, take you, wonderful, patient, smart, funny, sweet, sexy as hell Valen Bellamy, to be my husband. To have and to hold, to love and cherish, until death us do part,” she vowed.

  Happiness broke out on Valen’s face as Pia reached into her pocket and pulled out her handcrafted ring. With his amused eyes looking on, she squished the foil back into shape and held it between her thumb and forefinger. Pia slid the foil band onto Valen’s ring finger, laughing the entire time. Valen held his hand up into the light and admired her handiwork. He loved it and everything it represented.

  “And I, Valen Kermit Bellamy—”

  “Kermit?” she interrupted with a laugh. “Who am I marrying?”

  “Shush. I, Valen Kermit Bellamy, take you, brave, beautiful, thoughtful, sensuous, sexy, and very wise Pia Clarice Jamison, to be my wife. I will love you and protect you and drop at your feet all in the world that is good and sweet until death us do part,” he said. To Pia’s great surprise, Valen stripped away her glove and reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. He flipped the lid, revealing a three-carat Asscher-cut diamond set in platinum.

  Pia held the box while Valen took the ring and slipped it on her finger. It was half a size too big and wobbled slightly, but Pia’s deep intake of breath let him know how beautiful she thought it to be.

  “But your ring is better,” Pia said through her wide smile.

  “Ah, but yours, my darling, is priceless. I love it and you. Now, do I finally get to kiss my bride?”

  Their lips found each other and sealed a marriage that while not legal was as real in their hearts as any officiated church ceremony. They stood happily holding each other, exhausted by the struggle to get to this place but elated knowing that the hard times were behind them. Now, with hearts united, there was nothing life could possibly throw at them that would ever be this difficult again.

  “Time for a wedding toast,” Pia said, pulling away and retrieving the thermos from her purse.

  “You’ve thought of everything,” Valen said as she poured him a cup of steaming hot cocoa.

  “The last time I invited you up here, I promised you an evening to remember. Now I’m promising you a lifetime of memories. To us,” Pia said, raising her cup.

  “To love.” They touched cups and drank the hot chocolate, warmed by both the drink and the moment.

  “I promise you, Pia, that from the time the sun comes up on our real wedding day until the time we are separated by the inevitable, I will make our life together an affair to remember.”

  “Real wedding? Darling, tonight was so real that I am expecting a honeymoon,” she said, giving him the tried-and-true WMS eye smile and lip bite combo.

  Valen’s only answer was to crush her lips with his and, after delivering a toe-curling smooch, grab her hand and practically run to the elevator.

  “Where are we going?” Pia asked through her laughter.

  “To the first hotel we come across,” Valen said. “I can’t afford to have you change your mind. It would absolutely break my heart.”

  “Why would I change my mind?”

  “Who knows when that celibacy thing might kick back in,” he joked.

  It dawned on Pia that abstinence was a thing in her past. She’d finally found what she’d been holding out for all these years—sex that was driven by love, not simply lust. Pia smiled broadly, realizing that in Valen she had landed a magnificent “twofer.” She loved him and lusted for him, and right now she wanted very much to make love and solidify the bond that had begun between them tonight.

  Two hours later, Valen and Pia were curled up in each others arms, totally satiated. The first time, their lovemaking had been urgent, hungry, and enjoyable. Valen was a skilled and generous lover and knew all the right moves to make her cry out with passionate release. And any apprehensions about making love following her recent gynecological trauma were erased by Valen’s tender, considerate lovemaking and their mutual and overwhelming need to quell the fire that had been burning brightly between them. The second time was less physically urgent and instead sought to satisfy the soul as well as the libido.

  “I have never made love to anyone who gazed in my eyes the entire time,” Pia told him, still amazed by the deep and spiritual bonding it had produced. “It was like making love from the inside out. It was so powerful.”

  “I couldn’t help myself,” Valen admitted. “You have the most incredible eyes. They pull you in and make you feel as if there is not a more important or pleasurable place to be. I couldn’t look away even if I’d wanted to, and I definitely didn’t want to.”

  “Hmm. I love you,” Pia said, curling up beside him, enjoying the warmth of his body mingling with hers. They snuggled together, luxuriating in the silent companionship of their newfound joy. “But…”

  “But what?”

  “Kermit? I should have bought you the frog instead of Cookie Monster,” she teased. The comment brought an onslaught of tickles, and after Pia promised never to make fun of his name again, the torture subsided.

  “It was my mother’s brother’s name,” he informed her.

  “Speaking of mothers, I have a confession to make.”

  “What? Yours didn’t vote for me?”

  “Quite the contrary. You know that e-mail you got from me that said something like ‘I love you too’?”

  “It said exactly that. I know this because those four words changed my life. What about it?”

  “The truth is, well, I wrote it, but my mother sent it. I wanted you to know that now because when she finds out about us she’s going to take all the credit for hooking us up.”

  “Were you planning to send it?”r />
  “We’ll never know now, will we?” she teased, thoroughly enjoying their first pillow talk session. “Hey, you have your first official husband/fiancé appearance coming up.”

  “Oh, really. Where to, and have you cleared this with my staff?”

  “First of all, when it comes to home, you are now my staff. And second, the event is the WMS reunion. Flo has turned what was going to be basically a sleepover at my apartment into a whirlwind girls’ getaway weekend—hotel, dinner, spa, shopping, the works. I think she’s trying to cheer me up after everything that’s happened.”

  “Isn’t the whole concept behind that workshop picking up men? I mean, isn’t bringing me like bringing sand to the beach?”

  “Oh, it was so much more than that, and one day I’ll fill you in. Anyway, men are invited only for Friday night cocktails at the hotel. You know, so we can show off how much we learned in San Francisco. The rest of the weekend we’ll spend picking up sexy new men.”

  Pia’s comment once again got his tickle fingers going, inducing a second promise that she would not so much as look at another man as long as she was Mrs. Valen Bellamy.

  “Pia?” Valen said as soon as the laughter died down.

  “Hmm,” she uttered, detecting his mood turning serious.

  “I will try my damnedest to be enough.”

  “Baby, I was just teasing about the other men. You are more than enough man for me. And if I didn’t know that before, you certainly proved it tonight.”

  “Thank you, but I wasn’t talking about that. I’m talking about the fact that the two of us are all the family we’re going to be. I know how much you wanted to be a mother and how hurt you are that it didn’t work out, and I want you to know that I will try my hardest to be enough family for you.”

  Pia’s response was simply to hug Valen close.

  “We’re going to have a great life. I promise,” he said, crushing her in his arms.

  “You know where I want to go on our real honeymoon?”

  “Where’s that, baby?”

  “Reethi Rah. It’s in the Indian Ocean.”

  Valen burst out laughing. “Oh, you are the wife for me. Now come here and open wide. I want to get lost in those eyes again.”

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  “Yes, exactly like the foil replica,” Pia told Dee. “Well, not exactly. The jeweler is going to straighten it up a bit,” she said, recalling with a smile how she’d had to squish the original version back into shape.

  “He’s going to love that, chica. I’m so happy for you. But you do realize that you’re going to owe me for the rest of your life? And I’m going to take great pleasure in saying ‘I told you so’ every day.”

  “Between you and Maizelle, my sanity is doomed.”

  “Don’t kid yourself. You were muy loca to begin with. So how’s the wedding coming?”

  “Great, but there’s really not much to do.” She and Valen had decided on a small “official” ceremony, with fewer than a dozen close friends and family, to take place exactly at midnight on January 1. From there they would leave for Maldives to start the new year and their new life together. “I’ll fill you in later, but I have to run and meet the girls.” Pia said her good-byes and hung up.

  From the other side of the room, she heard Brian Williams signing on to deliver the nightly news, which meant it was six-thirty. Where was Valen? They were going to be late for cocktails. Brian had just introduced the second news story when the phone rang.

  “Valen, where are you? Becca and Flo are at the hotel, waiting for us.”

  “I know I’m running late, but I was picking up one of your wedding gifts.”

  “Sweetie, the wedding is still three weeks away. Plus, gifts are supposed to be a surprise so it’s no fair taunting me.”

  “This is one I want you to have now. I’ll be there in five minutes.”

  Pia hung up the phone, smiling. She gazed down at her stunning engagement ring. It had been on her finger a week now, but she still was not used to seeing it there. How lucky was she to have such a fantastic man? Looking back, Pia was almost glad she’d avoided love prior to meeting Valen. She could not imagine spending her life with anyone else.

  A minute later than expected, Valen knocked on the door. Coat and overnight bag in hand, Pia flung the door open, expecting to join him in the hall and continue to the WMS reunion. Instead, Valen had company.

  “Oh my God,” she said, gesturing them inside.

  Sleeping in Valen’s protective arms was Isobella. She was bundled up against the cold, with only the center of her face peeking out of her snowsuit, but Pia could see she was a beauty.

  “Who’s this little sweetie?” she said, gazing first at the baby and then at her man.

  “She’s an early wedding gift. What’s mine is yours, and this beauty is my granddaughter, Isobella Bellamy,” he said, taking off her snowsuit.

  “She’s beautiful, Valen. And so tiny. How old is she?”

  “Five weeks tomorrow. You know the saying ‘It takes a village’—well, you’re now part of my village, and we need you to help raise Isobella. She may not be our child, Pia, but she can be the child in our life. And I know it won’t be the same and I certainly don’t mean to imply that she is a replacement for your son, but I hope you’ll love her and think of her as a part of you,” Valen said, handing the baby over to Pia.

  She held Isobella to her breast, breathing in her baby smells and experiencing the wonder of her tiny chest rising and falling against her in a way Pom’s never had. She remained speechless as a multitude of emotions ran through her—gratitude, awe, wonder, and a great surge of love and regret.

  Stop it, she commanded herself. This isn’t Pom and it isn’t his replacement. But her loving husband-to-be had given her back something that with her baby’s death she’d resigned herself to losing forever—a child to love and watch grow up.

  “Thank you. I am so honored that you would trust me like this. This is without a doubt the most touching and thoughtful gift I have ever received.”

  “So you know what this makes you, don’t you?” Valen asked, leaning over to kiss his girls.

  “No. What?”

  “Only the sexiest grandma on earth.”

  “Hmm. Grandma. Do you think she could call me Mimi? That’s what I call my grandmother.”

  “I like it. Very sexy. Hell, I might even call you Mimi.”

  “Let’s go. I can’t wait to show off my new family.”

  Pia grabbed her overnight bag and the gifts she’d gotten for Flo and Becca and followed Valen out the door. She felt like skipping. Never had her life felt so full and so very complete. It may not be exactly the way she’d painted it, but it was a damn masterpiece nonetheless.

  Pia, with Valen and Isobella in tow, walked into the bar of the St. Regis Hotel and glanced around for her friends. Before she saw them she heard Flo’s loud and excited voice.

  “Buenos noches, darlin’,” she said, the Texas Spanish she’d been using all week slipping out. The shrieks and hugs that followed belonged to both Pia and Becca as the three women hugged and kissed and greeted one another like the long-lost sisters they were. Valen, the baby, and Cris Yang were momentarily forgotten in the excitement.

  “Let me look at both of you,” Pia insisted, stepping back to admire the view.

  They both looked great. Florence, who’d arrived last evening from Barcelona, looked as if she’d lost at least fifteen pounds, but more than that she seemed relaxed and extraordinarily happy. She was decked out in a black St. John’s suit and heels thinner and higher than Pia had ever seen her wear. The woman looked ten years younger, and sizzling hot.

  “How do you like my haircut, sugar?” she asked, pushing her sexy red fringed bangs to the side. Gone was the sprayed and teased Texas bob. In its place was a soft wanna-run-my-fingers-through-it do. “I got it cut and colored while I was in Barcelona. I figured I’d come back to the States with a whole new look.”

  “And you di
d. Your eyes look amazing. I never realized they were that green before. Both of you look great. Becca, you look ‘hot,’” Pia said, making them all laugh.

  In the months since she’d last seen Becca, the girl had finally gotten her hair and wardrobe straight. She was wearing fitted pinstriped pants paired with a lacy white shirt and tiny cropped vest. A tangle of chains encircled her neck. It was subtle, trendy, and still sexy as hell.

  “Love the ring,” Pia added.

  “How are you?” Becca asked in a gentle, caring tone.

  “I’m doing okay. It’s been rough, but I’m getting better. And he’s the reason why,” Pia said, gesturing to Valen to join them.

  “Florence Chase, Becca Vossel, meet my fiancé, Valen Bellamy, and my soon-to-be granddaughter, Isobella.” As expected, Florence and Becca fawned over the baby until Becca realized who Valen was.

  “Whoa. I’ve seen you on television. You’re famous,” Becca said, reverting to her starstruck ways.

  “Nice to meet you, ladies. Pia has told me all about you.”

  “Don’t worry, I haven’t told him all about you,” Pia said, making them laugh.

  “And I want you all to meet my best friend, Cris Yang,” Becca said. “He’s the one who helped me get out to San Francisco.”

  “Ladies and gents, there’s a martini with my name on it waitin’ at the bar. Let’s go sit down and get this party started,” Flo said.

  Valen excused himself to take the baby home, and Flo and Pia lagged behind a bit while Cris and Becca moved into the bar. “Darlin’, that man is a total hunk. You didn’t tell me he was such a looker,” Flo said, locking arms with Pia.

  “There’s a lot I haven’t told you yet,” Pia said, holding up her hand to show off her new engagement ring.

  “Wow! Now that’s a rock!”

  “And he’s definitely rocked my world. Flo, I love him so much.”