by Codi Gary
She reached around him to open the bedroom door and ended up pressed against his back as he turned to carry Ellie inside. The motion caused her nipples to tighten. It had been a while since she’d been pressed against a man like that, and the heat of his body struck a chord in her. Cole and she had stopped sleeping together months before he’d asked for a divorce and she’d been relying on a battery-operated buddy she’d bought at Sweet Tart’s Boutique for her recent orgasms. But being this close to Justin made her accept the fact that a vibrator couldn’t replace how good a flesh-and-blood man would feel.
Heat suffused her whole body and she was grateful his back was to her. Trying to shake the surprising turn-on a mere brush of his body had caused, she flipped on the light. Maybe it was because she’d been thinking about him earlier, but having him in her house was making her imagine crazy things. Like the tiny flicker of jealousy she’d had as she watched him gently holding her sister, she remembered how it had felt to be in his arms that night at the high school.
When Justin laid Ellie down on her bed, Val shook herself out of her daze and rushed forward to take off her sister’s boots. When she went to remove her sister’s pants, she looked up at Justin standing at the end of the bed.
“Do you mind stepping out for a minute while I get her settled?”
“Sure.”
“Thank you,” she blurted out, and when he stopped to face her, she added, “not a lot of guys would have brought her home without . . .”
“I think you’re wrong. Most guys would have done the same,” Justin said.
She almost argued, told him she knew guys like him were few and far between, but she held her peace. A rush of relief washed over her when Justin disappeared out of the room without another word, but Val realized too late that she had a problem. Ellie’s jeans were painted on so snug that they wouldn’t come off easily. Grunting and groaning, she’d barely gotten them off her hips when she began sweating in the cool room.
“You okay in there?” Justin called from the hallway.
Grunting again as she pulled, she stopped and panted, “Sure, never better.”
“You sure? Sounds like you’re wrestling a bear.”
Val choked on a laugh. “I just didn’t realize how freaking tight these jeans were.”
“I can help if you want; I’ll hold her up while you get the jeans off.”
Val hesitated. Her first instinct was to tell him no, that she didn’t need a virtual stranger catching glimpses of her sister’s body. Not that Ellie left much to the imagination, but still, she wasn’t exactly able to say, “Sure, strip me.”
On the other hand, the jeans were really tight.
“No peeking,” Val warned, although she was grateful for his help.
He came around the corner and said, “Believe me, I’m not interested in your sister.”
Her first instinct was to defend Ellie and her behavior, but she caught the look he was giving her and closed her mouth, fighting a smile. The man was flirting with her in the worst possible situation and she thought it was charming.
Maybe bumping into him yesterday had triggered all of these old feelings, but suddenly, she was having a hard time remembering why she wasn’t interested in men. Especially the one currently holding her sister by the arms, his gaze respectfully averted. Most guys wouldn’t have been that noble. Compared to the Justin she’d met ten years ago, who’d pulled her in for a kiss without even knowing her name, this Justin was very different. Back then, he had been a nice guy, but impulsive. It seemed that maturity and life had changed him.
Which is why you should shoo him out the door as soon as possible.
She ignored the voice. Manners trumped self-preservation, and right now, she owed Justin big-time for looking out for Ellie.
They worked together until Ellie was in bed on her side, a pillow behind her to keep her from rolling onto her back, and a bucket next to the bed in case she puked. Val shook her head, frustrated by Ellie’s carelessness, before walking out of the spare bedroom to find Justin squatted down, making friends with Gus.
“You sound like a pig, dude.”
“Are you making fun of my dog?”
He looked a little sheepish, and she laughed, walking around them to the kitchen, where the milk was foaming up out of the pan. Turning off the burner, she went to the cupboard, aware of his presence in the doorway as she brought down two mugs.
“Do you want some cocoa?”
“Yeah, sure. It’s colder than a well digger’s ass in January.”
Val chuckled as she poured the milk and looked over at him holding the top of the door frame as she grabbed the chocolate syrup. His puffy jacket and T-shirt rode up, exposing a patch of skin above his jeans and she swallowed hard. That little flash of skin made her hands itch to slide their way underneath and caress the flat muscles.
The room was suddenly stifling and she was tempted to take off the wool sweater she’d thrown on before bed but remembered that all she had on under it was a thin white tank top that left little to the imagination. The last thing she wanted was to make him think she wanted to jump his bones, because she didn’t.
Too bad her downtown didn’t know that.
Val gritted her teeth as she poured the hot chocolate, fighting the naughty thoughts.
Justin dropped his arms and stepped farther into the kitchen until he was just an arm’s length away. Turning to face him, she handed him a mug. “Well, here’s to chivalry. Thank God it’s not dead.”
He took a drink of his hot chocolate before setting his mug on the counter. “I have a confession to make.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s that?” she asked, taking a sip of the sweet, warm liquid, watching him over the rim of her cup.
“I was concerned about the unknown girl who seemed too drunk to function, but the minute I found out she was your sister, I felt responsible for her and offered to take her home.”
“Why?” Val asked, shaken by his admission. Every nerve in her body surged as Justin’s hand grazed the one she had resting on the counter.
“Because if something happened to her, it would hurt you. And if I wasn’t too obvious yesterday,” he said, tickling the back of her hand with his touch, “I like you and would like to get to know you again.”
Those words made her eyes sting involuntarily, and she tried to fight the urge to throw herself at him. It was weak and girly, but when a nice guy said something like that, it made him really hard to resist.
Even when you know it’s the worst idea you’ve probably ever had.
“I’m still not dating.” Her voice was soft and unconvincing.
“Who said I’m asking?”
She knew what was about to happen, and instead of putting out her hand to stop him, she held perfectly still as Justin dipped his head down and kissed her, his lips grazing hers softly.
Before she could even process the warm tingles spreading from her lips downward, the sound of retching reached her ears. She pulled back when Ellie called her name, her voice choked with a sob.
Letting out the breath she’d been holding, she almost ignored her sister’s whining call. She didn’t want to stop. If her sister wanted to be an adult, she could deal with the consequences.
But as Ellie kept crying for her, her heart broke for her baby sister.
Justin stepped away and gave her a rueful smile. “You better go take care of her.”
Disappointment and relief warred inside her as she cleared her throat and said, “I’ll walk you out.”
“I’ll let myself out.”
“Okay,” Val said and nervously searched for something else to say. “Thanks again for bringing her home and . . . well, everything.”
“It wasn’t a problem,” Justin said, his gaze on her lips.
Her stomach fluttered as Ellie called for her again, and she said, “Well, good night. I’ll see you around.”
She started to walk around him, but his voice stopped her in the doorway. “I look forward to not dating you
again.”
Turning in surprise, she caught his teasing grin and burst into surprised laughter. “You don’t give up, do you?”
His smile faded and his look became serious. “Not when it’s something I really want.”
Val didn’t know how to respond. The last time she’d had a man pursue her had been Cole, but he’d never made her heart slam in her chest from just a light touch. In fact, the last man who had really flipped her lid had been . . . well, Justin.
“I really don’t think . . .”
Justin put his cup in the sink, and as he walked past her to the front door, he leaned down and kissed her cheek, his breath warming her skin. “I’ll see you next time.”
Fighting not to shiver as he opened the front door and pulled it closed behind him, she lifted her hand to touch where his lips had grazed hers. A small spark of giddiness spread through her as she contemplated next time.
“Valerie!” Ellie shouted from the spare room. Jarred from her musings, Val set off to take care of her sister.
Walking into the room, she saw the vomit on the floor and grimaced. “Damn it.”
“Val, I’m so sick . . .” Ellie whined, just like when she got the flu or even a cold.
Scowling, Val went to grab some rags and a trash bag and came back to find Ellie gearing up for round two.
“If you’re going to puke, puke in here,” Val said, shoving the bucket she had left beside the bed in front of Ellie’s face. “Hold onto it while I clean this up.”
“I’m so sorry, Val.”
Val got down on the floor to clean and looked up into her sister’s pale, beautiful face. “You should be. I warned you to be careful, but you got so loaded that you could have—”
She snapped her mouth closed when her sister proceeded to bury her face in the bucket and retch. Val tried to slow her breathing and cool her anger as she reached out to rub her sister’s back, supporting the bucket with her other hand. It wouldn’t do any good to lecture and yell at Ellie when she probably wouldn’t remember. Still, when Val thought about what had happened to her friend Natalie when she’d gotten too drunk in college, she worried about her sister.
Once the floor was cleaned up, Val grabbed a washcloth from the bathroom and sat on the bed next to Ellie, wiping her face clean. Ellie tried to push her hands away and Val snapped, “Do you want to sleep with vomit on your face?”
Ellie stilled and grumbled, “No.”
Before she was done, Ellie’s breathing was deep and even. Brushing her hair back, Val remembered the first time she’d drunk too much and been sick afterward. She’d been eighteen. It had been at a huge graduation party one of her schoolmate’s parents had thrown. The parents had figured the kids would be safe under their roof if they were there, and looking back, Val thought they’d been idiots. She’d passed out in their driveway before puking her way to her car, where she’d slept off the rest. She’d remembered her limits after that.
But Ellie didn’t seem to want to learn from her mistakes, and it left Val wondering what was going on with her sister.
Chapter Four
* * *
SATURDAY MORNING WAS beautiful. Val looked out of her window and saw the sun gleaming off the snow, and despite her restless night, she didn’t feel tired. Holding a mug of coffee up to her mouth, she felt elated and shiny as the aroma tickled her nose and the rim rested against her smiling lips.
It had been a long time since she’d been kissed, and she couldn’t stop smiling, even though she knew she couldn’t let it happen again.
Val had imagined what it would be like to meet someone new, but Cole’s reaction to her adoption suggestion had replayed in her mind too many times not to let it affect how she might approach the subject with a new man.
So, I have this condition that makes it hard to have kids. How do you feel about that?
In one of his lowest moments, Cole had ripped into her, tearing the last shred of hope from her body with each cutting word: “Men want children of their own. If a man finds out beforehand how broken you actually are, he’ll drop you so fast your head will spin. You just wait.”
She’d known he was just being hateful, but he wasn’t entirely wrong. Usually when couples found out about infertility, they’d been together for years and loved each other deeply. It was hard to imagine a man she’d just started dating sticking around once he found out, and she had too much integrity to keep something like that a secret before they got in too deep.
She knew there were men out there who didn’t want kids or already had kids from a previous marriage, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to deal with the drama of an ex-spouse and coparenting. There was always a chance she’d meet a nice widower with children, but remembering the loss of her own mother and how angry she’d been . . .
Val’s cell phone rang and she looked at the caller ID. Caroline’s smiling face popped up, and she hit the answer button on the screen. “Hey, sis.”
“Hi, honey. How are you?”
Caroline sounded tired, and Val was instantly worried. Her big sister had been through so much since leaving home but had finally found her calling. Caroline enjoyed buying struggling bars and turning them into successful businesses. Once they were proven moneymakers, she’d sell them and move on. Drifting from city to city, her vagabond lifestyle made Val nervous, but Caroline was a free spirit and knew how to take care of herself.
Unlike Ellie.
“Same old. I’m a little worried about Ellie. She’s making some really bad calls and doesn’t listen.”
“She’s a kid. You remember what that’s like, especially still living under the old man’s thumb,” Caroline said, and Val heard clanking in the background.
“Yeah, I guess. Are you okay? You sound tired.”
“I’m exhausted. I bought this place in California and had to fire two bartenders. I still can’t find anyone to replace them. At least, not anyone with even a basic work ethic.”
Val smiled. “Crack that whip, baby.”
Caroline’s raspy laugh sounded in her ear. “I’m trying, but all I’m getting are frat boys and dingbats.”
“Hang in there; someone fantastic will show up.”
“I hope so because I hate tending bar. There’s a reason I wanted to own bars and not work in them; drunken idiots piss me off,” Caroline said, and Val chuckled. Her sister was definitely not the goddess of patience. “Listen, the reason I was calling is to see how you’d feel about me settling down closer to home.”
Val was shocked silent for half a second before she yelled, “Are you kidding? Yes! Come home! Come home now!”
“I’m not talking Rock Canyon, if I can help it—too many bridges burned—but maybe Buhl or Gooding. Depends on whether I can find a space for sale, but I wanted to run the idea past you—”
“Seriously, you don’t even have to ask. You’re my sister, and if you want to crash with me until you find something, I’m all good with that. Ellie’s in the spare room now, but she can be demoted to the couch if she doesn’t make up with Dad.”
“Ah, dear old Dad. There’s one person who won’t appreciate me moving back to town,” Caroline said, chuckling. “Actually, the people-who-would-be-happy-to-see-me list is probably a lot shorter than the people-who-wish-I-was-hit-by-a-bus list.”
“Fuck everyone else. You’ve got Ellie and me, and that’s all you need.”
“Thanks, Vali. So, what did Ellie do to piss him off?”
“Screwed two of the Thompson boys.”
“Together? Um . . . weird.”
“No, behind the other’s back. But one of them walked in on her with the other and chaos ensued. That new gossip columnist did a piece on it, and now Dad’s all pissed off.”
“Ah, I remember those days fondly. Tell baby sister I’m proud of her for scoring brothers.”
“Seriously, no. She needs no encouragement.”
“Oh, when did you become such a stiff?” Caroline asked, and Val frowned. This was the second time someone had told
her she needed to stop being so uptight; no one had ever called her that in her life. “I remember a time when you used to call me after leaving a guy’s house, and the first thing out of your mouth was, ‘I am so going to hell.’ What happened to that girl?”
“Nothing; she’s still here. But there’s a difference between being in full capacity of your senses and doing something stupid, like getting so drunk you can’t protect yourself.”
Caroline was quiet on the line for a minute. “How many times do I have to tell you that what happened to Natalie wasn’t your fault?”
Val closed her eyes, fighting back her memories, and said, “Let’s change the subject.”
“Fine. What’s up with you on the man front?”
What was the deal with everyone’s noses being shoved into her love life? “Absolutely nothing,” Val lied, ignoring the flashback to Justin’s kiss.
“I can’t believe it. More than two months go by and I start getting antsy without a little sausage.”
“On that note,” Val said, refilling her coffee cup, “I need to get ready for my day.”
“Fine, don’t listen to your sister, but it’s only natural. Believe me, you need regular orgasms or you’ll become a very unhappy woman.”
“I have regular orgasms, thank you.”
“Natural ones, not ones that come from batteries. Don’t you know those things desensitize your—”
“Good-bye, Caroline.”
“I love you! Miss you!”
“Me too,” Val said and clicked off, shaking her head. She wasn’t really embarrassed by Caroline’s frank speech, but thinking about it also made her think about Justin, who she could just see shirtless and gorgeous, spread out on her bed waiting for her.
But even if she were interested in a boy toy, he wouldn’t be the type. Justin was the kind of small-town guy who wanted marriage to the perfect wife and mother. She’d already failed at being a wife, and the other wasn’t likely in the cards for her. Why go there?
Just then, her house phone started ringing, and she picked it up distractedly, forgetting to look at the caller ID. “Hello.”
