by Codi Gary
“Your dad made it pretty clear the morning after that I wasn’t welcome and you wanted nothing to do with me.”
“You came to see me?”
“Of course I did,” he said, remembering the humiliation and rage he’d felt when Edward Willis had told him coldly that his daughter could do better than the son of a drunk. If Jared hadn’t been in the truck and come to his rescue, Justin might have done more than the single punch to the jaw he’d given Mayor Willis. After that, he’d avoided the man, but a small part of him had hoped he’d been wrong about Valerie. “I hadn’t ever felt that way about a girl before. It was instant and intense.”
Valerie snorted. “Are you trying to say you fell in love at first sight?”
“No, I’m saying that this thing between us, this attraction, it never went away.” Justin took a step closer. “The only thing that’s kept us from seeing if what we have is real is your father and distance. And right now, neither of those things are an issue.”
“But there’s more than that now. I’ve been married, and I’m not sure I ever want to go there with anyone again,” Val said, taking a step away from him.
“Did you love him? Do you still love your ex-husband?”
“No!” Her answer was loud and immediate. Justin almost smiled, except that the conversation had become too serious by half.
“Then why wouldn’t you want to find someone who makes you happy?”
“Who says I’m not happy? And how come you’re such a romantic?” she snapped.
“My mom. Up until the night she died, she used to drill into me that love with the right person could be magic. My two best friends are the living embodiment of unconditional love. Why wouldn’t I want that?”
“And what makes you think that would happen for you and me?”
He watched Val’s face, searching it for some chink in her armor. “I don’t know if it will, but I have a feeling it might be fun to find out.”
He caught the flash of tears in her eyes as Ned called an end to the Q and A, but before Justin could stop her, Val rushed out of the room, barely stopping to pick up her coat and gloves.
After telling himself not to push her, he’d done it anyway.
Nice move, asshole.
OUTSIDE, VAL PULLED on her coat and tried to draw back the tears that had unwittingly formed as she headed back toward the hotel.
Why wouldn’t I want that?
Thinking about her marriage and the emptiness of it, his question haunted her. She’d never loved Cole, had never loved anyone but her family, but like Justin, she’d seen Stephanie and Jared Brown. They had married right out of high school and were still in love twelve years later. Some people thought marrying young was a mistake, but the Browns were proof that at any age, if love is real, it’s right.
So what was the matter with her? Why was love so elusive? Everyone else she knew had no problem falling in love—though they didn’t always stay that way—but she couldn’t even experience the first part. If she couldn’t love someone, how could she expect to keep them happy?
Marrying anyone for convenience or advancement was out of the question; it wasn’t worth her independence. If she couldn’t have children or love like everyone else, then what was the point in getting involved? In her mind, it was just better to avoid relationships and their entanglements.
She walked back into her hotel room and saw a missed call on her cell from Ellie, another from Caroline, and ten from her father. Picking up the phone, she dialed Ellie.
“Yellow!”
“Is that really how you answer your phone?” Val asked as she removed her jacket.
“Well, if it isn’t my wonderful big sister. Your dog is still alive, in case you were wondering,” Ellie said.
“I was, and thank you. How’s everything else going? Are you trashing my house?”
“No, I am not. I met a guy, though,” Ellie said, singing the last bit.
“Yeah, and I’m sure he’s a real winner too,” Val said acidly.
The line was quiet for a minute before Ellie exploded, “You know what? I am so sick of you acting like your shit doesn’t stink, Valerie! It wasn’t like Dad never bitched and moaned about you when you were off at school. Don’t think he didn’t complain about your topless photos, the gambling club, or the belly-button piercing I know you still have. You were allowed to get into trouble and make mistakes, so why do you give me such a bad time?”
The attack surprised Val but didn’t stop her own temper from flaring. “Because the difference between you and me is I might have made mistakes, but I was never reckless. You get drunk with no ride home, you aren’t even attending half your classes in school—”
“So what? You went to college and you’re a fucking dog groomer. Maybe I don’t want to waste time and money on something I’m not even sure I want.”
“What money? You don’t have any money, Eleanor, and if you don’t fucking wake up, Dad’s going to cut you off. Why do you think I fucking agreed to come down here in the first place? Because I thought I was pretty clear about how I felt about spending a weekend with a bunch of strangers. Huh?” Elle didn’t answer, so Val continued. “I came down here because Dad said if I didn’t, he was going to disinherit you and probably kick you out for good. That means no more designer clothes, no more partying whenever you wa—”
“Do you think I care? Let him cut me off. I’ll just get a job.”
“Yeah, because it’s that easy. You have no job experience and you’re twenty-one years old. You’ll be competing against teenagers for crappy minimum-wage jobs.”
“Dad was just bluffing. He wouldn’t really do that.”
“That’s what I said, but he seemed serious to me, which is why I did this.”
“Well, whatever. I can take care of myself.”
Why was she trying to save her again? Maybe you should have just let him disinherit the spoiled brat.
“So what are you going to do, Eleanor? Waitress at Jensen’s? ’Cause I can see that happening.”
“Who knows, maybe I’ll strip! Better money, and guys have to pay to grab my ass.”
Val wanted to hit something. When Caroline, had left home, she would call often and try to put a cheery spin on the way her life was going, but every once in a while she’d slip up. She’d spent a year stripping and hated every minute of it, though she had laughed it off to Val once: “Ah, Vali, don’t worry about me. I can take on the world and come through without a scratch.”
“You are acting like a fucking idiot. I’m down here trying to make sure you don’t lose everything and you’re—”
“Well, no one fucking asked you to! Maybe your problem is you forgot what it was like to be free of responsibility and live for yourself. So there you go, you are officially off the hook. I’ll make things right with Daddy and you’ll no longer have to save me,” Ellie screamed into the phone.
“You know what? Good! Because I am sick of rescuing a spoiled, selfish—”
“Go to hell, Val!”
The call ended abruptly, and Val gritted her teeth, biting back a scream of frustration. Flopping back on the bed, she winced when her bump hit the mattress.
She was just as bad as her father, guilting Ellie into conforming.
Val missed the wild child she’d been before her marriage to Cole, that girl who’d streaked across football fields and won beer pong contests. She was only twenty-six, not forty-six. She didn’t have to be stuck in this rut of her own making.
Sitting up again, she grabbed her jacket. It was time for her to rediscover herself. Forget babies. Forget awful ex-husbands. Forget fathers who wanted to play puppet master.
And forget about judge-y former Marines. It was time to get back to having fun and being who she was supposed to be.
One of those Willis girls.
VAL HAD SKIPPED out on the rest of the afternoon activities, and Justin had a feeling it was because of his jackass behavior. But really, the woman was flirting with him one minute and pushing h
im away the next.
He walked up to her hotel room and knocked, but there was no answer. Looking around the parking lot, he saw her car, so she couldn’t have gone far.
Or maybe she’s just ignoring you?
He continued on to his door and unlocked it, feeling wiped and in need of a serious nap. Hopefully, he’d be able to catch Val before dinner and clear the air.
Is that really all you want?
No, but if she wasn’t going to let him in, what was the point in getting attached? He was thirty years old and if he was honest, he’d been a little more than envious of Steph and Jared lately. Not that he wanted to be set up or meet a girl at some crazy singles weekend, but he wasn’t adverse to the thought of taking the next step with the right woman.
Which obviously wasn’t Valerie Willis, if her reaction to his admission this afternoon was any indication. He needed to face facts. Whatever connection he thought they’d had was completely one-sided and he needed to let it go.
VAL HAD GONE for a walk along the main street of True Love and past the window display of the To Love Again Consignment Boutique. A black sheer blouse that fell off one shoulder had caught her eye and pulled her inside the cozy little shop. Gilly, the salesgirl, had immediately come over to see what she was looking for, and when Val had pointed to the top, Gilly had looked her over in surprise before doing what she asked.
Val had smiled at her and pointed at a pair of black cowboy boots with rhinestone accents on the side. “Those too.”
“Oh, those are hot,” Gilly had said, pulling them down.
Two hours later, Val walked out the door with two bags of clothes and another bag of shoes, including the black boots. She kept walking up the street, swinging into the Heart Stop Coffee Shop for a latte, before moving on.
Peeking into Love N’ Locks Beauty Shop, she fingered her long brown hair and smiled.
Go big or go home, right?
Pushing the door open, she smiled at the receptionist, a brunette with full lips, and asked, “Excuse me, but I was wondering if you do walk-ins?”
“We sure do. Just a cut?” she asked.
“Yeah, I think a cut is just what I need.”
As she followed the woman back to the hair-washing station, Val listened to her jabber with half an ear.
She’d been at war with herself all week, and now her thoughts kept drifting over all the advice she’d been given. Loosen up. Get a little somethin’-somethin’. Get back on the horse. It all came down to a man, and really, the only one who did it for her was Justin.
His easy charm drew out the flirt in her, the easygoing girl who had lived for the moment instead of obsessing about “what ifs.”
She remembered ten years ago, sitting in Justin’s truck and listening to him talk about why he wasn’t scared of being deployed. Because bad things can happen anywhere, and that was true.
Maybe she’d go after him and he wouldn’t want her anymore. Maybe he’d find out she couldn’t have kids and tell her no. She could replay the “what ifs” in her head and stay on the couch alone, safe, and lonely.
Or she could take Dorothy’s advice and run with it, take risks, be bold.
Grinning, she settled back into the warm spray of water.
Tonight she was going to get back on the horse. No hesitation. She was going to jump in feet first, and no matter what, there’d be no regrets.
Tonight Val was going to start living again.
JUSTIN WOKE FROM his nap to the sound of Val’s door opening. There was quite a bit of rustling before the shower turned on.
Glancing at the clock, he realized he’d overslept. Dinner was at six, followed afterward by the dance Dorothy had warned them about at lunch.
Getting up out of bed, he stripped off his boxers and followed Val’s lead. His shower was scalding hot, just the way he liked it. When he got out, he’d barely pulled on a new pair of shorts before there was a knock on the adjoining door.
Padding over, he opened it to find Val, face scrubbed free of makeup and a towel on her head, smiling at him.
“Oh, sorry.”
From the devilish glint in her eye, he had a feeling she’d meant to catch him by surprise. “It’s okay. I was just getting dressed for dinner.”
“Oh, good. I actually wanted to apologize for acting like a bitch. Again. I could have handled the questions better,” she said, sighing deeply. “The truth is, I came down here because my father threatened to disinherit my little sister if I didn’t.”
“Did she deserve it?” Justin asked, contemplating what he’d do if he had a daughter like Ellie. If his daughter was acting out and running wild, he’d probably lock her up.
“Probably, but she’s my sister, and I keep hoping she’ll get her shit together,” Val said, leaning against the door frame. “I also wanted to say that if I had known you’d come by to see me, I would have called or written in a heartbeat. But he never told me you came by, and since you didn’t call, I figured it was just a night of fun.”
What was she doing? Why was she suddenly being so open?
“And I think that was it. I already told you how I didn’t love my ex-husband, so I think we’re good. Air’s all cleared. Cards on the table,” she said.
He relaxed a little. It seemed like she was trying to be real with him, but did that mean she’d changed her mind about him?
“Thank you for telling me. I was actually going to apologize to you for prying,” he said sincerely. “It was none of my business.”
Her laugh was low and smoky, putting his cock on high alert. She reached out and trailed her hand across his chest, looking up with those dark eyes, and he sucked in his breath at the open invitation.
“In my humble opinion, you should always apologize shirtless.”
He caught her hand, flattening the palm against his chest. “I don’t like playing games.”
“Who says I’m playing?” she countered, and his confusion deepened.
“You were the one saying you weren’t interested in me, but here you are again, flirting and making me think there’s a chance,” he said, ignoring the way she licked her bottom lip. Something was going on with her, and he wasn’t sure he was even interested in getting involved anymore.
Suddenly, she was plastered against his front on her tiptoes, her arms around his neck. He could feel her breasts pushing against his chest and he dipped his head toward her naturally. When she pressed her lips to his, he still didn’t touch her, afraid to move.
When she pulled back, her towel was cockeyed and she let him go. “No more games, I promise.” Adjusting her towel, she grinned and backed away from him. “I’d better finish getting ready.”
He realized she was going to kiss and dash. “Val . . .”
“I’ll see you there.”
She shut the door and he cursed, his brain going back to his dad’s favorite saying: “Trying to understand a woman is like a one-legged man trying to kick his own ass.”
AN HOUR LATER, Justin sat down at his place card and found the blonde from trivia already seated beside him. Trying to hide his disappointment, he said, “Hey, Layla.”
She looked up at him with a relieved smile. “Hey, Justin.” She craned her neck around and whispered, “Where’s Valerie?”
“Not sure,” he said, looking at the place card next to him, a name he didn’t recognize.
“There she is. Oh wow!”
Justin swung toward where Layla was looking and saw Val coming into the room. Her once-long locks were cut into a short page boy, drawing attention to her delicate features and the bare, creamy shoulder peeking out from the sheer shirt she was wearing. She had on a black tank top too, but he saw a definite twinkling in her belly button that said she was showing a lot of skin above her low-rise jeans.
“She is so beautiful,” Layla whispered, and Justin agreed, as Val weaved through the room, smiling at men who stopped her along the way.
When her gaze caught his, she gave him a little wink before turning away, and
he wished he could get inside her head and figure out what the hell she was thinking.
Chapter Thirteen
* * *
VAL COULD FEEL Justin’s gaze on her from two tables over, and a definite thrill raced down her spine.
“Well, hello, Valerie.”
As giddy as she’d been, her skin was suddenly crawling at the all-too-familiar voice. Looking up into the icy blue eyes of Kyle Jenner, she said, “Fuck no.”
He actually looked amused, the douche bag. “No, what?”
“Whatever you’re doing within five feet of me, you need to move. Now.”
“But that’s my seat,” Kyle said, pointing to the chair next to her.
Val looked over at the place card and grimaced. Sure enough, there was his name on the slip of paper.
Standing up, she grabbed her own place card. “Well then, I’ll find another seat.”
“But our fathers’ went through so much trouble to get us together.”
Val froze. Just the thought that her dad would go behind her back to try to set her up with the vile bastard before her made her downright murderous.
“My father knows I despise you.”
“Maybe he was hoping I could charm you out of your irrational dislike.”
That was just too much, and she laughed without any humor. “Irrational? I think I have a perfectly rational reason to despise you.”
This was the last straw. It was one thing for her father to employ Kyle, but this blatant disregard for her needs was too much. No matter what he thought he would accomplish with this stunt, she wasn’t going to suffer Kyle’s presence a minute longer.
Place card in hand, she searched the room for Dorothy, but she was nowhere in sight.
“Really, Valerie, you’re being unreasonable,” Kyle snapped.
“On the contrary, unreasonable would be stabbing you with my fork. Right in your crotch,” she said, glancing pointedly. “Under the circumstances, I think I’m being damn charming.”
