by Laura Ann
“Hang on,” he told Val, jogging to catch up with his grandmother. “Let me,” he said to Grams. Reaching out his arm, he quickly hailed her a taxi and got her settled.
As she sat down, Grams reached up and cupped his cheek. “She’s perfect for you, dear. Don’t you dare let her go.”
Andrew smiled and kissed her cheek. “Thanks. I knew you’d approve.”
Grams made a fake grumpy face. “Approve? I was the instigator of the whole thing!” She folded her arms. “Not that anyone would admit to it,” she grumbled.
Andrew laughed and shook his head as he closed the door and waved them away.
“She took credit for us, didn’t she?” Val asked from behind him.
Andrew spun. “Now who’s sneaking up on people?”
Val rolled her eyes. “Lola told me she planned it all from the beginning.”
Andrew wrapped an arm around Val’s waist. “So she claims.” He raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you glad I didn’t try to attack you the way you tried to attack me?”
Val scowled. “I didn’t attack you. I defended myself.”
He put his hands up. “You gave me permission!”
“Not to be sneaky!”
Andrew smiled and cut off their fighting with a kiss.
“Kissing me doesn’t mean you win,” Val said in between kisses.
“Feels like winning to me,” Andrew answered.
Val laughed and pulled away. “Andrew...we’re in public.”
“Pretty sure they’ve seen this kind of thing before,” he argued, trying to pull her back in. “Besides, you weren’t answering my texts.”
“I was working!”
“Work, work, work.” He managed to bring her close enough to rest his forehead against hers. “It seems like that’s all that you do.”
“Look who’s talking,” she whispered back. She broke free from his embrace and started walking. “Besides, my job is to protect your grandmother, so you better not be distracting me.”
Andrew caught up and took her hand, letting it swing between them. “And I’m grateful for your dedication.” They walked in pleasant silence for a few moments before Andrew tugged on her hand. “I’m feeling the need for an ice cream cone.” He grinned down at Val’s beautiful face. “Join me?”
She glanced at her watch. “I’d love to, but how long can you stay away from the office?”
Andrew shrugged. “As long as I want.” He winked at her. “All I need is a good reason.”
Val laughed softly. “Andrew McPherson, you are something else.”
He let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “I’m glad you think so. Please note that I return that sentiment.”
Val sighed and rested her head in the crook of his shoulder as they waited in line for the frozen treat. “Your grandma was telling me about bringing you to the park when you were little.”
Andrew grimaced. “Please tell me she wasn’t sharing embarrassing stories about when I was a kid.”
Val glanced up, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “No, but now I think I need to ask. Just what are you trying to hide?”
Andrew worked to make his face innocent. “Absolutely nothing.”
“Liar.”
He laughed. It felt so good to be happy and carefree. He hadn’t realized how much that was missing from his life until Val had shown up, guns blazing. Ever since they’d become an item, he’d found himself smiling more and moving through his day with more purpose. He looked forward to evenings when Val would come over and they could spend time fighting over the bean bag and movie selection. It’s all happening so fast, but it all feels so right. He studied her while they waited in line, enjoying the feel of his arm around her. I don’t think I could stop myself at this point even if I wanted to. Stick a fork in me...I’m done.
“Vanilla, please,” Val said to the man behind the cart. She eyed the man, but didn’t say anything more.
The older man scowled at her, and ignored her greeting. Getting the ice cream ready, he thrust the cone at Val and looked at Andrew.
Geez, what’s bugging him? Andrew turned to Val, determined to ignore the vendor’s attitude. “Vanilla?” Andrew scrunched his nose.
Val frowned and put her hand on her hips. “What’s wrong with vanilla?”
“It’s...boring.” Andrew shrugged, then turned to the man waiting for his order. “I’ll take praline pecan.”
The man rolled his eyes and dug into his supply.
Seriously? What’s his problem? Does he treat all his customers like this? It’s a wonder Grams worked with him a few weeks ago.
“Well, that doesn’t sound pretentious at all,” Val drawled, licking a drip of ice cream off her knuckle. “And vanilla is perfect. Sweet, clean, and goes with anything.”
“All right, Ms. Poet. Walk me back to my office.” Andrew took her hand once more and slowly they started making their way back to his building.
Walking down the sidewalk with his girlfriend at his side, Andrew held back another one of his girly sighs. I’m not sure life gets much better than this.
CHAPTER 15
“No,” Val said patiently. “Put your foot to the side, like this.” She demonstrated the move, shifting her weight much more obviously than necessary.
Lola huffed. “I’m too old for all this!” She threw up her hands and plopped onto a chair, wiping a single bead of sweat from her forehead. “Oh, thank you, Gerald.” She sighed, reaching for a glass of lemonade that the butler was offering.
Val rolled her eyes at the dramatics. “We’ve barely gotten going, Lola. You can’t take a break now!”
Lola glared from her seat. “I can take a break whenever I want, thank you very much.”
Val’s shoulder’s dropped. “Come on, Lola. I’m doing this for you.”
“Why in the world would you feel the need to teach me self defense?” Lola argued.
Because you won’t tell me what keeps upsetting you in the park. “Because every woman should know how to defend herself.”
“I thought that’s why I hired you,” Lola said with a smug smile.
“And I’m here to help, but I’m not perfect. What happens if you go somewhere without me? Or if there’s more than one guy to fight?”
Lola sighed and set down her glass. “Point taken.” She groaned as she pushed herself up from her seat. “At least go easy on me,” she whined. “I’m not as young as you.”
“You don’t need to be young,” Val said calmly. “You just need to be willing to take action.”
Lola nodded. “Okay. So, I spread my legs like this?” She stepped apart.
“Yeah.” Val nodded. “So, if the guy comes up behind you, spread your legs over one of his.” She made the same stance as Lola. “His arms will probably be on your upper body somewhere. If they’re on your neck, this isn’t the right move, but if they’re on your chest or arms, you need to jerk down.” She moved and Lola copied, albeit slowly. “Right. Reach between your legs and pull.”
“So, he’s going to fall backward?” Lola asked, pretending to pull something from between her legs.
“Exactly. Once his hold is broken, your job is to get away. Run if you can.”
Lola nodded. “And if his arms are around my neck?”
Val walked over. “One of the hardest points on your body is the elbow.” She bent her arm and pointed to the joint. “Use it. Jab it back in his ribs as hard as you can.”
“Good thing I don’t have osteoporosis,” Lola muttered.
Val held back a laugh. “You can also slam your head back into his chin. It might give you a headache, but he’ll be stunned for a moment.”
“Enough for me to run,” Lola stated.
“Exactly.” The two women continued to go over tips and vulnerable places on the body and how to get out of different types of holds.
“All right! Enough!” Lola was breathing heavily as she sat down. “I really do need a break this time.”
Val nodded and grabbed h
er water bottle while they both caught their breath.
“So...who are we going to try these on?” Lola asked with a grin.
Val barked out a laugh. “You want to try them in real life?”
“Of course!” Lola made a face. “What good is this knowledge if I don’t put it to practical use?”
Val grinned and shrugged. “I guess I could play mugger for you.”
“No, no.” Lola shook her head. “It needs to be a man. That’s the only way this will work.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have any men just sitting around, waiting for you to beat them up, Lola.”
Lola huffed and took another drink. “There must be someone who will let me test things on them.”
“If it isn’t my favorite lady and her intimidating side kick!” Luke boomed as he waltzed into the room with Andrew on his heels.
Lola slowly turned her head and gave Val a conspiratorial look before turning back to the men. “Hello, Luke! Andrew!” She held out her arms and accepted cheek kisses from both of the men.
Val couldn’t help her wide smile as Andrew walked over and gave her much more than a cheek kiss.
“Ugh,” Luke complained, throwing himself onto the couch. “No PDA, please.”
Val laughed softly as Andrew kissed her even more just to give Luke a hard time.
“Dude!” Andrew complained when a pillow hit him in the back of the head. “You better watch it. Grams doesn’t like people messing with her decorations.”
Luke smiled unrepentantly. “It wasn’t a decoration. It was a pillow.”
“To her,” Andrew pointed to a scowling Grams, “they’re decorations.”
“Ah...she still loves me. Don’tcha Grams?”
Grams tilted her head and studied Luke. “Of course, I do. But to make up for your terrible behavior, I need you to do something for me.”
“Anything.”
Grams smiled with false sweetness and Val had to pinch her lips between her teeth to keep from laughing out loud. This is gonna be good.
VAL WAS SHAKING WITH silent laughter and Andrew couldn’t quite figure out what was going on. His eyes went back and forth between his grandmother and Val, but they weren’t communicating to each other.
“If you will please stand here.” Grams stood from her seat and pointed to a spot on the floor.
Luke was grinning widely as he obliged. “Anything else?” he asked.
“Just a moment.” Grams turned her back to him. “Now please wrap your arms around me.”
Luke’s face turned confused. “Uh...Grams I love ya, but—”
Grams turned to scowl over her shoulder. “Luke Branson. You said you’d do anything.”
Luke looked heavenward and muttered for a moment. “Okay, okay.” He stepped up right behind her and gingerly wrapped his arms around her like a hug.
“What’s going on?” Andrew whispered in Val’s ear. She was leaning forward in eager anticipation and Andrew had yet to figure out why.
“Just wait,” came the reply.
Andrew shook his head in confusion, but went back to watching the scene.
“Very good,” Grams said. She looked to Val, who pointed to her feet. “Ah, yes. Here we go.” Grams stepped sideways, putting Luke’s foot between hers.
Andrew had a sudden revelation, but Grams was too quick for him to warn his best friend. With a giant THUD, Luke went sprawling onto the floor.
Grams clapped her hands. “I did it!” she squealed.
“You’re not done!” Val shouted. “Finish him off!”
“What?” Luke gasped from the ground. The air in his chest had obviously been knocked out of him with the unexpected fall. “Finish me off?”
“Oh, yes.” Grams turned and gingerly put the heel of her foot in Luke’s face. His eyes were wide and his arms went up in surrender. “I just crushed your nose, young man.” With a firm nod, she turned and walked to the far side of the room. “And now I am safe.”
Val clapped and Andrew couldn’t help but add in his own congratulations. “Wow, Grams. That was seriously impressive!”
Grams tilted her head in a regal bow. “I owe it all to Valentina and her superb teaching skills.”
“Why did you teach my grandmother a move like that?” Andrew asked quietly.
“Because every woman should know how to defend herself,” Val whispered back. “And there will be times when I’m not always around.”
“And just where will you be?” Andrew asked, nuzzling his nose just below her ear. “You finding your time taken up by other things lately?” He grinned as he listened to her breathing pick up. He loved the fact that he was able to affect her just as much as she affected him. Valentina Lopez was proving to be the best thing that had ever happened to Andrew. Except for being raised by Grams, of course. I wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for her. But other than that...
“Are we not going to discuss the fact that Grams nearly sent me to the hospital?” Luke groused as he stood up and rubbed the back of his head.
“Would you like us to discuss how an old woman took you out?” Val asked sweetly. “No offense, Lola.”
“None taken,” Lola responded easily, waving away the words. “I completely agree with them. And maybe next time he’ll learn to come prepared not to throw my decorations about.”
“Not going to be a next time,” Luke grumbled. “I’m never getting close to you again.”
Grams tsked her tongue, then asked Gerald to bring Luke an ice pack for his head.
“Now she’s started it,” Andrew whispered, still curled up next to Val. “Luke loves to be pampered. He’ll milk this for all it’s worth.”
Val laughed. “It’ll be made doubly worse by the fact that Grams loves to pamper. She’ll treat him like the baby he is for as long as he allows it.”
“I heard that,” Luke shot out with a glare. “And we’ll see how you react when your guard is down.”
“I never let my guard down,” Val said smugly.
“I pity your guys’ kids,” Luke groaned, leaning back and closing his eyes.
A jolt ran through Andrew at the thought of having kids with Val, but he knew they weren’t quite there yet. Things were moving in the right direction, but he wanted to give things just a little more time before he told her all that was building in his heart.
“Yeah, well, at least our kids won’t be whiners,” Val teased right back.
Or maybe not too much more waiting. He smiled and kissed the side of her head, perfectly content with his life.
CHAPTER 16
“You want to what?” Val asked incredulously into the phone. “Lola, are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure!” Lola answered in exasperation, her voice tinny over the small speaker.
Val didn’t need to see the woman’s face to know exactly what it looked like. Her head would be tilted sideways and her bright blue eyes would be staring at Val as if she had grown a second set of arms, Lola’s white eyebrows would be high on her brow. “I just...I think this might be a little...” Val sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m worried this will draw a more dangerous crowd, Lola. It will be harder for me to keep you safe.”
“I have complete faith in you, my dear,” Lola said firmly. “Not enough people in the world know what good barbecue is.”
Val couldn’t help but laugh even though she was completely uncomfortable with what Lola was suggesting. “How do you plan to pull this off? I mean, having a massive picnic in the middle of the park would require lots of people and planning.”
“You underestimate me, Valentina,” Lola said sharply. “My body might be more feeble than it used to be, but I still have a brain.”
“I know that, Lola. I wasn’t trying to insult your intelligence, but you hired me to keep you safe. Drawing an unruly crowd of hundreds of people makes it very difficult for me to do that. And since this is the first I have heard of this, I have no idea what you have or haven’t set up.”
Lola’s sigh was lo
ng and drawn out. “I’ve hired a barbecue catering company to bring their grills to the park where we will set up tables and feed anyone who wants to come. I planned this weeks ago, but didn’t feel I had to tell you until it was all ready to go.”
“In other words, you didn’t want Andrew to know.”
There was a pause before Lola answered. “My grandson worries too much.”
“He worries because he loves you,” Val couldn’t help but point out.
“Then maybe it’s time he found someone new to worry about!”
Time for a change of subject! Despite how much she adored Lola, Val was definitely not comfortable sharing relationship details with her. I mean, seriously, I’m not going to talk to her about whether we’ve kissed or what we do on our dates! That’s just...weird! “Tell me what you’ve got planned and I’ll get prepared.” She had a sudden thought. “Oh, and if necessary, I’ll grab a couple of the guys from work, if that’s okay? I’m just worried about how many people are going to show up to this shindig.”
“Shindig,” Lola said with a chuckle. “Such an odd word.”
“Lola,” Val growled.
“Fine, fine. Bring however many of those handsome men you need to.”
Val could just imagine Lola waving her hand in the air. After Val wrote down all the specifics, she hung up with Lola and texted Harlan.
Val: I’m going to need back up at the park today. Large party. Are there two or three who could come help?
Harlan: Sawyer and Archer can come. I’ll send them the details.
Val sent back a thumbs up and hurried upstairs to shower. Today is going to be a long day.
A few hours later, she was standing under the hot midday sun, surveying a large crew of caterers as they handled the meat on their barbecues. The smell of smoke and wood filled the air and she couldn’t help but take a deep breath.
“Not such a bad idea after all, huh?” Lola asked from Val’s right side.
Val glanced over. “I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad, Lola, but once this place gets packed, it’s going to be difficult to keep an eye on things.”
“You said you had others coming to help.” The grandmother shrugged. “It shouldn’t be a big deal. Everyone will be eating and paying no attention to me at all.”
