“He’s here!” Gia screeched. Then she jumped up and down and ran from the window in a flush of excitement. Gia announced Hal’s arrival with the type of ecstatic delight that should only be reserved for senior proms and first dates. It was very Gia-like to trumpet Hal’s arrival as if he were Prince Charming galloping up on a white steed, instead of an outlaw biker zooming in on a chromed-up Harley. But Valentina didn’t say a word, as a matter of fact, she was happy to see her cousin flying her freak flag once more. Since the incident with Rooster, Gia had been uncharacteristically subdued. But considering that the two girls had just survived a shit-storm of epic proportions, a little calm after the storm was not a bad thing. Especially where her cousin was concerned. With Gia’s help, Valentina had taken extra care with her appearance for her dinner date. The girls had gone shopping together and after much, much, too much debate, they settled on a rose-colored sheath dress. The soft, tissue weight fabric draped smoothly over Valentina’s body, easily skimming past her still tender and healing abdomen. The ankle length of the dress was perfect and it was chosen to cover the varied and many scabbed-over scratches and burn marks Valentina had on her legs.
She had spent fifty dollars on crème foundation that she didn’t need, to take advantage of the “free” offer to get her face done by a makeup artist at the cosmetic counter. The make-up artist was apparently a magician of mythical proportions because she was somehow able to make Valentina’s skin look dewy and fresh, while her eyes screamed seductress, and her lips pouted out a pale pink promise. When Valentina looked in the mirror and considered the whole package, she thought every bit of her looked fantastic.
Every bit of her except her hair.
The burnt bits of scalp had begun to grow hair back as promised, except that new growth sprouted up in baby soft patches in a very Daffy Duckling sort of way.
Valentina was also subject to bouts of spasmodic pain from her still healing ribcage. The cause of said pain was any sudden movement or sharp intake of breath. This discomfit would cause Valentina’s face to contort into such a sudden and horrible grimace which was known to frighten small children in supermarkets.
But other than all those two small things, Valentina thought ruefully, I look fantastic!.
When Valentina opened the door and saw Hal standing there, her eyes widened and her pulse raced. As beautiful and turbulent as the ice blue waters of a cold Nordic sea, Hal was like a lovely splash of clear, bright, bracing water. He awoke all of Valentina’s senses, made her nerve endings tingle, and took her breath away.
“You look beautiful, Tia.” Hal looked at her in earnest. Then he awkwardly stuck a large bouquet of flowers at her.
Valentina gasped in happy surprise and quickly reached out for the flowers. Unfortunately, both the quick intake of breath and the lean and stretch sent those spasms of pain shooting off like rockets. So, before the smile had a chance to hit Valentina’s face, a twisted grimace presented itself, and Hal took a step back as if he had been slapped.
“You don’t like roses? Damn. I knew I should have gone with the mixed bouquet, but that sonofabitch Riker told me all bitches—uh—all women— like roses.”
Valentina watched on in mute disbelief while Hal—this always confident, sometimes arrogant, and absolutely supreme, god’s gift of a man— stumbled over his words because of what he perceived was Valentina’s displeasure at his choice of flowers.
While Valentina stood in muted awe, Hal rasped out, “Doesn’t matter, babe. We can stop by the flower shop on the way to dinner and get you anything—everything—you want.”
“No,” she stammered out.
“No?” He shot back with exasperation. “No flowers? No dinner? No what?”
“No,” Valentina shot back. “Riker wasn’t wrong about the flowers. They’re perfect. No, I don’t want to go to the flower shop, and no, I don’t want to pick out anything different.”
“Then why did you make that face like you just swallowed your own piss when I handed them to you?” Hal was genuinely confused.
“Sometimes my ribs still hurt, and when I reached for them, I got a pain. That’s all,” Valentina told him, feeling incredibly awkward that so far this date was not going at all how she had expected.
Hal scrubbed his hand over his face. “Thank god. Shit. I don’t mean thank god that your ribs hurt. It’s just that—Jesus— I’m sweating like two rabbits fucking under a wool blanket.”
“Why?” Valentina looked at him in alarm. “What’s wrong?”
“No idea.” Hal’s mouth suddenly split into a wide grin. “I guess I’m just happy to see you.”
Valentina smiled back. “I’m happy to see you too.”
Valentina looked absurdly beautiful and ridiculously adorable at the same time. She was wearing one of those pretty pastel colors that Hal loved on her—a dusty rose that brought out the slight blush that came over her body whenever she was near him—yeah, he had noticed and he liked that— a lot. Valentina’s lips were a glossy pink, the color that reminded Hal of the sweetest cotton candy and made him hungry to taste her. But the thing he loved most about her was the way her hair stuck up in adorable little patches.
He knew that he shouldn’t enjoy it as much as he did, considering how she had gotten those little tufts of new grown hair, but the sick fuck that he was, he couldn’t help thinking she looked like some kind of fierce, dark, mutant baby duckling—incredibly badass and so delicate at the same time. Whenever Valentina thought Hal wasn’t looking she would move her hand up and quickly pat the patches down in an effort to get those soft little sprouts under control—what Valentina didn’t realize was that there was not one damn moment that Hal wasn’t looking.
And the reason for this special fascination with Valentina tonight was both incredibly simple and complicated. On the long ride across the country with his brothers, Hal had had a whole lot of time to think. And what he thought most about was Valentina. By the time he reached Nevada, the decision had been made. Hal knew that he had found the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.
The search for something he didn’t know he was looking for was over.
For weeks, Hal had thought about nothing but getting home to her —and not just that great heart shaped ass of hers, or those sweet nipples, or those little mewing sounds she breathed out when he touched her there. It was the way her pony-tail swung behind her like a crazed kitten’s tail, and the way she blushed whenever she caught him looking at her—or whenever he caught her looking at him. It was that backless, yellow silk dress and that prim cotton nightgown. It was the way her eyes softened with kindness and the way her spine steeled with determination.
It was everything she was, it was everything she wasn’t.
And Hal was going to marry her.
The ring was burning a hole in his pocket. Hal hoped Valentina would like it, he had had it custom made with five diamonds. One large on in the middle and four that circled around it just like the tiny constellation on her breast that he was so crazy about. He wondered if she would recognize the pattern. He was looking forward to seeing that hot blush when she did.
Yup, Hal was sure as hell gonna make that woman his wife.
It never occurred to him that she might have other plans.