The statement was bitchy but it had hurt. Maybe Roman was right. She’d been secretly chasing after a man for far too long. A man who didn’t know she wanted him and obviously didn’t care. Maybe it was time to give someone else a chance. “It’s okay. I know you were just doing your job.” It was her mistake to assume more.
Ryan shifted in his seat and ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s not that…”
“I know. It’s my family. You’re the law. We’ve known each other since we were kids, yet you’ve had all week to get back to me. I was just being”—what was the word she searched for…needy, desperate, overly emotional?—“thankful for your help.”
“There’s no need to be. I was—”
She held up her hand. “Just stop. I know you were just doing your job.”
“That’s not all.”
She cut him off again. Her father often stated that was why she’d make such a great lawyer—she never gave anyone else a chance to talk. “I’ve had a bad week. It was stupid of me to come here tonight.” The night had held such promise. A chance to step out of her designer shoes and into the arms of a handsome man. But that was not to be. Maybe it was never meant to be for her. She would grow old alone unless her father decided to arrange a marriage for her. Which was better? She’d take the spinster route.
Goosebumps rose on her arms and she shivered just thinking about a loveless union to some friend of her father’s he thought would be a good match. Heck, when she got home, Valentina would go online and order her crazy cat lady starter kit right away.
“Are you cold?” Ryan placed his hand on her forearm. An instant flash of heat shot up her arm and she pulled away. He was probably just doing his job again, making sure she was safe. Well, it was time to grow up. She rose to her feet. It was time to stop mooning after someone she idolized in high school. The man had been on a date tonight. Valentina Caponelli was no one’s sloppy seconds. Her jaw tightened. She’d spent the last few years working and studying day and night to pass her exams and did a damn fine job of it too. A man who didn’t appreciate her didn’t deserve her.
Her legs wobbled a bit as she stood. Apparently, the one drink she’d indulged in had affected her more than she thought. She’d always been a lightweight as far as booze was concerned.
“Let me see you home.”
“See me home? No, thanks.” Valentina looped her new fringe purse over her shoulder.
“Val, what the hell is wrong with you? That guy could still be out there. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go out alone.” He trailed her to the door.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“But I do.”
Yeah, right.
“Why?” she challenged. If he said it was his job again, the man would be getting a punch in the nose.
His mouth opened but nothing came out.
“You don’t get it, do you?” Her finger poked his chest. “I’m the daughter of Don Caponelli and the sister of Roman Caponelli. I think I can take care of myself.” The cool evening air hit her skin as soon as she stepped outside, but she was fuming inside. Everyone always thought she was weak because she dressed like a lady. Well, just because she liked to look good didn’t mean she wasn’t packing a Glock in her Gucci bag.
“That’s not what I’m talking about and you know it.” His long legs had no trouble keeping up.
Her boots echoed on the blacktop as she stomped toward her truck.
“I shouldn’t have held you,” he said under his breath.
“What did you say?” That was all she needed. Now he was regretting comforting her! “Well, that’s just great. Afraid Roman will find out and have your head chopped off? I always thought you were more of a man than that.” His eyes got big. Now she’d pissed him off. How could the evening go from bad to worse to worst ever in just a matter of minutes?
“Valentina, I could care less what your brother thinks.” Ryan took a deep breath and threw up his hands. “I just want to talk, okay? To get to know you better.”
Her lips twitched and she leaned against a car, staring at the ground. “Go ahead. What do you want to know?”
“I know we went to the same school and were in different grades, but that didn’t mean I never noticed you.” He used his fingers to lift her chin and her eyes met his. “I’ve always seen you. I’ve always wanted to reach out to you but you’ve been beyond my reach.”
“Until I had a car accident?”
“Yes, then I couldn’t resist taking you in my arms.”
Could she hope that he was interested? He took her hand in his.
“But it was a mistake on my part and I never should have let it happen. It’s not professional.”
What the…? “What do you mean by that?” The guy was talking in circles.
“It’s like you said. We’re from two different worlds. After Roman and I graduated, your family and I have never crossed paths unless we had to, and it was often for bad reasons. I can see now why you never wanted to even say hi to me in school and ran the other direction whenever you caught sight of me. I thought I was not up to your standards.”
“What? I never did that and I don’t think that.”
“Yes, you did, and you probably do. You couldn’t get out of my squad car fast enough the other night.”
Well, that part was true, but it was because she was scared to death of talking to him. Heck, she took debate in school to try to help get over her shyness.
“Wait, you thought I was being a snob?”
“Yeah, but—”
“How dare you call me a snob!” Valentina moved away from his grasp. How could there be any kind of future between them when they couldn’t even have a civil conversation?
“Well, you sure acted like it.” He placed his hands on his hips, a pissed off expression on his face.
“Well, I was just shy.”
“You? Shit, you were in debate, drama, and everything else. I hear you’re a big-time lawyer now. You don’t do all those things and get that far by being timid.”
“A big-time lawyer? I said I was shy, not timid.” She mirrored his stance and stared him in the eye. How dare he dismiss her accomplishments. “Why you…you small-town cop.” She took a step closer and gritted her teeth.
“What did you call me?” Ryan narrowed their distance even more. “Now I’m just some small-town cop? What the heck is wrong with that? Does that make me beneath you or something?”
She never thought of him that way. Well, him being beneath her in a bed wouldn’t be that bad.
“No.” The man made her insane. She could now see why her father and brother always discouraged any kind of friendship between the two whenever there was any hint that she liked the man. He was an ass. “Look, this conversation has gotten way out of hand.”
“It certainly has.”
Valentina stomped off. If she’d had a second longer to think, she’d have planted a heeled boot on the foot of the second bastard she’d run into this night.
“Wait,” Ryan ordered, but she kept going. Screw him, and her, for ever thinking he might be the right man for her.
He grabbed her arm. “I said wait.” Ryan may have been an ass but he sure looked sexy with his temper up. She fought the urge to run her fingers along his scruffy jaw. He was smoking hot tonight.
“What makes you think you can tell me what to do?”
“Damn, you are the most infuriating woman I have ever met.”
“And the snobbiest,” she added.
“Wow.” He took a deep breath. “Look, we obviously got off on the wrong foot.”
“Obviously. And if you don’t let go of my arm, I will put my heel through your foot just like I did ole Bud’s back in there.” He dropped his hand as if she burned him.
“I was trying to apologize and…” He paused and she turned to leave. “And I’ve had too many beers to stop now.”
Valentina kept walking. “Stop what? Making me feel even worse than I do?”
“I never meant to do that at all.” His long stride easily caught up with hers. “I just wanted to say that no matter the situation, I’ve never taken anyone in my arms when I was working but you.” She stopped. “With you, I couldn’t help it.”
Ryan stepped in front of her. “I always noticed you in school. I could see even then that you would become a great beauty, and you were always smart. Smart enough to not want anything to do with me. I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to make you feel better and, selfishly, I wanted to feel you in my arms just once even if it was for just a brief moment.”
Her mouth opened and she could see her breath in the cold. The frigid air must have frozen her brain because she swore she just heard Ryan Donavan admit to liking her. Well, wanting to hold her, but what was the other stuff about? Insecurity? Mistrust of her family?
“I just wanted to say I’m sorry.” He flashed a weak smile. “I’ll see you to your car.”
“Wait, what?”
“I’ll see you safely to your car.”
“No, not that. You tell me you like me and then you just become Officer Ryan again?”
“It’s obvious you don’t feel the same way.”
“Maybe I do feel that way, but that doesn’t mean I’m just going to fall into your arms now that you said something.” It was what she had hoped for but things just spun out of control and became awkward. She lifted and dropped her shoulder. “A girl likes to be wooed and, you know, go on dates and—”
Her next words were cut off when his mouth touched hers. It happened so fast and then it was over. The kiss was brief yet brilliant. She licked her lips. Her heart raced.
“Let’s try that again.” Ryan tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and pressed her up against someone’s truck. Even through her clothes her backside chilled against the cold metal. Her mouth opened slightly as his lips touched her again. This time it was slow and sweet, long and luscious. His kiss was laced with the heady taste of brandy. Never a fan of brandy, it was now something she was eager to acquire a taste for.
Never did she image her evening would end in a kiss from Ryan Donavan. Sure, she’d thought of it many times, but thinking and doing were totally different. The intoxicating assault on her mouth increased and then it was gone.
Opening her eyes, she stared into dark blue ones.
“Are you wooed yet?” He winked.
The nerve of the man! “Are you so arrogant that you think one kiss will have me at your feet?” Valentina slipped out of his arms and the lack of warmth chilled her to the bone.
“Having you at my feet isn’t exactly where I picture you.” He had a smirky smile on his face.
“Oh yeah, and where is that?” She rubbed her arms and shuffled from foot to foot.
“Let’s just say I would have to do a helluva lot more wooing for that to happen.”
A gasp escaped her lips. After waiting so long for the man she yearned for to notice her, he had her head spinning, but it wasn’t time yet to forgive him for calling her snobby. That hurt. She scowled and headed to her truck.
“What the hell, Val? I tell you that I’ve always had a thing for you, kiss your socks off, and now you leave in a huff. Maybe you’re not just a snob but a tease as well.”
She halted and turned slowly around. Her fists were tight and her jaw set. His face was unreadable. Was he joking? Was he seeing how she would respond? “How dare you say that, and as you can obviously see, my socks are still on.”
Ryan laughed loudly. “I do dare.” He stepped closer and she breathed in the cool air mixed with his aftershave. It was a refreshing scent of soap and pine. “You aren’t going to make this easy on me, are you?”
“You don’t look like a man who likes things easy,” she challenged.
“It’s like I said, you are a very smart woman, Valentina. I do like a challenge and mysteries. That’s one of the reasons I became a cop. I like figuring out who the bad guys, and girls, are.”
“And you think I’m a bad girl?”
His face sobered. “Your family is.”
“I am not my family.” It was so frustrating never to be judged for the person she was but who her father was.
“The hell you aren’t.” The voice came from behind her. Valentina spun around and came face to face with her brother.