Accidental Shield (Marriage Mistake #6)(70)

We unwind in the sun that evening, then hit a gelato and smoothie place down the street for coconut-loaded everything. Val has an extra skip in her step that night as she heads off to her new room.

It’s harder than it should be to have my own bed back.

I spend a long night on the mattress, drunk and frustrated every time I smell her scent on the sheets, this soft fragrance like orchids and citrus that’s absolutely Val.

Fuck. I should be happy sprawling out on the cool sheets, especially considering how the leather sofa just brought nightmares.

But it’s no relief.

Instead, I feel like I’m losing my goddamn mind every second she’s not lying next to me.





*



Decorating those rooms leaves a wild spark in her.

Over the next two days, she continues working her magic. With my okay, she moves things around in all of the rooms downstairs, redecorates using what I already had on hand, but somehow makes each area look more homey and less like a sleek cave for two men.

That’s what my mother called it. Cave, sweet home. Nice, but sterile.

As if thinking about Ma makes her reappear, Bryce hollers out to me while I’m outside. “Hey, Dad! Grandma’s here.”

Shit!

I look at Val, who’s busy clipping wilted flowers off the hibiscus bushes while I trim the grass. She’s even spruced things up out here, making it look brighter, more alive.

My mind snaps back to attention.

“Coming!” I shout at Bryce through the door.

“Your mother, huh? What’s she going to think of me staying here?” Val asks quietly. “Do you want me to say something?”

“Well, uh—” Double shit. I haven’t talked to my mother since she dropped Bryce off and left for Maui. “No, she just thinks we’re...”

Yeah. My brain must be up my ass. I can’t form words, much less lies.

Valerie’s eyes swell, big and gold and worried. “Oh, no.”

I shoot her a sharp look.

“You told her we’re married?” She leaps to her feet. “Bryce might—”

“No, no, not married, but...” Fuck. I can’t scrape it off my tongue.

“Together?” she offers.

I nod like a marionette. “I let her assume that when she dropped off Bryce. Haven’t talked to her since because she went to Maui to see her friends. And technically, she’s supposed to be there for a couple more days.”

My gut churns. What happened to bring Ma home early?

“Sorry. I’m panicking over nothing,” Val says, wearing a thin smile. “We’ve done this before. It’s no big deal.”

No big deal? Right.

So that’s why I can almost smell the sulfur waiting for me in hell, knowing I have to do this old song and dance again.

Now, it’s even worse.

Not only has Val not met my ma yet, sleeping in that bed we used to share is driving me out of my gourd. Until last night, I hadn’t had a wet dream in ages, not since I was marooned in the middle of fuck-where Iraq without a woman in sight. Just Iranian special forces crossing the border, hoping to mow us down.

The last couple mornings have been ice-cold showers and promises to take her shopping for more clothes. Not that it’ll help. I think I’d still be burning for this woman if she walked in wearing a trash bag for a dress.

“I hate asking you to lie for me,” I growl, raking a hand through my hair.

“Flint. It’s nothing. Just a couple hours, right? How bad could it be?” She breaks into an honest smile.

“You haven’t met my ma,” I tell her, shaking my head.

I can’t believe this shit.

The days haven’t been much kinder than the nights.

That animal magnetism I keep fighting tooth and nail just grows between us. Ever since the game of water tag, I can’t forget having her pressed up to me, almost naked except for that tight little swimsuit I could shear off her in half a second flat.

Worst part is, we’ve reached such an impasse with this Cornaro fuckery, I have no choice in what’s coming down next. Davis and Cash need more, they’ve exhausted their leads.

Soon, I have to tell her what we need to do, and it won’t be pleasant.

I’ve been putting it off because I don’t want to see her back in pain. She hasn’t mentioned her family since the fallout with Ray. But last night, Davis confirmed another suspicious cargo shipment leaving Pearl City on a King Heron vessel.

We can’t delay the inevitable. Not much longer.

Nor can I hold up seeing the woman who gave birth to me.

“Flint?” Val asks.

“Whatever, we’ll live,” I tell her, lying through my teeth. “Let’s go.”

We walk into the house and hear voices. Bryce and my mother’s, both upstairs.

Valerie looks at me questioningly, and I gesture to the steps. We might as well join them. Maybe the new decorating job will be a big enough distraction to make this less awkward.

Ma spins around the second we arrive at the door to Val’s room.

Then she throws out her arms and crosses the room, the smile she was beaming at Bryce two seconds ago getting so wide it shouldn’t be humanly possible.

“Finally, the infamous Valerie! Bryce has been singing your praises since I walked in. Hi, I’m Beverly, Flint’s mom, and let me tell you, dearie, this room is drop dead gorgeous!”