All Grown Up(19)

Bella had no clue what we were talking about, yet rolled her eyes. “Whatever it is, don’t encourage him.”

“I’ll try to remember that.”

“What are you doing here?” my sister asked. “And why are you here so damn early? You had to leave the city at four in the morning to get out here at this time.”

I shrugged. “Figured I’d beat traffic.” I locked eyes with Val. “Lately, I haven’t been sleeping well anyway. Something’s been on my mind. Keeps me up at night.”

My sister assumed I was talking about work. “Well, just do what you always do. Go after it like it’s nobody’s business, and you’ll get it.”

“Very good advice.” I grinned.

“We were just going to have some breakfast. Valentina was going to cook. But since you’re here, you can take us out, Mr. Moneybags.”

“I can do that.” I looked to Val. “John’s Pancake House?”

“Ummm…I don’t mind cooking. You’re welcome to join us.”

No way was I passing up an opportunity to get inside her house. “Even better.”

“Well, why don’t you give me a little bit, and I’ll wash up and get breakfast started.”

She disappeared into her house. I impatiently waited fifteen minutes, and then Bella finally came downstairs.

“You didn’t even change yet?” I said.

“My roommate from school called while I was upstairs. It’s impossible to get Brooke off the phone.” She tossed her cell on the couch and pulled the hair tie from her hair. “Think Val will mind if I take a quick shower?”

“Why don’t I go over and let her know before she starts cooking. Then you can take your time.”

“Perfect. Thanks, Ford.”

Yeah. Perfect.

***

“Hey.” Val opened the screen door and looked over my shoulder for Bella.

“She’ll be over in a bit. She wanted to give us some alone time.”

Val’s eyes bulged. She was cute when she freaked out, but I let her off the hook, leaning in close as I passed. “Joking. Relax.”

I hadn’t been inside her house in years…probably since I was seventeen and kept an eye on Ryan the last time. The layout was exactly the same as ours, only hers was painted brighter colors. I headed straight to the kitchen, my nose leading the way.

“Our chaperone is in the shower. What smells so good?”

“I’m making spinach and feta frittatas, with bacon on the side.”

A bunch of yellow sticky notes on the refrigerator caught my attention. A few had obvious errands written on them, but one just said Oil.

Val noticed me reading. “The back door squeaks.”

“You want WD-40, not actual oil then.”

“Oh yeah. Okay. Thanks.”

“I have some lube that can take care of you.”

She glanced sideways at me, unsure if I was being a wiseass or not. I managed to keep a straight face and turned back to the fridge.

Pointing to another sticky, I asked, “VS?”

“Oh. I…uh…need to pick up…” She shook her head. “It stands for Victoria’s Secret.”

“I can help you with that, too. The mirrors in dressing rooms can’t be trusted. I’ll come so you can model for me.”

Valentina laughed, and that sound was freaking awesome—right up there with my other favorites like the ocean and a crackling fire. It drew me closer to where she stood in front of the stove. Three burners were going at once.

“Wow. That looks delicious.”

“I only have three small pans, so I can only make two frittatas at a time.”

I shrugged. “Works for me. Bella doesn’t need to eat anyway.”

“How thoughtful of you.” She walked to the refrigerator, took out the feta, and began to sprinkle it into the pan with the eggs.

I moved behind Val, definitely closer than was neighborly, and took a deep breath in. “Smells delicious.”

She ignored me. The burner she wasn’t cooking on had a paper-towel-lined plate filled with crispy bacon. I reached around her to swipe a piece, and my chest brushed lightly against her back. I heard the hitch in her breath, even over the sizzle of the bacon.

Good to know.

She didn’t budge as I leaned in to steal a second piece.

This time, I purposely brushed against her back. “You smell good.”

Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail, allowing me to see the nape of her neck, skin that was pebbling with tiny goosebumps—so I didn’t back up.

“I love knowing you thought about me this week. Are you curious what I was doing when I thought about you? Because I can’t stop wondering what you were doing when you were thinking about me.”

Valentina’s breathing grew more labored. I wanted to turn her around and press my body against hers, make her gasp into my mouth. But even though I could see her reaction to me on her skin, her body language was still rigid. I’d managed to crack the door open, but she wasn’t inviting me in.

Hesitantly, I touched her arm.

“Ford.” Her voice strained in warning—like her head and body were in conflict and her head was only barely winning the fight.

“I’ll go first. I thought of you during the day when I was at work, staring at the computer where we’d first messaged back and forth online. I thought of you as I was at a lunch business meeting yesterday, wondering what wine you would order. But my favorite time to think about you was at night. I’d take off all my clothes, get into bed, shut my eyes, and reach down and grab my—”