All Grown Up(48)

I waltzed over to the counter. “Ummm. Excuse me. Do you know if these come in a larger size?” I could feel my face starting to heat…and…I felt a sneeze coming on.

The guy answered as if I’d asked him the time. “They do. They’re special order. The ones in the store are glass and go up to one inch on the last bead. But this manufacturer also has a silicone set that goes up to two inches and another that goes up to three. Would you like me to order you a set? We can have them delivered direct to the house to save you a return trip.”

“Ahhhh...” I knew my face was flaming red. I covered my mouth and turned my head. “Achoo! Excuse me.”

“God bless you.”

I still had the anal balls in my hand, and the guy was waiting for an answer. “Ummm. I’ll think about it. Thanks.”

Before I could scurry away, Ford was at my side. He set the anal video the clerk had directed him to on the counter and took the beads from my hands. “We’ll just take these for now.”

The clerk rang us up, and somehow I managed to get out of the store without dying of embarrassment. In the parking lot, we started to crack up. Ford kissed me up against the car through our smiles.

I looked around. “Is there a bus full of schoolchildren I’m being inappropriate in front of or something?”

Ford pushed my hair behind my ear. “No, I just can’t resist kissing you.”

My heart fluttered. This man could turn me into a puddle of mush thirty seconds after embarrassing me half to death. He caused an insane array of emotions to stir alive inside of me—fear, anxiousness, lust, greed, desire.

And there was a little bit of something else sprinkled into that pool of feelings—something I knew deep down would crush me at the end of the summer.





Chapter 17




* * *





Valentina



“Shit.” Ford pulled into his driveway. A red convertible had parked in front of us, and two girls were removing luggage from the trunk.

“Unexpected company?”

He groaned and shook his head. “Unexpected, no. Unwanted, yes. I forgot Bella’s friends were coming out for the weekend. I think she’s having six of them.”

Each girl had a rolling suitcase and a duffle bag. “Looks more like they’re staying for the summer.”

“They better not be. I should have made her cancel after the crap she pulled. But I totally forgot. And of course, she didn’t remind me.” Ford opened his car door. “I hope you don’t mind me spending a lot of time at your place this weekend.”

I smiled. “That’s fine with me.”

As soon as we exited the car, the girls spotted Ford.

One squealed and rushed over to greet him, her arms open wide as she approached. “Ford! I was hoping you’d be here.” She pressed her young body against his. Ford did the one-arm, pat-on-the-back awkward hug.

“What’s up, Sierra?” He lifted his chin to the other girl. “Hey, Holly.”

The hugger looked him up and down. “You look good.” Her eyes glinted with interest, and she flashed a coy smile. “Then again, you always look good.”

“Yeah. Thanks. I guess my sister is in the house. I haven’t seen her since last night.”

The girls finally noticed another person standing next to Ford, and he made the introductions. “Valentina, these are two of my sister’s pain-in-the-ass friends, Sierra and Holly.”

I smiled. “Nice to meet you, girls.”

Sierra tilted her head, quickly forgetting me. “Can you help me up the stairs with my suitcase, Ford?”

“I don’t know what the hell you’re packing so much for, but yeah, sure. I need to talk to Bella anyway.” He turned to me. “You want to come over?”

I figured I’d let him deal with Bella and her friends on his own. “I have a few things to do. I’ll talk to you later.”

Ford nodded, though he didn’t look thrilled to be going with his sister’s friends.

On my way up the stairs to my front door, I tried not to notice how he looked more their age than mine. I had just been starting to forget, and seeing him with young people brought it all back.

Inside, I started a load of laundry and did a little cleaning. When my phone rang, I grimaced seeing my ex’s name on the screen and considered ignoring it. But we had a son together and shared assets. It wasn’t like he called me to shoot the breeze, so I reluctantly picked up.

“Hello?”

“Hey, babe.”

I wanted to reach through the phone and strangle him every time he called me that. I’d corrected him at least a dozen times. Perhaps I should’ve argued for the return of my proper name as part of our divorce settlement.

“Valentina, please.”

“Habit. Sorry. Though I don’t get the big deal. I wouldn’t care if you called me a pet name.”

No? Which one would you like? Asshole, dickwad, cheater?

“What can I do for you, Ryan?”

“Jeez, Val. You don’t have to sound so miserable every time I call.”

But I was, and it took effort to hide it—effort I no longer cared to expend. “Have you talked to Ryan? Is everything okay with him?”