“Little Ana?” I gripped her waist to get her off me and take a good look at her. “How long has it been?”
“Five years. You’re really here. Your mom said everyone was coming over. I honestly didn’t believe her. It’s so good to see you.”
Little Ana was all grown up. It was weird to see her like this and not hiding in some corner, spying on her brother and us. She was so pretty and full of good energy. “It’s good to see you too. Come on. You have to meet my fiancée.”
“What? I thought you’d already, you know, put a noose around your neck.”
I let out a breath. I was tired of having to explain my situation with Valentina. I wanted us to be married already so we could be here and be a family.
8
This Is More Than a Bump
Valentina
In Derek’s defense, I had agreed to be his buffer this month, which apparently meant being on the receiving end of his mom’s off comments. Innocent and hurtful. That required skill. If Em had told me exactly what I was walking into, I never would have come to Atlanta. I never would have agreed to stay here a whole thirty days. Who was I kidding? I would have done anything Derek asked. I loved him that much, and he deserved to be here with his family. A month wasn’t that long of a time.
I stood by the creek’s edge. Shit. Cool water streamed over my shoes, and I stepped back as an incredibly gorgeous blonde wrapped her legs around Derek’s waist. I’d meant to go across to meet him but instead landed in the small current running through. Man, was I getting tired of Derek and all the beautiful women in his life? At least this one had clothes on. The last time I found myself in this same situation, Derek’s girl du jour was butt naked. Back then, I had no reason to be jealous because Derek and I were not together. But now...
No, I wasn’t jealous. I trusted Derek. He’d proven so many times that I was the one for him. I took a swig from my wine glass and swallowed nothing but air. On the other side of the white picket fence, just beyond the narrow creek, Derek gripped the woman’s waist and slid her down. Okay, I was jealous, but who was I to tell Derek what to do? I shuffled back onto the grassy area. My shoes were soaked, possibly ruined. This place wasn’t for me. Derek had a life here I didn’t fit into.
I took off my soggy wedges. Go home to Max. That was all I could think of. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I made the decision to leave because the second I was barefoot and able to move again, I found myself heading back toward the house, through the heavily wooded land between the Cole Estate and Little Ana’s mansion.
This was too much, too soon. Derek would have to understand. Maybe our wedding was also too much, too soon. Technically speaking, I’d only known Derek for two months. Yeah, we had coffee together pretty much every day for six months before that, but we never spoke. He was just the beautiful stranger who visited the same coffeehouse.
The humidity made it hard to breathe and keep up with a brisk pace, but I pushed on. If I hurried, I could book a flight and be gone tonight. Derek’s mom was right on that. I needed to be with my son. I mentally made a list of what I needed to do to get myself home. Step one: don’t cry. I wiped my hand across my cheek and surveyed the area.
Where the hell was I? I should have been to the house by now. I didn’t slow down. instead I veered left through the trees. In an instant, I had the wind knocked out of me, as if I had run into a big, wet tree—a person. I bounced off him and slammed into the rough bark of an actual tree trunk.
“Whoa, there.” A male voice boomed over my head, loud and far away at the same time. “Are you okay?”
I peered up at him but only saw a shadow as he blocked the sunlight along with the other trees. “You’re tall.” I sounded drunk. I had Derek’s mom to thank for that. The woman made me want to chug a bottle of wine.
He chuckled. “Can you sit up?”
I nodded, but when I braced my hand on the ground, it slid off the exposed thick root. I fell sideways on a very muscular arm. “Okay, maybe not.”
“I got you.” He picked me up as if I’d weighed nothing and sat me against the tree trunk. “Let’s take a look.”
He kneeled in front of me, wet hair and bare chest. Should I be worried? Did I leave the Cole property? Something about this stranger felt familiar and comforting, though. “Who are you?”
“I’m Wesley. Derek’s brother.” He pushed a strand of hair away from my face. “You must be Valentina.”
“How do you know?” I touched a finger to the sore patch on my sticky forehead. Blood. I stared at my hand. “I was trying to get back to the house.”
“Well, the house is that way.” He pointed exactly the opposite direction of where I was headed before he knocked me over.
“Thanks. I’m sorry I ran into you like that. Are you okay?”
He laughed again. A manly and calming sound. “Trust me, I’ll be all right. Here.” He pulled on the towel wrapped around his neck and pressed it against my temple. “Good news is you won’t need stitches. Bad news is my brother is gonna want answers. This is going to be a nasty bruise.”
“Can we not tell anyone?” This was too embarrassing. Not only had I run off like some scared little girl but I’d managed to get lost and hurt myself.
I met his gaze. He had a look in his hazel eyes that said he understood my predicament. So different from Derek’s, but also familiar. He winked. “It’ll be our little secret. But we definitely need to ice the area.” He examined me as though he’d done this sort of thing many times.
“You’ve done this before?”
“Which part? Slam my brother’s fiancée into a tree? No. You’re my first.”
I giggled. “I feel so stupid. I got a little flustered before.” I pointed toward Ana’s house. Wesley grabbed my wrist and pointed the other way. “Ana’s house is the other way.”
“How do you know that’s where I was?”
“Well, the math isn’t that hard. Fiancée meets Mom’s chosen wife for Derek. Fiancée breaks down and takes off running.” Technically, I’d walked, but yeah. He dabbed my cheek with the towel, eyebrow raised, daring me to say that wasn’t why my eyes were red.
I dropped my head in my hands. “I thought I was reading too much into it.”
“I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Derek and Ana are just friends.” He glanced down at his hand, his playful tone gone. “She’s just a family friend. Nothing more.”
“Thank you. But I think I should head home. We’re not ready for this.”
“Wait here. You need to ice this.” He disappeared through a small path lined with gardenia bushes.
I let my head fall back on the tree trunk. The smell of flowers and chlorine lingered in the air. “Is this the pool house?” I asked when Wesley returned with a fresh towel filled with ice and fixed it gently on the side of my head.
“Yes. It’s just through there.”
“That explains why you’re half-naked and wet.” My cheeks burned hot. “I’m sorry.” Note to self. No more wine. And no more running into trees.
He barked out a laugh, rubbing his hair to get chlorinated water on my face. I didn’t have brothers. Sitting here with Wesley made me wish I had. “I’ll sit with you until you feel like getting up.”
Tears welled in my eyes. At least Wesley was nice. I didn’t belong here. I’d hoped this visit would bring me closer to Derek. He’d been so excited to have his family meet me and give their blessing. I made a mess of everything, getting drunk and then running off. Jesus. If I didn’t leave of my own volition, Derek would probably ask me to leave anyway.
“Mom has always been like this with whatever girl we brought home. Don’t take it personally.”
“You weren’t there.”
“Not today. But I have been there.”
“What did your girlfriends do?”
He shrugged. “I’m probably not the best guy to ask. I don’t really do relationships.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”
“No worries.”
He met my gaze, and again I got the sense that he knew what he was looking for. A concussion. I’d given my son that look so many times. Did he have kids?
“You have experience with concussions.”
“Marine. Well…” He furrowed his brows, looking away from me.
Did I hit a nerve? I was a real charmer today.
“I was honorably discharged recently. I’m a civilian now.”
“You don’t like it?”
“I do. I get to work with Mom, so that’s fun.” He grinned at me.
I returned the gesture. “Derek told me about your mom’s business.”
“Yeah. Wealth management. Derek bailed on her. I don’t blame him. Mom’s vision wasn’t big enough for him. He made the right choice, and Mom knows that. Those two are too stubborn.”
I raised my hand. “I know.”
“It worked out. Now Mom has a big whale for a client, her own son, and I get to do what I always wanted to do.”
“The Marine Corps was not your first choice?”
“Come on. You sound like you’re good to go.” He stood and offered me his hand. When I took it, he pulled me up. My feet dangled in the air for a few beats before I landed steady in front of him. “No shoes?”
“Oh. I must’ve dropped them on the way here.”
“I can carry you if you want.” He pointed at my ankle. It was badly scratched and bruised. Jeez, I was really not made for the outdoors. A backyard was kicking my ass.
“In your dreams.” Derek’s voice boomed from behind me.
Was I mad at Derek for being so oblivious to his mom’s antics? Hell yes. But the heaviness in my chest when we were apart was unbearable. I wanted to go home, but I wanted him to come with me. Would he?
I turned around, and his face blanched. Did I look that bad? He closed the space between us in two strides. “Jesus fuck, what happened?” He cradled my face, glaring at Wesley.
“My bad. I didn’t see where I was going and sort of bumped into her.”
“This is more than a bump.” Derek surveyed my face with an intensity in his eyes that warmed my heart. “I’m so sorry about before.”
I pushed his hands away. “What about before?”
From behind me, Wesley took the towel and ice from me. “Okay. I’m going to exit right. Valentina, it was great to meet you. If you need anything, let me know.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll see you around?” His tone was an invitation to not give up on Derek just yet.
“Yeah.”
“What really happened?” Derek asked when Wesley was out of sight.
“I freaked out, okay? The wine didn’t help either.” I touched my palm to my head. The bleeding had stopped, and the throbbing had subsided to a manageable level. “Sweet Ana didn’t help.”
“Ana? What did she do?”
“What?” I blurted out. My non-concussion was turning into the mother of all headaches. “She was literally all over you.”
He let out a laugh, then pursed his lips when I glared at him. “You have it all wrong. Ana’s my friend’s little sister. She’s practically my sister. We grew up together. Seriously, up until today, I hadn’t talked to her much. She was always Charlie’s pesky little sister.”
“She doesn’t look that young.”
“Well, come to think of it, she’s your age. Is she? No, she’s twenty-one. Maybe?” He glanced up toward the sky, as if doing math in his head. “I promise you there’s nothing there. She was happy for us. I wanted you to meet her. Why did you leave?”
For such a brilliant man, Derek was being so dense right now. I raised an eyebrow at him, fighting the urge to slap him to get him to wake up. “I felt out of place.” I opted for the truth.
He reached for me and held me to his chest. “I’m so sorry. I thought all of this was going to be insta-love. I mean you seem to like Wesley okay.”
“He was so nice to me.”
“Don’t let the sad puppy look fool you. It’s an act.” Derek trying to be funny disarmed me. Really, whenever he tried, I couldn’t resist him. “Ana wants to throw us an engagement party. She’s happy for us. Mom has her own crazy ideas, but we’re adults.”
“Why didn’t you tell me your mom had already picked out a wife for you?”
He coughed as if he’d swallowed and it’d gone the wrong way. “Was she that obvious?”
“I left before because I wanted to go home to Tucson.”
He slow-blinked and braced his hands on his hips. “Valentina, please don’t leave me. Tell me what you need. I’ll do anything.”
If I asked him to go home right now, no doubt he’d say yes. But then what kind of a wife would that make me? He’d been away for years trying to find his own way. This quality time with his family was the last piece of the puzzle. Making amends with his mom meant everything to him. I had to make good on the promise I made to him.
“I’m not going anywhere. But your mom...”
“I will talk with her. She took me by surprise before. I hadn’t expected her to push that hard.”
“Oh, so you did see that?” I rubbed my temple. “You didn’t show it.”
“Can we start over?”
The sincerity in his voice and the pain in his eyes made me nod and not point out that we were technically starting over a few hours into this ordeal.
“I really think that meeting Ana will put you at ease.”
“Okay. But can I go upstairs and change?”
He hooked his arm behind my knees and picked me up. “We can do that. You still haven’t seen our bedroom.”
I wrapped my arm around his neck. My Derek was back. He carried me all the way back to the house, which turned out to be just past the pool house to the left. Wesley sat on the grand porch with a big grin on his face as we went by.
“I’m glad you lovebirds patched things up.”
Derek didn’t slow down. He walked into the house through the kitchen, the foyer, and headed upstairs to the bedroom at the end of the hallway where the french doors had been left wide open. The room was beautiful with textured wallpaper in blue and gold tones. A huge poster bed sat in front of stone fireplace that looked very old. The upholstered furniture had that seventeenth-century feel to it, but it was brand new.
“We can change anything you want.” He pushed the hair away from my face, hiding his concern behind a smile, as his eyes surveyed every inch of me.
I was fine. “No, this is gorgeous. I could never do this room justice.”
“Come see.”
The view from our room was a blue sky lined by trees with a stream running through them. Gravel paths led to the pool on my right, and Ana’s house on my left. Some trails steered toward either water features or oversized garden sculptures and had no way out.
“There are two separate creeks. The one where we were separates our property from the Copenhavers’.”
“This house is like out of a storybook. The paintings in the hallway, are they real? I mean, originals.”
He lowered his gaze. “They are. Mom and Ana acquired them. Took them a year. And I don’t think they’re done yet.”
“Of course.” Why couldn’t Derek’s neighbor be a mean witch like his ex? Why did she have to be so damn perfect?
“Hey. How about that shower?” He kissed my neck, and the expensive paintings and surreal view beyond the balcony fell away. None of it matter without Derek here.
“Mom can think whatever she wants. Maybe in her eyes, Sweet Ana is the perfect wife. But there’s one thing she’s missing. And that’s something that’s nonnegotiable for me.”
“What’s that?”
“She’s not you.” He kissed me, walking me back toward the bed and undoing the buttons on my top.
I fell on the bed, and he followed. His skilled and oh so determined lips never left mine. When he pulled back, I propped myself up on my elbows and watched him as he reached behind him to remove his T-shirt. God, I missed him, us. I ran my hands over his stomach.<
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“I live for that look in your eyes.” He buried his hands in my hair and kissed me hard.
“The fuck.” A female voice yelped as the door to our bedroom shut closed behind us and then open again. I turned over on my belly to find perfect Ana flushed against the one side of the double doors, peering through the small gap.
“Excuse me.” Derek got off me and donned his T-shirt.
“Oh my God. I didn’t know you’d be in this room. Lilly said you’d be in the other master.” Ana turned bright red. “I mean, your brother Zack is here. Your mom sent me up here to let you know.” She glanced down at her top, smoothing out the collar. “I’m Anabelle, by the way.” She stepped toward us, then stopped when I sat on my heels on the bed.
“Nice to meet you.” Did she really not know we were in here? If she was going for mortified, she looked it.
“Um, so. How do you like the room? I helped Lilly with it. I wasn’t sure about using so much gold, but it works, right?”
The perfect wife. I did a mental inventory of all the people I knew. None of them would have the ability to pull this room together, but Sweet Ana did.
“It’s beautiful. You did an amazing job.”
“Thanks.” She glanced over her shoulder to the entrance, fidgeting with the silver locket hanging from her neck. “You can see my house from here.”
“She saw.” Derek walked around the bed, his gaze dark. “How ’bout we meet you downstairs?” He extended his arm, effectively kicking her out. That was probably my fault. I let all my insecurities get the best of me and blamed it all on Ana.
“Yeah, okay.” Ana nodded, gripping her flow-y skirt. She placed her hand on the doorknob and exhaled, steeling herself as if she were facing a storm.
I jumped off the bed and placed my hand on his chest. A part of me was touched that he was willing to kick Ana out of the room for me. But it was obvious she didn’t deserve it. I got the impression she was in here hiding from someone.
“You know, I don’t recognize this painting.” I pointed at the frame over the bed. “I mean it could be a Picasso, but not really.”
Unravel You: A Hot Billionaire Romance (Cole Brothers Series Book 1) Page 8