Returning to Valentine’s
Victoria Pinder
To my husband
For all his amazing support!
Contents
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
A Note from the Author
Teaser Chapter from Favorite Coffee, Favorite Crush
Also by Victoria Pinder
About the Author
Acknowledgments
These short stories helped me get started. I move on to publishing my books with publishers and I will continue to build my career. Thank you for everyone who helped me and to those who enjoy my work.
Copyright © 2014 Victoria Pinder
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 1500569275
ISBN-13: 978-1500569273
Created with Vellum
1
1 Resolution to not think of Nathan
* * *
Valentine’s Day should not be spent alone. Everyone deserves love.
* * *
Beth Corsini applied one more layer of her ruby red lipstick and glanced in the mirror. She looked good. She finished brushing her sandy brown locks. Valentine’s Day beckoned.
Her phone rang. Beth picked up the phone as she stared at her dress one last time. “Hello,” she said.
“I am so sorry I can’t go.” Her friend Nellie’s voice came through the line. “Work sucks.”
“I’m going alone then. Valentine’s Day signals my start to the new year.”
“Okay, I hope you find your true love.”
Nathan. Every Valentine’s Day, and every other day, she pictured him in her head. But he always said no. She shook her head. “Whoever I meet tonight, it doesn’t matter. Every single woman over the age of twenty-five should go to one of these eight-minute date things in her life. No one is in my house besides the Dark Lord, Squiggles. I need to go out.”
“Call me and let me know.”
Beth hung up the phone. Sitting at home tonight would haunt her forever. New life, new adventures. Her New Year’s motto rang in her ears. She needed to go out after work.
She pet the Dark Lord, found her spiked silver heels, ran through her mental checklist one more time, and drove to the event on Main Street at the local bar she rarely visited.
She was early on purpose to give her time to scope out the venue. If she stayed home, she’d have talked herself out of going, poured wine, and thought about how Nathan never cared about her. Better to go and see how speed dating worked, and form a battle plan. She sat at the corner of the small country bar, a band setting up on the stage to the right. An open floor where a large group could laugh and line dance.
Beth squirmed uncomfortably. The lights were more flashy than she had expected, and the line dancing unique. Growing up in the big city made her sound more uptown than she was. Country did not mean she had to be scared. She walked to the bar and asked in a squeaky voice, “I’ll have a vodka tonic.”
The bartender hadn’t even noticed her nervousness.
Scanning the room while she waited for service, she saw happy couples ignoring the world. Lucky them. Cowboy hats filled the place. Who knew so many people lived on the Broward and Miami border town? South Florida never equaled country, not to Beth.
Her drink arrived, and she pulled out her credit card. The man nodded at her and returned to the register. She noticed the sign on the back room upstairs with the words, ‘Singles Club.’ Putting her drink in her mouth, she took a breath.
Her turn.
New life.
She signed the receipt, put her card away in her coach bag, and picked up the glass. Someone watched her, and her body perked with excitement. Nathan? No--impossible.
Her eyes raced through the group, looking around for anyone who might know her. No one met her eyes. Gathering her courage, she walked up the stairs to the private rooms.
Once in the singles room, Beth grabbed a seat near the door, watching the women enter. The men must be in a different room. She glanced around. The women all appeared to be much older than her. Guess Prince Charming wouldn’t arrive after all, but Beth intended to enjoy the evening. She paid to have a few dates, speak to men, and then she would go home.
Ten minutes later, some young woman, might be a teenager, pinned the number seven to her chest, and gave the women a pep talk on speed dating and how it fits into todays’ singular lifestyle. The girl pointed to a door where the men would walk in from.
One woman pulled her to the side when they were all told what table to go to, and told Beth, “I’m so excited for tonight.”
“Why?” Beth had no hopes for tonight other than to not think about Nathan. “It’s just a few eight minute dates.”
“I met my husband, Jeffrey, at one of these events twenty years ago.” The woman wiped a tear from her eye.
“Then why are you here if you are married?” Beth let the question fly out of her mouth.
“Jeffrey died last year.” Once again, Beth put her foot in her mouth.
“I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay, dear. Jeffrey told me to go to more of these events, to both find love and be there for when other women find theirs.”
The teenager moved her hands to get them to sit. Beth smiled at the woman. At least love came for some people. “It’s a sweet thought from a sweet person.”
The woman smiled and walked away to her seat.
Guess hope survived for some. Beth had lost any hope after her friend’s wedding where she let her guard fell, and she let her crush for Nathan destroy her. Having sex with a man she secretly craved with every part of her soul, then having him walk away is a pain, Beth never wished on anyone.
Beth had been wrong. Having sex with him could never be casual. After years of not telling him how she always loved him, drinking too much at a party made her lose control. In the morning, she had tried to pretend to be normal, but he became quiet and left. She never saw him again. She waited till she went home to cry, but she lost everything, including her best friend that night.
Shaking Nathan needed to happen. New Year. New life. Her short term ex-boyfriend had been all wrong for her. Why was she still so hung up on Nathan? She had come to the bar tonight to start moving in the right direction. The ‘single mingle’ room allowed for complete privacy from the rest of the club, so unless someone paid the admission price, no one would find out she was here.
The band played softly downstairs, giving the room a nice ambiance. Fixing her hair one more time, she waited for the men to arrive. She felt too nervous to even drink her vodka.
A bell rang indicating the speed dating began. Pasting a smile on her face, she’d see what fate had in store.
Beth’s eyes fixated at the door where the men would be entering from. Anxiety pulsated throughout her body, making her nervous and jittery. She reached for her drink but stopped short. She lost her breathe. Beth dropped her drink and almost fell to the floor when she saw Nathan and Chris walked in together.
Two of the richest men in the world came here? Why? She didn’t dare believe they came for her. She rubbed her eyes, then focused.
Nathan had never called her.
Their one encounter had been almost a year ago, and men moved on from casual sex.
Could she make it out of the room without running into him?
No. Not without trampling people. The room was shoulder to shoulder with men and women now. Her eyes narrowed on Nathan. He walked closer.
How had this happened? She was not the same person with that stupid need from last year.
She’d grown up, and learned to never, ever have sex with former friends from childhood. It made a girl confused.
Nathan’s height made him stand out among a crowd too, but at six foot one with dark hair and smoky dark eyes, she had never crushed her fantasy of being with him on a long-term basis. She shook off the thoughts of Nathan when she remembered he had pushed her off the swing set with his red plastic bat when they were six years old. She forgave him, but still, he was always doing things like that to her. She hadn’t remembered that the night she took him home. Then, when he took off the next day, she was all alone.
He attracted every woman he talked to. She slid out of her chair, intending to leave. Nathan? No. She had to get as far away as she could.
2
2 How had he found her?
* * *
Nathan waved at her across the room, clearly intending to join her.
She felt a jolt of electricity course through her body as he walked to her table. Nathan was here? How? And why after all this time was she focused on him? Closing her eyes, she intended to end this nightmare. After her prayer, he came even closer to her now. She stopped noticing everything else around her, and only thought about how his strong hands had held her closer than anyone else’s ever had. Nathan laughed as he walked up to join her table, and her heart skipped a beat.
Gulping her vodka to regain her composure only burned down her throat instead.
* * *
Signing up for a singles night sounded more fun than sitting at home, but now she thought she might’ve made a mistake.
He sat down at her table. “Beth Batworthy.”
Now she couldn’t leave. She had to find out what he wanted. “Nathan Earring.”
“I stopped wearing a pirate earring when I was ten, Beth.” He winked at her while looking her up and down, taking her body in.
Was her face red? The image of him stark naked in her bed had never left her imagination.
Childhood. She had to focus on that. “I stopped putting my head near your bat before then.” The stupid name had somehow stuck.
No sex then. Shrugging her shoulders, she pulled herself together. Talking to Nathan would not shatter her, again. They weren’t the same people. He had never loved her. Taking off after one night of intimacy proved that.
“We haven’t talked in a long time.” He reached for her hand and she again felt a warm tingling up her spine.
Don’t be stupid. Pulling her hand back out from under his, she stared down at the tabletop. “Why would Mr. Big Shot who makes lots of money talk to the little people?” she asked.
“Beth. We were more than just friends,” Nathan said.
He held a serious tone, causing her to question him. No. She wouldn’t go down this path of ‘what if.’ Reality needed to be checked. He left her and remained unresponsive for almost a year. Sex had ruined everything, though a blush on her cheeks gave away she enjoyed every minute of it.
Shaking it off, she met his gaze. Most people saw him as ruthless in business, and yes her best friend had a serious side. He also had a quirky sense of humor, and she missed him. She missed more than the friend she had lost. She missed the man she could never love.
“Nathan, it’s been a long time. But I remember it quite differently. You talked to me when you needed my help, like in college when you wanted to have sex with my roommate.”
Nathan glance around to see if anyone heard that. Taking her hand back in his, he played with the back of her hand, giving her a massage. She didn’t pull back right away. He used to do this to her, and she always melted. Melting again meant she still desired him. His intense chocolate eyes focused on her thrilled her to the core. The crush she had on Nathan most of her life still beat inside her. Damn. She hadn’t learned a lesson, at all.
His smoldering eyes took control of her body when he whispered, “Beth, I came here tonight because I wanted to see you in person.”
“What? Why? How would you know I’d be here?” Her heart beat. Her skin electrified from his touch on the back of her hand. For her? Honestly? Her memory blazed with Nathan’s kiss that tasted sweeter than any juice she’d ever experienced.
His eyes were warm, but she didn’t hear what he said. His lips moved. She saw them moving. She felt warm. Waves of feeling pummeled her senses telling her that she was still in love in with him. Her crush lived on. She wanted Nathan despite their history. Her heartbeat echoed so loud in her ears.
Then, a bell rang. It was time to switch partners. The host pushed Nathan away before Beth even had time to shake off her confusion. He brushed his hair back in frustration, waiting for her answer. What had he said? Why did he want to see her?
Would he come back or had she imaged that entire confession? Beth’s feet itched to chase him.
Instead, she stayed put at the table and talked to some other man half-heartedly. However, she watched Nathan.
He politely talked to some other woman in a beige dress. They were smiling. Nathan kept looking over at her, and she kept wanting him back. Staring at Nathan, she was probably being rude to the man who had paid money to meet women. She tore her eyes away and asked her eight-minute date, “What is it that you do?”
Her mind stayed on Nathan. She reevaluated him. Most women found him attractive, including the woman at the table behind her. With dark brown hair, dark eyes, and great dimples, no one resisted him for long. He had presence. Something most people didn’t possess. She hadn’t. How long did she have with her crush this time before he had sex? With her? With any female? No, she needed to stop her jealousy. Before that night, Nathan always made her laugh, keeping her hooked on him, while other women fell at his feet. She kept her guard up during middle school, and they remained friends for years.
Then last year happened. Nathan equaled the man who made her toes curl. She couldn’t let him being this close affect her now. He didn’t love her.
The bell rang again, and another man appeared in front of her. The whirlwind of time confused her. She needed to go to the bathroom the fourth date in, but she couldn’t. Nathan’s eyes burned into her soul from his stare at her across the room. Six more men before she could talk to Nathan, or run away. What a nightmare.
What would she say to him if Nathan came to speak to her again? Why was he here?
But somehow she muddled through her fifth date before the women were allowed a five-minute break. They were escorted out, but her eyes remained zeroed in on Nathan until they left. Then she bolted to fix herself. She came tonight to meet Prince Charming, not Nathan Sommers.
She never wanted to be Mrs. Sommers. Not if he played her and left her the next day.
3
3 Revelations
* * *
Beth Corsini-Sommers? Or Beth Sommers? How many times had she written that in a notebook? How silly. She played daydreaming of him, being his wife, decided her name at age thirteen and somehow it still worked.
Shaking her head, she gathered her thoughts. He wanted her help with something. He always did. Perfect. That made logical sense.
He remembered her because he had something for her to promote him. He had a selfish streak. Nathan’s presence overwhelmed her senses. He stared at her every time she looked over, waiting to talk to her. Getting home to her small studio overlooking a small green park came alive when she closed her eyes. Running became her only choice.
A few minutes later she re-gathered herself in the same seat she had before. Finding Prince Charming seemed doubtful tonight. Nathan took every thought, and most of the men here tonight were not her type.
She saw the widow bat her eyes at some guy. Beth wished her luck.
Then, she braced herself for a few more dates.
Her second to last date appeared. Chris, Nathan’s cousin. He was a tall blond man from California who she knew from his visits most summers for a few weeks as a teenager. He sat at her table, and she sucked in her breathe. She saw Nathan look across the room and wink at her.
She had to forget about Na
than for the moment. Right now she needed to focus on Chris. She put her hand out to shake Chris’s hand. He shook her hand firmly and asked in a straight forward manner, “You saw Nathan already?”
“Yes. Hi. Chris, it’s good to see you again.”
“Hello.” He nodded at her gentle reminder of manners. “Did Nathan ask you to marry him?”
“He’s not a marrying man.” Marry Nathan? What? She looked across the room. Nathan sipped a drink, while he talked to a red-headed woman. He seemed to be keeping his eye on her, too.
Without even looking at Nathan, her skin burned hotter for him. Her neck and face must be bright red. “He asked me something, but I didn’t hear what he said.”
Chris laughed. “We came here tonight to find you. Your mother told him at the super market this morning your plans when he ran into her. I decided to come along to watch out for him in case you broke his heart.”
“It was the other way around, Chris.” Wait. Her mother? Nathan never told her he loved her or wanted her. He told her no, how many times? And second, how did her mother know her plans tonight? She didn’t tell her mother her plans, but her mother never let her live her own life. “Mom told him?”
“You aren’t responding to his emails, letters, or phone calls. He had to try a different route.” Why would Nathan tell his cousin such a lie?
“He’s never contacted me, at least I’ve never received any messages from him.”
“Nathan’s didn’t know Robbie was gone. He was trying to be discreet.”
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