Forever My Girl

by Heatherly Bell

  “Wasn’t it good for you, Mr. DeLuca? Because it was good for me.”

  Yeah, she was definitely having her fun with him. He scowled to keep from grinning. “That’s how you kiss your boyfriend?”

  “For now.” Then she turned on her fuck me heels and headed back across the street. “Eat your sandwich, big boy.”

  He grinned. For now. Oh yeah. “Hey.”

  She stopped in the middle of the street and turned to him.

  “Good answer.”

  ***

  Friday night came around quickly, and Mallory had a date with David to dinner at ChiChi DeLuca’s home. ChiChi DeLuca, who owned Ryo Wines. Who was, for crying out loud, the DeLuca matriarch! And sure, Mallory was ChiChi’s dance teacher, but never in a million years had she thought she’d be invited to dinner with the family. Yes, she’d heard about the food. Oh, had she heard about the food. Anytime ChiChi DeLuca brought an Italian dish to any event, it was usually consumed before everyone in line could get a sample.

  Not that food was her biggest worry. Mallory didn’t want anyone, least of all ChiChi, to think she had designs on David. They probably wanted him to wind up with a nice Italian girl. Obviously, David wasn’t playing. And she understood, on one level. He was definitely the kind of man who made his own decisions. Called the shots. Everything he did had to be his idea. With her level of experience with men, she could read David DeLuca easily enough.

  He’d wanted more than the kiss she’d planted on him yesterday afternoon. The one she’d landed on that unbelievably sexy stubbled skin. She wanted more, too. But that wasn’t the point. This was practice for a healthy relationship. He didn’t seem to be the settling down type, which suited Mallory fine. She wasn’t looking for a man, anyway. When she did find a man, she wanted him to be her best friend. To have her back and look out for her. Just like Harper and Adam.

  Not like before.

  She’d left Texas because of Todd, the quarterback at Texas U. They’d been exclusive since senior year. She suspected he cheated on her, but she’d never found any evidence. Her girlfriends thought she was the luckiest girl alive because Todd was headed for the NFL and a life of fame and money. She didn’t care about the money or fame. She wanted love and romance. The flirting and the constant gossip about Todd and other girls she had tried to ignore.

  And she could take a lot of shit, but she could not take a man hitting her.

  Todd, it turned out, wasn’t any team’s first draft pick. He’d lashed out at her, hitting her hard enough to knock her down. And she’d run. Left her dream behind of audition for the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders while Todd played pro ball. All her Kappa Delta friends took Todd’s side. They wouldn’t believe he’d hit her. Didn’t sound like Todd to them. They’d never been her friends to begin with. It was time to start over. Somewhere, anywhere else. Mama had spent summers in St. Helena as a child, and she had an old friend there. Clovis. So Mallory packed her bags and ran straight into a new life in California.

  Only she’d brought some baggage with her.

  Men who hurt her were in the rear view mirror. So were fair-weather friends. And as long as David didn’t make sudden moves around her, Mallory wouldn’t flinch again. She was strong and capable. She’d been a Texas debutante, just like her mother. Of course, no one other than Clovis knew that, nor did she want them to. They were going to have to accept her, get to know her, and, hopefully love her for who she was.

  Or rather, for who she wanted to be.

  Tonight, she intended to present her best self to both David and ChiChi. And whoever else happened to be at dinner. They weren’t going to see Mallory the co-ed, or Mallory the collector of Parisian Peek A Boos and every plunging demi bra on the market. They were going to see Brand New Mallory. Good Girl Mallory. The girl she knew she could be if someone gave her half a chance. Tonight, she would be the good girlfriend to David.

  It took hours of trying on different outfits and rummaging through the back of her closet to find the right dress. She’d bought it as a joke for a party with her sorority sisters one year. It was her librarian look. A black jumper style dress so plain it could be a uniform. She paired it with a cropped pink cardigan and pulled her hair into a bun. Of course, the time she’d worn it to the party she’d coupled it with fishnet stockings and four-inch heels but not tonight. No. The outfit was complete with the most unimaginative shoes she owned, a pair of black low-heeled pumps.

  She took one look in the mirror and declared victory. This outfit was by far the strongest male repellant she’d ever worn. David would take her seriously and so would everyone else. They’d understand she had a lot more to offer than what showed on the outside. When she opened the door for David, he took one look at her and then glanced past her.

  “Hi, I’m here for Mallory. Have you seen her?”

  “Ha, ha.”

  He quirked a brow. “Seriously. Where is she? Will she be meeting me there?”

  She went hands on hips. “I’m your date to dinner with your Aunt. Don’t you want a girlfriend you can be proud of?”

  “I do. That’s why I came up with this idea to date you.”

  Well, then. That was a super sweet thing to say. He looked fantastic, wearing a midnight blue button up shirt untucked over black jeans. He’d shaved, but that didn’t detract any from the absolute gobs of testosterone that poured out of him like water from a fountain. He was like her walking, talking, fantasy Alpha man.

  Fantasy. Don’t forget that part.

  She grabbed her purse and headed out the door. “We better hurry or we’ll be late.”

  “Okay, Miss. Since Mallory isn’t here I’d be happy to take you instead.”

  “Stop it.” She bit her lower lip in order not to smile.

  A tingle went down her spine when David led her by the small of her back to his truck. This outfit wasn’t a David repellant either. She was beginning to wonder if there was one in existence that would make him stop touching her, and help her stop thinking about kissing him. Wondering what his lips would feel like on hers. Whether his tongue would be as hot and wet as she pictured it would be. Whoa, girl! Under this outfit she wore her red satin matching panty and bra set. They were seeping through the repellant and reminding her that she thought David was sex on a stick. If she wanted to stop feeling lusty around David, she might have to get drastic and resort to granny panties. Okay, too far.

  She shuddered at the thought.

  At ChiChi’s home, they were treated to bruschetta for appetizers, wine, pasta carbonara, wine, focaccia bread, wine, gelato and…did she mention wine? Mallory wished she’d worn her stretchy yoga pants instead. As she’d expected, everyone present at dinner was a DeLuca, whether by marriage or birth. And Mallory felt guilty because she’d been Team Baudouin since arriving in St. Helena. She’d never planned on changing that, especially now because of Harper, who Mallory suspected would soon be a Baudouin too.

  But these DeLucas…well, they weren’t so bad.

  “Mallory, did you know that my nephew here is a bonafide Italian-American hero?” ChiChi said.

  “Aunt ChiChi, please don’t.” David scowled. “I’m no hero.”

  “Army Ranger, that’s what!”

  ChiChi showed no signs of backing off on the hero worship. Not that Mallory blamed her.

  “I’ll drink to that!” Nate DeLuca lifted a wine glass filled with some of the family’s new line and everyone toasted David.

  Everyone but David, who rolled his eyes. “Remember, I might not be going back.”

  Mallory hadn’t known that about him. She’d had so little time to know David. It didn’t feel like she had to get to know him, since he’d be gone and out of her life in a matter of days. Right now, it became painfully obvious that there was a whole lot she didn’t know about her temporary boyfriend. He was funny, too, sprinkled in heavy doses along with all the sexy, and made her feel and want things she hadn’t let herself feel and want in a long time. She wished he’d run into the lingerie store to
hide from his cousin sooner, then wondered what the heck was wrong with her. She definitely wasn’t drunk, but maybe it was the wine getting to her head. She’d almost forgotten about the off-men thingy.

  “What are you going to do instead?” Mallory asked him.

  “I don’t know yet, but being a ski bum sounds good.” David grinned. “One of my buddies opened up a resort outside of Telluride. He wants me to come on board as a partner.”

  “Hey, wait. A DeLuca in the ski resort business?” Marco laughed.

  “Why not?” ChiChi said. “You boys need to spread all the goodness around. All the professions need a little bit of DeLuca in them.”

  “And all the states,” Frankie laughed. “California, Oregon, and Colorado. What’s next? Conquer the world?”

  “Why not? We can start with Italy,” ChiChi said.

  After dinner and dessert there were several rounds of Scrabble, women against the men. The score was close, but then Mallory won it all for the women with one word: balconette.

  “Cheating!” Nate stood up. “That’s not a word.”

  “It is so!” Mallory stood up, hands on hips, ready to go toe to toe with Nate DeLuca. She didn’t care how much land he owned or how many awards his vintage had won.

  “How’s that a word?” David grinned. “It’s spelled b-a-l-c-o-n-y.”

  “Google it!” Mallory pointed to David.

  “I sure in the hell will, babe.”

  And there were at least four phones pulled out at once. Fingers flew across screens.

  “Balconette,” Lexi shouted out a moment later. “Another name for a demi cup bra. A balconette bra has more of a horizontal line going across the top of the bustline. Most of the time, the cups are seamed for an upward boost to give the breasts the look as if corseted. A balconette bra can also have push-up pads as well. The name balconette comes from men in the balcony of a theater looking down upon women. A balconette bra could not be seen from above. Ha! It’s a word.”

  “Woohoo, Mallory!” Frankie danced around the room and ended by hip checking Mallory. “I thought that sounded familiar.”

  “They beat us with lingerie!” Nate shook his fist. “Why, God, why?”

  Mallory twitched her finger. “I know my lingerie. You do not want to question me on this.”

  She did a little victory jig and when she stopped she caught David staring at her. Not smiling. She met and held his heated gaze and neither one of them broke away for a long moment.

  And Mallory realized three things:

  She was a virtual encyclopedia of all things lingerie;

  There was no repellant in the world strong enough to keep her away from David DeLuca;

  She was in a lot of trouble.

  Chapter 6

  Turned out, David DeLuca was a sick man.

  He had a competitive streak in him a mile wide, oh, no doubt. Always had. He was a DeLuca, after all. But ever since Mallory had helped bring the women a win at Scrabble with balconette, of all words in the English language, he couldn’t stop thinking about lingerie. Her lingerie, specifically. As in what she wore underneath that nun’s habit. He might not know any rare names for lingerie, much less how to spell them, but he knew what he liked. Women who cared about what they wore underneath, like it was a special present to their lover. He’d just bet that Mallory had a lot of presents.

  But one thing irritated the hell out of him, and it wasn’t losing at scrabble to the women. Once Mallory had clicked her seat belt into place, he turned to her.

  “Don’t ever do that again.”

  “Beat you at Scrabble? Seriously, David, I thought you were more of a grown-up than that.”

  “No,” he said, tipping her chin to meet his eyes. “And what kind of men have you been dating? I meant, don’t think you have to hide who you are. Not with me.”

  “I’m not.” But she wouldn’t meet his eyes.

  “Yeah. Listen, I heard about The Lingerie Incident.”

  He’d pressed Frankie for details, and she’d unloaded on him. Mallory, caught giving Adam a private show after hours. Fired from the Boulder Holder by a pissed-off Harper. She’d been on her best behavior since then. Most everyone liked her, but no one really knew Mallory “Baby” Gilham. He intended to fix that.

  “I figured that would happen sooner rather than later. You can take me home now.” She wrenched her body away from him, and faced forward.

  “Is that why you dressed like that tonight? What makes you think I’m going to judge you?”

  She didn’t say anything, so he kept talking.

  “You don’t know me, or all of the mistakes I’ve made. Believe me, there’s been plenty. Like the time I went skinny dipping at the lake with a girl and she left me there, taking my pants with her. She was pissed I’d kissed her best friend when she thought I liked her exclusively. I walked home in my wet boxers. My brothers have never, to this day, let me live it down.”

  “It was nice of her to leave you with the boxers. I’m not sure I would have.” She bit her lower lip like she was trying to keep from laughing. “Okay. You’ve got my attention.”

  “And then…there was the time I sneaked into my girlfriend’s bedroom and her father caught us. That time I had all my clothes on. Chased me down the street waving a bat. It’s a damn good thing I’m fast.”

  “Poor David. Too sexy for your own good.” She wasn’t containing the laugh any longer.

  He grinned and pulled out of Aunt ChiChi’s driveway. “You think I’m sexy.”

  “I didn’t say that. But obviously, a lot of women do. Or have.” She pulled her hair out of the bun, shook it out, and rolled down the window. “And okay, so do I.”

  The evening had cooled noticeably, and a light breeze drifted through her window, ruffling her hair and carrying in the smells of summer. Sunshine and cut grass.

  “That must have been really tough to admit.”

  She snorted. “Why do you have so much fun teasing me?”

  “Sorry. It’s just me and beautiful, sexy women. I get pretty stupid. I revert back to being an eight-year-old.”

  “You think I’m sexy and beautiful.”

  “You have a mirror, don’t you?”

  She didn’t seem to like that last statement, given how her body stiffened notably. He knew this because he’d been angling his thigh as close to hers as physically feasible without losing control of his truck.

  “What? What did I say wrong?”

  “Nothing,” she said, meaning everything.

  “Tell me.”

  “No.”

  “If you won’t tell me, I’m not taking you home. I’ll just keep driving all night. I have a full tank of gas.”

  She turned to him. “I think that’s called kidnapping in some states.”

  “Nah, not if I’m taking you back.”

  “You are so weird, and I don’t know what to do with you.”

  “I have a few ideas.” He waggled his eyebrows.

  She leaned further out the window, angling her body away from him. So he kept driving further out into the country, away from the lights of the city and straight into the velvety night filled with stars. He appreciated nights like these, ones without a cloud in the sky. They made him miss Colorado and his beloved Rocky Mountains, where it seemed he could see straight into heaven. He pulled his truck over near an empty field.

  She slid him a look. “You better not try to tell me something’s wrong with your truck now.”

  “Nope. I just want to show you something.”

  “Oh, gee. I’ve never heard that one before.”

  When he came around the passenger side to get Mallory, she didn’t ask any questions. She simply allowed him to take her hand and lead her to the bed of the truck, where he picked her up by the waist and set her on the tailgate. He climbed up to be next to her and took her hand in his. Maybe he liked this not-talking thing better. As long as she didn’t shut him out completely he could handle about anything.

  Look at you, fool, get
ting all hung up on a girl you just met.

  Problem was this whole thing between them felt very real. He wasn’t pretending anymore. Crap. That was a problem, wasn’t it? Because he was leaving. Going back to Colorado. And no one had ever accused him of being particularly bright when it came to understanding women, but he had a feeling Mallory had a problem with temporary. She’d probably felt unimportant and insignificant for far too long.

  Sounds of crickets played in surround sound around them. The harvest moon and carpet of stars gave him enough light to see her eyes. They were soft again, the way they’d been the day she’d brought him lunch. Now he felt like a jerk thinking she’d been doing that for show, when maybe it had come from the heart. She was trying to be a good girlfriend. Trying her best to live down a bad decision.

  He pulled her into his arms, and look at that, she came willingly, her full head of sweet smelling hair tickling his neck. “If you think this is great, you should see the Colorado night sky.”

  “I love it here. I always wanted to see Napa Valley. My mom talked a lot about summers here when she was a child.”

  “Is that why you landed here?”

  “Yes.” She didn’t speak for a beat. “And I was running. I wanted to start over.”

  “We all need that sometimes.” He lightly stroked her back. “What about your family? Do they miss you back home?”

  “It was just Mama and me for years. She was okay with me leaving once I told her what happened. I had a boyfriend, friends, a whole life before I moved here.” She took a deep breath. “He hit me hard enough to knock me to the ground. Once.”

  He tensed in anger but there was a relief there, too. Knowing that Mallory at least thought enough of herself not to let it happen again. “That makes me want to kill the guy, but I like the ‘once’ part.”

  “One of the reasons I left Texas was because I was afraid of my own thoughts. I plotted his untimely death many times in many different ways. Had he hit me again, I might be sitting on death row now.”

  He chuckled in spite of the seriousness of the situation, because just as he’d seen that first day in the lingerie shop, Mallory was a spitfire.