by Vi Keeland
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?”
“No. I haven’t talked to him. That’s not why I’m calling. I just wanted to let you know I’ll be out in Montauk tomorrow. I have a contractor meeting me to give an estimate at two o’clock for the pilings we need replaced.”
He’d already had one guy come to give an estimate last week.
“Was the first one not good or something?”
“It was high. This guy’s supposed to be more reasonable.”
I sighed. “Okay. Fine. But I’ll be here, so you don’t need to come out.”
“We’ll get a better price if I’m there.”
My brows drew down. “Do you know him or something?”
“No. But men get better prices.”
Such a dick. “Who says?”
“It’s a known fact.”
“I don’t know that to be a fact.”
“That’s because you’re a woman.”
I rolled my eyes. “I can handle it myself. I’d prefer if you didn’t come out.”
“You don’t have to be a bitch about it. I’m coming, and that’s the end of the discussion.”
That sounded more like the Ryan I knew.
“Actually, this is the end of the discussion.” I hit disconnect and tossed my phone on the table.
God, how had I stayed married to that jerk for twenty years?
I decided to go for a walk on the beach to clear my head and get some exercise. Changing into a sundress, I dug my headphones from a drawer, lubed up with sunscreen, and tied my hair in a ponytail.
On the way out, I found a new yellow sticky note stuck to the back door. Kiss Ford more. I peeled it off with a smile on my face. I wasn’t even sure when he’d stuck this one here. That was one to-do item I wouldn’t mind doing.
The hour-long walk did me good. I even jogged for half of it, and the rush of adrenaline left me feeling more relaxed. As I approached my house, I heard music blaring. Bodies were out on my neighbor’s deck. The closer I got, the more skin I saw. It looked like Bella and her friends were starting their party early. Ford stood at the deck railing, leaning over and watching me as I walked.
“Come save me,” he yelled.
I smiled. The bikinis on the women flitting around behind him were pretty small. “Doesn’t look like you’re being tortured.”
“Looks can be pretty damn deceiving.” He waved for me to come up to the deck. “Come on. You forgot to take the gift I bought you home today.”
I cocked my head. Gift?
He smirked. “At the toy store. Don’t worry, if you’re too busy to come up, I’ll just ask my sister to deliver the bag.”
“Cute. Very cute.”
However, I didn’t put it past him to actually hand his sister anal beads and porn to deliver to me, so I walked up his deck stairs instead of mine.
Bella was laying out on the lounge chairs with two of her friends. She greeted me and made a face at her brother.
“Oh boy,” I whispered. “Still giving you an attitude, huh?”
He nodded. “She actually had the balls to ask me to pick up alcohol for her and her friends. Can you believe that shit?”
“Ford!” the girl I’d met earlier yelled. I think her name was Sierra. “Can you help us carry these chairs down to the water’s edge?”
He shook his head. “They think I’m their cabana boy, apparently.”
“But if you do it, they won’t be sitting up here on the deck with you.”
He pointed to me. “That’s very true. I’ll be right back.”
I watched from the deck as Ford lugged lounge chairs down the stairs to the beach. When he was done, Sierra gripped his arm and tried to pull him into the water with her. She wore a thong string bikini bottom and two small triangles up top that barely covered her nipples, and she did her best to get him to notice. The girl definitely had her eye on him.
<
br /> “I think you have an admirer,” I said when he returned.
“Sierra’s a pain in my ass. On my sister’s twelfth birthday, she had a sleepover. That one snuck into my bed while I was sleeping. I was eighteen and woke up with a twelve-year-old next to me.”
I covered my mouth. “Oh my God. It’s a long-running, unrequited crush then.”
“Lucky me,” Ford grumbled. “You want some wine or something?”
“Actually, I’ll take a water, if you don’t mind.”
He nodded. While he went to fetch us drinks, I watched the girls on the beach. Sierra was doing cartwheels and back handsprings. She really had an incredible body. She may have been a girl when she first tried to get Ford to notice her, but she was definitely a woman now.
Ford returned with my water and leaned on the railing next to me, watching what I’d been watching.
“Your little crush is quite limber.”
He turned to face me, still leaning. “Is that a hint of jealousy I detect in your tone?”
How could I not be jealous of that girl’s body? “She’s pretty. With the body of a nineteen-year-old.” I shrugged. “I can’t compete with that.”
“You mean she can’t compete with you.”
I wasn’t being insecure or jealous. I honestly didn’t comprehend how Ford could say such a thing—yet I really believed he meant it.
“I don’t understand, Ford. How could you want to be with me, when you could have that?”
He looked me up and down and shook his head. “You look in the mirror and see the woman your ex made you feel like—a thirty-seven-year-old mom. I look at you and see what you actually are—a sexy-as-fuck woman who has a killer rack, curves I want to memorize in the dark, and a laugh that’s contagious. She can’t hold a candle to you, Val.” He cupped my cheek. “And if our summer together is all you want, I hope that at least by the end you can look in the mirror and see the woman you are.”
God, this man was absolutely intoxicating. I ached for him, and I was exhausted from trying to fight it.
I leaned over to him. “How about we order takeout and you stay at my house tonight, so Blondie doesn’t make a second attempt at climbing into your bed?”
Ford searched my eyes. “What if Bella asks where I slept?”
I placed a gentle kiss on his lips. “Then lie…or tell her the truth. I’m not even sure I care anymore.”
Chapter 18
* * *
Valentina
We sat on the floor in the living room eating Chinese.
When I’d gone to set the table, Ford put the plates back in the cabinet and brought the bag to the living room instead. He then pulled out the coffee table to make room for us to sit and tossed two pillows on the floor.
I was never good at eating with chopsticks, but he gave me a lesson and opened his mouth wide to test my skills. Of course I bumbled the saucy Szechwan shrimp, and it splattered all over his white T-shirt. That turned out to be a good thing, because he’d tugged it off for the rest of our meal.
God, he was more delicious than the food—and Chinese was one of my favorites.
I managed to get three grains of rice into my mouth. “I spoke to Ryan this afternoon.”
Ford’s chopsticks were halfway to his lips, and he stopped. “Your son?”
I shook my head. “I wish. We have to get some work done on our support pilings, and he wants to be here when the contractor comes to give an estimate.”
“When’s he coming?”
“Tomorrow at two. I just wanted to let you know before he showed up.”
He nodded. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”
We talked and passed takeout boxes back and forth. I loved how at home Ford seemed in my house.
“There’s a music festival coming up in a few weeks on Randall Island,” he said. “I thought maybe I could get us tickets. One of the guys from Backstreet Boys is playing.”
“I’d love that. I’ve always wanted to go to a music festival. It’s actually on my list.”
Ford fished a piece of cashew chicken from the container in his hands and held it out to me with his chopsticks. I opened my mouth and leaned forward to take it, but he pulled it back before I could grab it and gave me a quick kiss instead.
“Your list?”
“Eve made me a post-divorce list of things I need to do.”
“Nice. What else is on it?” He fed me the piece of chicken and dug one out for himself.
“Going to Rome, getting a dog, keeping my Christmas tree up for a few months after Christmas—just stuff I always wanted to do that my ex was against.”
It dawned on me that our little shopping spree touched on another item on my list. It was totally inappropriate dinner conversation, and something outside my comfort zone to talk about with a man. But today had been so much fun, and I knew Ford would appreciate my sharing, so I decided to be bold.
“And…anal.”
Ford started to cough. I thought he might be choking on the piece of chicken he’d just put in his mouth. His face turned red.
“Oh my God, are you alright?”
He pounded on his chest with his palm and reached for his beer. Sucking a big gulp down, he coughed some more before speaking with a hoarse voice. “Are you kidding me? You can’t say you have anal on your to-do list while I’m chewing.”
“Oh. Sorry. I thought you’d appreciate that, especially with our purchases today.”
His eyes darkened. “I need to see this to-do list. Better yet, I volunteer to help you check off every item this summer.”
“You don’t even know what else is on it.”
“Don’t give a shit. I’m here to serve.”
I giggled, and I really wasn’t a giggler. “Such a Boy Scout. Always prepared to lend a hand.”
He shook his head. “Shit. Is that what they did in Boy Scouts? I thought they helped old ladies cross the street. If I’d have known there were anal beads and porn involved, I would have joined.”
We laughed as Ford’s phone rang. He glanced down to the caller ID, and his face looked torn about taking it.
“It’s Devin. My CFO.”
“Take it if you need to.”
“You sure you don’t mind?”
“Not at all. I’ll clean up and open some wine.”
While Ford took his phone call, I put away the leftover Chinese food and opened a bottle of wine. Pouring two glasses, I stayed in the kitchen to give him some privacy.
When he finished, he found me looking at the calendar on the refrigerator. I was holding up the July page and looking at the month of August when he snaked his arms around my waist and kissed my shoulder.
“Got plans coming up?”
“No. I just realized it’s only six-and-a-half weeks until Labor Day already.”
“You worried about finding a job by the time school starts? You get your results next week, right?”
Of course I was worried about finding a job. But that wasn’t what was weighing on my mind at the moment. Only six-and-a-half weeks left. What the hell was I waiting for? I’d already missed out on almost half the summer. Tick tock. Tick tock. It was time—now or never. I’d invited him to stay over tonight, yet oddly, it wasn’t until this very moment that I decided I wanted him now. Never was the story of my life, and I wanted to live a little.
I took a deep breath and emptied my wine glass in one big swallow before turning in Ford’s arms to face him. “I’m worried that I’ve already wasted half the summer pushing you away.”
His eyes were hesitant, and I could tell he wanted confirmation of what I was saying.
He scared the hell out of me, but I was done being afraid. “I want you, Ford.”
He cupped my cheeks and pulled my face to meet his. Our lips collided in a kiss that was passionate, yet different from the others we’d shared. It was slower, less frenzied, more sensual, and deeper.
The way he held me and took his time made me feel like he treasured the moment as much as I did
. Kisses between me and Ryan had always been a means to an end: step one that had to be completed before he could move on to step two. I’d never felt like he actually enjoyed kissing me. And to be honest, I didn’t remember feeling that way about him either. At least not for a very long time. But I wanted to kiss Ford for hours.
He pressed me up against the refrigerator and lifted me off my feet, guiding my legs to wrap around him. He grinded down between my parted legs, and I moaned into our joined mouths, feeling how hard he already was. God, I want him.
I wanted him up against the refrigerator, on the kitchen floor, the table, the counters—if it were up to me, we wouldn’t waste another minute of our time moving somewhere else. But Ford must’ve had other ideas. He gripped my ass, shifted my weight into his arms, and started moving.
“I would love nothing more than to fuck you against the wall. But it’s been two years for you, and I want to take care of you right, which means you get my mouth until you’re dripping wet and ready enough that my cock can glide inside of you.”
Oh God.
He started up the stairs. “Even thinking that you haven’t been with a man in two years makes me hard as a rock. Being near you makes me feel like some sort of Neanderthal caveman. I’m surprised I didn’t club your study buddy over the head and drag you home with me when you pulled up with him.”
Inside my bedroom, Ford set me down. He dug his wallet out of his pants and pulled out a strip of condoms, tossing them on my nightstand before taking a seat on the bed. My entire body zinged with the way he took his time looking over my body. His eyes filled with heat, and he licked his lips like he couldn’t wait to devour me.
“Undress for me. Take off your dress.”
His voice was gritty, but had a sexy edge of authority to it that turned me on.
Holding his gaze, I slipped the spaghetti straps of my sundress from one shoulder, then the other, before shimmying it down to my ankles and letting it pool on the floor. The way Ford looked at me made me feel bared in a way I hadn’t expected. It was like he didn’t just want to see my body—he wanted to see me naked.