Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 58051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
“Well I’m happy for you, Val.”
“Thanks. How are things on the custody front?” I frowned and she laughed. “It’s a small town Bella, remember?”
How could I possibly forget? “Derek and I had sex,” I blurted out like a fool.
Valona stared at me, her violet eyes seeing everything. “Duh.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I mean yes, we had sex, a lot over the past few weeks, but I don’t know if it means anything. I don’t even know if it’s real,” I admitted sadly.
Valona nodded for me to follow her. “Stand right here,” she instructed and plucked a camera from her bag. “I think you should just enjoy this time with Derek for whatever it is, or turns out to be. Tilt your head a little to the left.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do,” I assured her with a shrug. “But there’s a complicated history between us that makes it hard to trust him.”
“Then just stick around for the sex and hope that he earns your trust. If he doesn’t, at least you got some good orgasms out of it?”
“Great orgasms,” I shot back with a grin.
“Even better.” She moved around me gracefully as she snapped photos with a distracted smile. “I tried to dismiss Trey as just sex, as just some hot younger man looking to satisfy a cougar fantasy, but he was relentless. He made it impossible to chalk him up to just a pretty face and strong libido. And now we’re engaged and thinking about eloping.”
“Wow. Eloping, really? That’s great, Val! Right?”
“It is,” she admitted. “But I feel as if I’m depriving Trey of a chance to have a big white wedding. He swears he doesn’t want one, but I have to wonder if he’s just trying to make me happy.”
“I’ve seen the way he looks at you, and I can tell you without a doubt that no man has ever looked at me like that. Ever. So my advice? Take Trey at his word, or better yet, make it up to him with a big tropical honeymoon.”
“I would love to, but who would babysit three teenage girls for that long?”
“Carson Creek is a small town Val, remember? I could take them for a week, and I’m sure Carlotta or Margot would for another. Even Pippa and Ryan, they probably could use some free babysitting I’m sure. Probably a ton of other people I don’t even know.” I stared at her while she stared back, a strange grin on her face. “Or not. It’s just an idea.”
“No, it’s a great idea Bella. This town comes through for each other, they came through for me after the Rodney debacle, so why not now for a happy occasion?”
“Sure?” I didn’t know what she was talking about, so I just watched as she snapped photos and readjusted strands of hair, the tilt of my shoulders. “Why not just move the sun around?”
She laughed. “You don’t how many plans I’ve come up with to do just that.” Val shook her head and the camera beeped. “Gotta change the card. One sec.”
“No problem,” I assured her just as my phone buzzed with an unfamiliar number. I tapped the screen and there was a photo and video attached. “What in the hell?”
Val rushed to my side and peeked at the screen. “Why is Keri sending you photos?”
I tapped the photo to enlarge it and gasped at what I saw. “Nicola’s parents, Everest’s grandparents!” They were both red in the face and angry.
“Watch the video,” Valona insisted just as it started to play.
We watched the short clip together, equally horrified at the spectacle of the two old people accosting Everest and yelling at him. And then Derek appearing and threatening the man within an inch of his life. “What in the actual hell is wrong with them?”
“Death makes people do strange things,” Val said. “I ran into Rodney’s other woman at his grave, and I told her that I was sorry for her loss.”
“You didn’t.”
She nodded. “I did. Rodney and I had been over for a long time, and he loved her and in a way he didn’t love me anymore. Her loss was palpable, and in that moment, I felt bad they never got the life and love they deserved. Like I said, grief screws with you in unimaginable ways.”
“Wow. I hope to be like you when I grow up,” I told her sincerely just as my phone rang. I answered without looking. “Yeah?”
“It’s me,” Derek said. “I’m sure Keri sent you the videos already, but I just wanted you to know that Ev is all right and we’re on our way home right now.”
My shoulders sagged in relief. “Thank you, Derek. See you soon.”
“Hmm,” Val said with a knowing smirk. “Seems pretty damn real to me.”
I shook my head. “I never said he wasn’t a good man, I just said I don’t know if this is real.”