“I can almost see that shit-eating grin of yours right now. You know what I’m talking about!” This time, I didn’t hold back, laughing long and hard. When I finally quieted again, Isabella pouted. “I’m glad you find this funny. You used to tell me everything. Imagine my surprise when I found out you spoke to Christopher about her over a week ago, and I’d been left completely in the dark.”
“Rat bastard couldn’t keep his mouth shut for very long,” I teased.
“Actually, it wasn’t him, not really anyway. Julianna was working the dining room that night and she happened to mention you stopped in. When I asked Christopher why you were here…well, you know him. It didn’t take much for him to tell me everything.”
Yes, I knew Christopher—but I knew my sister even better. She was as stubborn as a mule. When she wanted something, there was no holding her back. I’d bet it took her less than thirty seconds to get Christopher to fold. He was always soft when it came to her.
“Honestly, Bells. There’s not much to tell.”
“Oh, now that’s the biggest load of bullshit I’ve ever heard.”
“It’s a long story.”
“Do I sound busy to you?”
“Okay, okay,” I sighed. “I’ll tell you everything I told Chris and you can be the judge.”
I thought about the night I met Val in the courtyard of the hotel and how we talked about so much, yet hardly anything at all. The conversation had been easy and natural. So just as I did with Christopher, I went through the tale of how I met a beautiful runaway bride. However, I went into way more detail this time around because Isabella had twenty-seven questions for every one sentence. After forty-five minutes on the phone, my coffee cup was nearly empty, and she had been brought up to speed. I ended with what happened today in the self-defense class.
My sister gasped after I’d finished telling her everything.
“Oh, the poor girl! Whatever happened to her, it’s important for her to know she’s not alone. You know we’ll keep an eye on her while she’s working at the restaurant.”
“I appreciate that.”
My sister fell unusually silent for a long moment. I was about to ask her if she was still on the line when she finally spoke again.
“I feel like you’ve been looking for the right girl for as long as I can remember,” she eventually said. There was no mistaking the consternation in my sister’s voice.
“Maybe I finally found her. I just think our timing is off, that’s all.”
“Derek, how serious are you about Val?”
“Serious?” I paused just as I was bringing the coffee mug to my mouth to finish the last few drops. “What gave you the impression we were even together? We’re just friends.”
“Well, you and I know that won’t be the case for long. She might not know it but I can tell you’re really into her. It makes me nervous.”
I blinked twice, not completely sure about what would make my sister so anxious.
“Why?”
“Because you tend to fall first and think later.”
I rolled my eyes as understanding dawned. She was thinking about Cassandra, my last girlfriend. I’d fucked more woman than I could count in my lifetime, yet my sister wanted to zero in on the one woman who lasted more than a few weeks—and ended disastrously.
Cassandra was beautiful. She and I had hit it off really well in the beginning. I didn’t fall for her per se, but we did get serious rather quickly. Two months into our relationship—and one Cavalier puppy named Maisie later—I realized she’d masterfully managed to hide how materialistic she was. She valued her designer purses above anything else, including me and the puppy who had a penchant for chewing overpriced leather bags. In the end, I kept the puppy, and she kept what was left of her Louis Vuitton collection.
“Look, this isn’t like Cassandra. All she cared about was my bank account. I’m not sure what my relationship with her was. She was more in love with herself than me.”
“And you didn’t see that before deciding to get a dog with her?” she asked dryly.
“You love Maisie and you know it,” I countered.
“She’s adorable. Of course, I love her, but that’s not my point.”
“So, what is your point?”
“Look, Derek. I love you, and I’m not trying to give you a hard time. I’m just concerned. You’re a good-looking guy, and you have money and a huge heart. You’ll be an amazing catch for someone one day.
“Just not Val?”
My sister sighed, seeming to take a minute to collect her thoughts.
“I like Val, and she’s a hard worker. She seems nice enough, but she clearly has some sort of past she’s running from. She showed up to her interview with obviously dyed hair that looked like it was cropped short with kitchen shears. So far, she’s worked three shifts at Camilla’s, and not once did her clothes fit properly. To me, they look like stretched out hand-me-downs. And while none of that should matter on iota, it does when you combine her appearance with the way she behaves. She’s always casting furtive glances at the door as if she expects the boogie man to come through it at any moment. If you come up on her unexpectedly, she startles easily. At the end of the night, when she counts her tips, she gets this strange look of excitement on her face—like she found the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. I don’t know… it’s hard to explain without seeing it. She looks exhausted too. The bags under her eyes make me think the poor girl hasn’t slept in weeks.”
Knowing Isabella was never one to judge someone by their appearance made it hard for me to hear her describe the woman I only saw as beautiful, no matter how her hair or clothes looked. However, for my sister to say something, Val’s struggles had to have been glaringly obvious, and I found myself momentarily speechless.
“What are you trying to say?”
“I’m saying you hardly know this girl. Anyone can see she’s a bit of a train wreck—anyone except you, that is. I can’t help but wondering… why her, Derek?”
I thought about Val’s angelic smile—timid yet genuine and absolutely gorgeous. She didn’t smile nearly enough and I wanted more than anything to rectify that. Then I thought about her laugh, and although I hadn’t heard it recently, I could still pull it from memory. It was like warm honey pouring over me—thick, full-bodied, and sincere. And that shape… just the thought of her naked curves wrapped in my arms made for too many lonely nights, imagining what it would feel like to have her writhing in pleasure beneath me. She was practically a stranger, but I wanted her desperately in the most unexplainable ways.
“I don’t know why, Bells—and she’s not a train wreck. I know her better than you think. This is not just an infatuation. I…” I paused, hearing the defensiveness in my voice and adopted a softer tone. “No, you’re right. I hardly know her, but at the same time, it’s like we’ve known each other for years. I feel something for this girl. I’ve never connected with someone so quickly before. There’s a spark between us I can’t explain.”
“I felt the same about Christopher. There was this gravitational force, pulling us to the center until it felt like we were the only two people in the world. I get it, Derek—really, I do. But Christopher and I didn’t come with baggage—unless, of course, you count his overbearing mother, who thinks she knows everything just because she’s an Italian. I mean, really. She could drive anyone to drink. It’s a miracle I don’t go to bed with a bottle of Sambuca every night,” she said with a laugh. I heard her release a long sigh, signaling that she had a lot more on her mind.