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If I’d once wanted it, that had long gone. My nightmare kept reminding me.
It was a crying fucking shame that I’d picked the wrong person to break my heart over. That still didn’t help me understand what the hell she wanted with me now.
Chapter 26
Mia
Laughter came from the living room, and I grinned over the dinner plates I was washing up. Valentine had offered, but I’d told him to park his butt and rest, so he and Tobi were watching cartoons.
When I finished, I peeked out of the kitchen. On the rug in the cosy space, Valentine read something on his phone while reclining against the sofa with his long legs outstretched. Tobi sat behind him, a length of his black hair in her hands.
She tugged on it. “Stay still or it won’t go right.”
“Sorry,” he replied. “Listen to what Jackson said Finn did today. They’re in Italy, and Ben, Jackson, and Finn helicoptered into an amusement park and spent a couple of hours going on the rides there.” He muttered something to himself about fun thieves, shaking his head.
“I said still,” my daughter chastised. With her tongue poking out, she twisted strands into a slim if slightly wonky braid.
I’d just shown her how to do that a couple of weeks back. She completed one and held it up.
“Put your hand up to feel it,” she instructed Valentine.
“Aye, very even. Do another the other side so it’s like a Viking.”
She snagged another length and began again. “What’s a Viking?”
“Like me but hundreds of years ago and on a boat.”
“You’re too cute,” I told them.
Valentine raised his gaze to me. “Hey, Mama.”
Of all the names he used for me, that one hit me straight in the feels.
I joined them, picking up Tobi’s brush to tease out more of Valentine’s hair. He’d let it air dry after his shower, but the black lengths were glossy and thick.
“So unfair,” I mused. “If I didn’t blow-dry my hair it would turn into a rat’s nest. Yours is beautiful.”
Valentine gave a low sigh then slightly angled his head to give me a look. He loved his hair being played with, but that was a very different thing from Tobi messing with him to my actions.
She finished her second braid, and I reached to take the leather tie from Valentine’s wrist. Then I rolled his hair into a high man bun, taking the plaits in with it.
He turned to face us. “Verdict?”
“So Viking.” Tobi grinned.
A little stunned, I blinked to regain my powers of speech. Effortlessly gorgeous Valentine was here in my home, on my rug, and asking if I liked the way he looked.
It would take no effort at all to lean in and kiss him.
“Not bad,” I managed.
He pursed his lips in amusement then let me off the hook. He eased back, a wince of pain telling me his movements weren’t being kind to his injury. “If I haven’t said, your home is lovely. Ilike the changes you’ve made.” He gestured to the room and to the little touches we’d added. Artwork Tobi had brought home from school. Cushions that gave a burst of colour to the gold couch.
“I want to do more,” I said.
“Like what? It’s perfect.”
“For one thing, get another couch so visitors have somewhere to sit.”
