Page 145 of Valentino

“She does.” My mom swoons.

“She’s always beautiful.” He keeps fiddling with my hair. “So much so that it often catches me off guard.”

I glance over to see my mom smiling goofily at him, clearly also drunk on his pheromones.

“I was just telling your mother about our plans for tonight.” He gives me a slow sexy smile.

“Really?” I laugh, embarrassed, my legs are still shaking from what he did to me in there. “What are we doing tonight?”

“Lots of things.” His eyes hold mine. “Probably chores.”

“There are…” I bite my lip to hide my smile, “…so many chores to do.”

“You kids need to stop worrying about washing.” My mom sips her wine. “And chores.”

“Theres always something that needs doing.” Val sips his wine and I feel the heat of his gaze. “Dirty jobs need to be done.”

Damn straight they do…. That’s it…go home, Mom.

Eight days….

Eight beautiful days in Val’s arms.

I step into the cream dress, strapless and mini. It fits like a glove. I sit on my bed and do up the straps on my sky-high gold stilettos.

Toes and nails are red, lips are too, and my long dark hair is styled in big bouncy curls.

And tonight, I’m on a mission to relax. Cocktails, dancing, and time with friends.

With no overthinking.

It’s Francesca’s birthday and tonight, we are going out on the town.

Hallelujah.

I grab my purse and walk out into the living room to find Valentino standing out on the balcony with a beer in his hand. Wearing black jeans and a button-up gray shirt that fits in all the right places, he’s a sight to behold.

There’s a reason that Valentino garners so much attention from the opposite sex, he oozes sex appeal. The chemistry coming out of this man has its own zip code.

“Oh….” His eyes drop to my toes and back up to my face and he lets out a low whistle. “Anna,” he purrs. “Dear fucking God….”

“Do I look okay?” I give a little wiggle of my hips.

“You look.” He gives a subtle shake of his head, his eyes lingering on my legs. “Incredible.” He passes me a glass of wine.

His reaction to me gives me a confidence boost, I’m nervous going out with him tonight. Even though nobody knows about us I still can’t help but feel like it’s a bit of a test. Alone we’re incredible…. But who knows when and if we ever go public.

“Thanks.” I clink my glass with his. “You look pretty cute yourself.”

“Cute?” He raises an eyebrow.

“What would you prefer?” I smile as I sip my wine.

“Fuckable.”

Oh….

The raw sexuality of his statement takes me by surprise and suddenly I become aware of his physical presence, and the way it’s taking over the space between us. He’s standing with his legs wide, feet apart. Sexuality oozing from his every cell.