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“Thanks. I think.” Val shook her head, still laughing.
“No,” I told her. “Thank you. So damn much.”
My palms started to sweat as we made our way through the crowd, stopping to offer greetings to just about everyone in town. It was cozy and one of the things I loved most about Carson Creek, but I was too eager to get my arms around Valona, to talk to her privately, and only found the camaraderie annoying.
“You okay?”
I nodded and hooked an arm around Val’s waist. “I’m fine. How about a dance?”
Heat glazed her eyes and she gave an absent nod, mouth slightly open with what I hoped was lust. Anticipation.
Together we walked towards the dance floor where many couples had already gathered, arriving just as the upbeat dance song turned to something slower and softer. A little bit sultry. “Finally,” I growled and pulled her closer. “You smell so damn good.”
“It’s the same perfume I always wear.”
I inhaled deeply and growled. “Doesn’t change the fact that you smell good. Or the fact that I’ve missed your smell. In fact, I’ve missed every part of you Val.” I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feel of having her in my arms again.
She let out a small sigh that I couldn’t decipher so I waited. Patiently. “I’ve missed you too, Trey and I’m sorry.”
That sorry could mean so many things, so I held my breath for a long moment and let it out. “Sorry that you don’t want to be with me?”
“I’m sorry for pushing you away. I’m sorry for punishing you for the things Rodney did to me and made me feel about myself.”
That was unexpected. “I didn’t realize that’s what you were doing.”
“Me either,” she admitted with a rueful smile.
I took a step back and that flash of hurt in her eyes tore me up, but it also buoyed me because it meant she cared more than she’d admitted, at least to me. I held a hand out to her as the song ended and she accepted it. “Let’s go outside,” I offered. “I’ll even let you wear my jacket.”
She smiled and gave my hand a squeeze. “How chivalrous.”
“Right?” Silence fell between us as we retraced our steps through the beautifully decorated room and headed outside where the moon hung low and shone bright, a perfect backdrop for what was to come. I hoped.
Valona dropped my hand and instantly I felt cold, adrift without her touch. She wrapped her arms around herself, a clearly protective gesture that put me right back on edge. “Pippa accused me of punishing you for Rodney’s sins and I didn’t believe her, didn’t want to believe her. I mean, you’re young and gorgeous and you used to be a model, what would you want with a widowed single mother with an extra ten pounds?” She laughed to herself and shook her head.
“That’s how you see yourself, I see a beautiful, smart and strong woman who bounced back from tragedy to become a great example for her children.” She sucked in a breath as I stepped closer to her. “And I see mouth-watering curves.”
She shook her head. “It took me a while to see that, to accept your words as your own.”
That much was easy to see. “What’s changed?”
“Me. I’ve changed.” She turned away from me and fixed her gaze on the oversized moon. “I went to Rodney’s grave the other day and she was there, the woman he was going to leave us for. Leave me for, anyway.”
“I’m sorry, Val. That must have been rough.”
“It was hard. At first.” She shook her head and when she turned back to me, it was with a wistful smile. “She’s only a few years younger than I am, not the stunning twenty-five year old I’d envisioned. Claire, that’s her name, is perfectly nice and she truly loved Rodney.”
My fingers itched to comfort her and I followed my instinct, wrapping her into a protective hug and squeezing tight. “This Rodney fella must have been the biggest idiot alive.” How he could have this woman supporting him, loving him, and choose another, I couldn’t understand.
But Val surprised me with laughter. “Claire and I had a good talk, about the things Rodney told her, and other than the lies, he was right. We grew over the years and changed, but we didn’t do it together. I loved Rodney for a long time and we had a good life together. Really good, but he never made me feel the way you do, and that’s why you scared the hell out of me.”
“Little ol’ me?”
She laughed and gave my chest a playful shove. “Yeah, you. He didn’t touch me mind, body and soul. It wasn’t a flaw on his part or mine, we just weren’t right for each other, and he only realized it when he found the woman who was right for him.”
