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Valentina had no idea what Hal was doing on the property at all, let alone what possible business he could have with her father’s crew this early in the morning. It was definitely one of those surreal moments when a person really had no idea how to react. Valentina opened her mouth, then shut it, then opened it again, then shut it. She went on ridiculously like a fish gasping for water until with a grin, Hal took a step forward and cupped her jaw. Then he gently lifted Valentina’s chin until her bottom lip met the top one and came together in a pink pout.
“You might want to tighten up those pretty lips of yours darlin’, or a guy like me could start getting ideas.” He winked boldly at her.
Valentina blushed furiously at his knowing smirk. This day was not going at all as she had planned. And just in case it wasn’t enough thatthe first day of the rest of her lifeseemed to have taken on a nasty Murphy’s Law type twist, Valentina somehow managed to lose her balance and twist her foot. When Hal reached out to steady her, he took the opportunity to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her hard against his chest in aMe Tarzan, You Janekind of way.
Valentina knitted her brow and shook her head slightly trying to get a grip of what was happening here. She pushed against him to release her.
“You know who I am.” Hal’s eyes met hers.
Understatement of the year.
Valentina not only knew who Hal was, but until very recently, thoughts of him occupied her every waking moment. However, Valentina’s recent display of unbridled PTSD insanity squelched even the smallest dash of hope that anything would come out of her school-girl crush. Valentina died a thousand deaths in embarrassed humiliation every time she thought of that night. And even if that incident had never happened, now that Valentina had been to a Saints’ party, and she had seen the kind of women that those men wanted, she was pretty sure she didn’t fit the bill. If the mean, overly made-up, sex-crazed girl who had shoved Valentina against the wall was an indication of Hal’s preference in life partners then Valentina didn’t stand a chance—nor would she want to. The Winston sisters and Pinky and Dolly seemed to be the exception to the rule when it came to Hells Saints’ women, and Valentina was pretty sure she wouldn’t make that cut either.
Maybe it was all for the best anyway, because now that she was faced with her very first, up close and personal, private conversation with Hal, she realized that she was at a distinct disadvantage. Every bit of his gorgeous, strong body exuded a sense of self-assurance and swagger that made Valentina’s knees weak. Hallelujah Thomas radiated the kind of confidence reserved for the few god-like, beautiful creatures who roamed this earth. This guy was so far out of her league that he and Valentina weren’t even playing on the same field. Maybe he wasn’t even there—maybe he was a figment of her imagination. Perhaps she was still dreaming, or the early morning mist had been playing tricks on her? Valentina fluttered her eyelids several times in an effort to blink Hal away.
Nope, still there.
Say something, for god sake.Valentina ordered her dumbstruck vocal chords to sound out and a coherent thought to return. He had asked her a question and was waiting for the answer.
“Of course, I remember you.” She managed.
“Then why the deer in headlights look?” He seemed genuinely confused.
“Because it’s the break of dawn, and no one gets up this early unless they have to.” She reasoned.
“I’m a restless sleeper.” He shrugged
An unbidden and lust-filled picture of Hal tossing and turning nakedly on rumpled sheets shot through Valentina’s mind. Immediately, she pushed the image away.
“I’m going to be late if I don’t leave now,” she told him brusquely. “Can you please, just tell me why you’re here, and why you’re holding the keys to Big Blue?”
“Big Blue?” Hal lifted his chin toward the vintage Cadillac. “Rad name. I like it.”
Then he turned to Valentina and cocked his head to one side, taking another long sweep of her body, but this time settling right on the confusion in her eyes.
“So, you really have no idea why I’m here?”
“I really don’t.” Valentina looked steadily at him.
Then under his breath he muttered, “sonofabitch.”
To Valentina’s consternation, instead of tossing her the car keys, he stuck them in his front pocket. Then with his back towards her, he dragged out a cell and stabbed in some numbers. Hal walked too far away for her to hear the conversation, but his tone held anger and frustration. After the conversation was finished, Hal walked back to Valentina and grabbed the tote bag out of her hands. She watched in stunned silence as he took the liberty of rummaging through her purse until he found her cell. Hall handed the phone to Valentina just as it began to ring. “Answer it. It’s Gianni.” Hal ordered. Then he lit a cigarette and walked away from her.
“Papa?” Valentina asked warily. “What’s going on? Why is Hal Thomas here, and why won’t he give me the keys to the car?
“Hal è la guardia del corpo,” was her father’s unbelievable response.
Valentina stumbled back as if she had been shot.
Bodyguard? He is my bodyguard?
“Papa, no,” she told her father in absolutely no uncertain terms.
“It’s done.”
“Then undo it, Papa. If this is because of what happened after the wedding, I told you that I know it was stupid and that I am very, very sorry.” Valentina paused here while she waited for her father’s response. The line on his end remained stubbornly silent. When Valentina’s contrition did not sway her father, she decided to make a play on his emotional side. “ Haven’t I gone through enough humiliation over one incident?”
Still nothing. Next, she tried outrage.
