My Curvy Valentine: A Perfect Fit Novella (19 page)

She cried harder. He started to get worried then. “Maggie. He took her chin between his fingers, looking her in the eyes. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

“She cheated.” She choked on her words.

“Who cheated?” He shook his head.

“My mother.”

“What?” He thought about Betty Calhoun. The sweet, innocent-looking lady who would do anything for anyone. He couldn’t imagine her breaking her marriage vows. “Are you sure?”

He led her to the couch, sitting her down and peeling her coat off her too warm body.

“I’m sure. I talked to both of them today. My father came to see me at work. He told me she had an affair with his best friend while he was away at Desert Storm. I was really young then, but I remember him being away for a long time and I remember his best friend Dave being there all the time and then suddenly we never saw him again. And then my dad was angry all the time. I’ve spent so long remembering how miserable our house was, that I forgot we used to be happy. My father used to be a happy guy. I used to love him so much.”

“What did your mother say?

“That she felt like she owed it to him to stay and that she loved him.” She wiped her eyes. “I’m so angry. I had wondered why she stayed when he was so mean to her. I had this image in my mind of my poor, perfect mother. Too delicate to stand up for herself, too loyal to leave him. It gave me this fucked-up stand-by-your-man vision in my head. That you stay no matter what because you have kids to raise and a family to keep together. I thought he was evil. I blamed him for everything.”

“He was cruel to her, Maggie. No man should ever speak to a woman the way he did.”

“I know, but she had an affair with his best friend. It wasn’t a one-time thing. Imagine how you would feel if your wife cheated on you with your best friend.”

“You’re my best friend.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “If you were having an affair with my wife I would like to watch.”

“Pervert.” She gave him a wobbly smile, which was what he wanted to see. It was killing him to see her in so much pain. “I thought Clay was your best friend.”

“You Calhoun kids are interchangeable.” He wrapped his arms around her and placed her head to rest on his chest. “You seem less mad at your father.” He wiped away her tears with his thumbs.

“I’m so confused. He told me he’s in therapy. My drill sergeant, never-talk-about-his-feelings father is getting help. He said it took losing my mother to realize that he needed it.”

“And now they are going on vacations and sharing jokes. See? Therapy works. You ever think you might want to talk to somebody about this?”

“That’s what I have you for.” She lifted her head, pressing the sweetest of kisses to his mouth. She went to pull away, but he didn’t let her. He slid his hand into her hair and deepened the kiss. He had been thinking about her mouth all day and couldn’t let it go yet.

“Have you eaten dinner?”

“No. You want to order in?”

“No. I want you to let me take you out.”

She looked at him for a long moment. “Okay. Take me out.”

“And then I want you to come back here and get naked with me.”

She sighed heavily. “If I must.”

“Then I want you to sleep here. The whole night and I don’t want you to get up until you have to get ready for work.”

She blinked at him. “Okay,” she said softly. “I’m yours for the night.”

*

The next evening Alex walked into his father’s house to find that he had company. Clayton was there, hauling a heavy box from the back of the house.

“Hey.” Clayton inclined his head. It was his version of a warm greeting.

“Hey. My father asked you to help with my mother’s things?”

“No, Maggie did.” Clay set the box down.

“She’s here? Why?” He had noticed the silver Honda in the front, but he didn’t put two and two together. He didn’t ask her what her plans were for the evening when he kissed her good-bye this morning. He didn’t want to seem presumptuous, but he was glad that she was here tonight.

“Yeah. She’s in your father’s bedroom.”

“Did you talk to her?”

“About my parents? Not really. I knew though.”

“You did? For how long?”

“Two years. I was home on leave and went after my father one night. I would have killed him if my mom hadn’t stopped me. She spilled it then. I told her it was time she left and she did.”

“You never told Maggie?”

He shrugged. “Not my place. My father was trying to protect my mother’s reputation or some stupid bullshit like that. Not that my mother was so ready to volunteer the information. They were always trying to protect Maggie. Never let her make her own choices. Never wanted her to figure out things for herself. Look at where it got them. She’s pissed at both of them.”

“That will change. She just needs time.”

“I guess. I’m going to make a run to the thrift store before it closes. Maggie says she wants us all to hang out next week. She thinks I’m turning into a hermit.”

“I agree with her.”

“Of course you do. Now that you’re together you’ll never take my side again.”

“Are you okay with that?”

“Not taking my side? No, but I guess it comes with the territory.”

“I meant about us being together.”

He shrugged again. “You break her heart I’ll break your fucking neck.”

“I would expect no less from you.”

“Good.” He nodded. “I’ve got to go.”

They parted ways and he found Maggie alone in his parents’ room. She was sitting on the floor again, separating clothes into neat piles. “Hey, gorgeous.” He stroked his hand over her hair.

“Hey yourself.” She gave him a shy smile and it reminded him of the way she looked this morning when he woke her up by kissing her belly. “How did you know I was here?”

“I didn’t.” He caught her chin between her fingers and kissed her. Her cheeks turned pink and it made his chest thump a little harder. “I came by to see my father.”

“He’s behind you.”

“Uh-oh. I might get grounded. I’m not supposed to bring girls here.”

“My son the smartass.”

Alex turned around to find his father grinning at him. “I have the things you wanted. They’re in the kitchen. Come.”

“Are you sure you don’t want those cast iron pans?” he asked Ambrose as they entered the kitchen.

“Those heavy things. The most cooking I do happens in the microwave. Take them.” He lifted a small wooden box off the counter. “Take this too.”

“The whole thing. Are you sure?”

Ambrose nodded. “What am I going to do with it? You want to give something to Maggie?”

“Maybe. You wouldn’t mind?”

“She’s a good girl, Alex. Of course I don’t mind. You don’t take over my business, the least you could do is finally date a girl I like.”

“You didn’t like Roya?”

“She was like a Ferrari. Nice to drive sometimes. Not practical for everyday use. Now Maggie… She’s like a Caddy.”

Alex held up his hand. “Don’t say anything else. I get it.”

“Good.” He affectionately slapped his back. “Have you eaten? Let me take you two out.”

Chapter 11

A soft kiss to the curve of her neck woke Maggie from a deep sleep. She opened her eyes to see Alex standing over her, already dressed in his work clothes. She was a little disappointed that he hadn’t wakened her the same way he had the past few days. It usually started with his hands all over her skin and ended with him buried inside her.

She gripped his face and pulled him closer, kissing him good morning. “Why didn’t you wake me earlier?”

“Because I kept you awake so late last night. I figured you could use the sleep.”

“Don’t worry about me.” She ran her hand along his lightly bearded jaw, feeling slightly guilty. “You’re the one who has to be up before the sun. Maybe I should have stayed at my place last night. You’re not getting enough sleep.”

“I’m fine.” He kissed her mouth. “I wouldn’t sleep at all knowing you were just one door away. Besides, a little dose of you is all I need to get going in the morning.”

She sat up, the blankets slipping from her body and revealing her naked chest. She enjoyed the look of lust that took over Alex’s eyes when he saw her, but he didn’t get to look for long because she grabbed his arm and tugged him into bed. “You charmer.” She pushed her fingers into his thick hair and pulled his mouth to hers. “Have sex with me.”

“Don’t tempt me.” He cupped her breasts, flicking his thumb over her nipple. “I’ve got to get to work.”

“You’re the boss. You can go in late.” She shut her eyes, savoring the feeling of his big hands on her.

“I have been going in late. Fernando gives me a little smug look every time he beats me to the kitchen.” He kissed down her shoulder. “I’m beating him today.” He backed away from her. “I just wanted to tell you Happy Valentine’s Day.” He tossed a large pink cellophane bag to her.

“What’s this?”

“Nothing much. Just a little present.”

She opened the bag, finding it full of chocolates, then looked back up at him. “Are these all coconut?”

“I know you like them.” He shrugged, looking bashful for the first time in all the years she had known him. Her heart did a flippy thing in her chest.

“I didn’t know they sold them like this.”

“They don’t. Don’t ask where the rest of the chocolates are. Fernando and I are a little ashamed of ourselves.”

“Come here,” she said softly, feeling herself falling more deeply. Keeping it light and keeping her distance wasn’t working. He had gotten to her, sneaked into her heart when she wasn’t paying attention. Maybe he didn’t sneak. Maybe he was there the whole time. It just took her this long to realize.

“If I come to you I’ll never want to leave. I don’t want to leave right now.”

“But you’ve got to go.”

He nodded. “Go back to sleep. I’ll see you later.”

“I don’t think I can go back to sleep. You got me all worked up.”

“I’ll pick you up on your break.”

“Aren’t you going to be busy today? Tonight’s the ball.”

“I’ll make time for you. Come kiss me good-bye before you head to work.”

He left then and she didn’t think he had any clue how his sweet words affected her. He never said that he wanted her to be his girlfriend. They never discussed anything about having a relationship and they never would because she knew going into this that there was an expiration date on them. He would move on or she would decide this wasn’t for her. It would hurt her. It would probably kill their friendship, but she promised herself that no matter what she would have no hard feelings. She’d gone into this with open eyes and she was going to enjoy him as long as she could.

*

Alex stood in the back of the empty banquet room in the old Oak Hill Country Club just taking it all in. The Red and White Affair, they had called this evening. The men had worn white tuxedo jackets, the women were in long gowns in various shades of red. Roses had filled the room and the air, serving as centerpieces on beautifully covered tables and as an archway at the entrance. There was a full band playing standards and love songs, and happy couples danced around the room that was lit with soft pink lights. It could have all been so corny, but he could see the romance in it. He could see why this was such a big day. Valentine’s Day had finally come. For so many years it had been just another day to Alex, a day he had to make sure he didn’t forget to give whoever he was seeing a card, a day he had to work a little harder at his job at the restaurant. It had been no big deal before.

But this year it seemed that everything Alex had done for the past month had been leading up to this day. Months of planning and preparation. Hours and hours of thoughts directed toward making sure everything went perfectly. To make sure he made a good name for
Sweet Eats
. He thought he would be amped this morning, excited that he would have the opportunity to show off his creations to a big group of people, the people of his town, the people he had grown up with. But he didn’t. He was feeling distracted, like something was missing. And instead of thinking about all the people who had congregated around his dessert table, and about the compliments he received and the new customers that promised to visit his shop, he was thinking about Maggie and how hard it was to leave her this morning. And how much he wanted to crawl into bed with her tonight.

“The dark chocolate mousse was a major hit, Chef.” Fernando came to stand beside him, forcing him to pull his thoughts from her. “It went as soon as we put it out. I caught one guy licking the glass.”

“And they say rich folks have better manners.”

Fernando smiled for a moment. “There’s also a woman who approached me about us doing the cupcakes in mason jars for her daughter’s wedding favors. I gave her your card. I think she’s a senator.” Fernando fell quiet for a moment as he surveyed the elegant room that had finally cleared out. “Congratulations, Chef. You’re a hit.”

“Why are you congratulating me? You know I couldn’t have done any of this without you. If I’m a hit you know damn well you’re one too.”

“I’m congratulating you because there were two hundred people raving about your recipes and presentation and you don’t seem to be fazed by it at all. I’m just reminding you that
this is indeed a big damn deal. This night is what you worked so hard for since you opened
Sweet Eats
.”

It was true, but he wished Maggie were here to experience it with him. She had helped him plan his menu, tasting everything he had placed in front of her. And she had been there when he needed her, there from the day his doors first opened, but now she wasn’t here to see it all come together. He loved what he did, but it didn’t seem as important without her here to share it with him.

“They offered us a contract to do their Spring Bloom Ball. I think I’m not going to have to be so worried about the bakery anymore.”

“I knew you wouldn’t. It was only a matter of time.”

He nodded. “Go home to your wife and tell Arthur to go home too. You both did great work tonight.”

“Everything is all cleaned up. You should go home, too, and get some rest.”

“Don’t go just yet,” he heard a familiar female voice say. He turned around to see Maggie in a red dress, but unlike the ball gowns the partygoers had worn she looked like an absolute bombshell in a long-sleeved dress that fit her curvy body like a glove. “I was hoping you had a dance for me.”