“I’m sorry I pretended you were only here to fix the pipes when Ryan showed up, and I’m sorry I let him refer to you as the boy next door.”

“I get it.” I pulled back and brushed her hair behind her ear. “I hate it. But I get it. He was your husband for twenty years, and…you’re still telling yourself this is just a summer fling.”

“Ford…”

I pulled her against me and quieted her against my chest. “Let me finish my apology and then you can talk if you want. Okay?”

She nodded.

“People bring history into new relationships—past experiences, good or bad. You’re bringing blown trust, cheating, and disappointment with you. So you’re hesitant to get attached too fast. The biggest relationship influence I had in my life wasn’t even my own. I grew up watching my parents—who were very much in love and had their time cut too short. So I’m anxious to move forward, afraid to let something good slip through my fingers because we never know how much time we have.”

Val leaned back. She looked bewildered. “Are we sure I’m the one who’s twelve years older? Because honestly, you sound a lot more mature than I’ve acted lately.”

I pressed my lips to her forehead.

When she looked up at me, she smiled sadly. “I’m sorry about making you feel I wanted to hide what’s going on between us.”

I studied her eyes. “What is going on between us, Val?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. But is it possible to have the right feelings at the wrong time? I feel like I’m not ready for anything serious, even though I’m sort of crazy about you. There are so many things I should do for me first.”

It fucking hurt to hear she thought it was the wrong time, but she’d come out of a twenty-year marriage and had only been with one man. I guess it was better she knew now that things with us couldn’t be forever, rather than figuring it out a year down the road.

What were my choices? Take what she was capable of giving me or walking away. The way I felt, I had no choice.

I swallowed. “Let’s just enjoy each other for the rest of the summer.”

Chapter 21

* * *

Valentina

“I passed!” I covered my mouth in disbelief and stared at my name on the screen.

Valentina Di Giovanni Davis

New York State Teacher Certification Exam- passed

Content Specialty Test - Italian – passed

It was right there in black and white, yet it still felt surreal. My phone started to buzz with incoming texts. Results were posted right at eight a.m., so I knew my friends were getting theirs, too.

Ford came out from the shower in my bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.

“I passed!”

“Holy shit. It’s eight o’clock already?”

I nodded, unable to stop smiling. He walked over to the bed and scooped me up, swinging me around in a circle.

“Congratulations. I’m fucking a teacher. That’s kind of hot.”

I read the flurry of texts from my friends. Mark passed. Desiree passed. Allison passed. “We all did it!”

“That’s great. We need to celebrate.”

I sat down on the bed and texted back to my friends. Ford sat next to me with a proud smile on his face.

“It feels surreal,” I said. “Ten years ago when we had trouble getting pregnant, I decided to enroll in one Italian class. My son had just started second grade, and I needed something. Ryan told me it was a waste of money. I don’t know why, but I didn’t tell him I was thinking of becoming a teacher. I actually took one class a semester for a few years before telling him my plan.” I shrugged. “I knew he would say I didn’t need a full-time job. He saw my wanting to do something for me as some sort of insult to him as the financial provider. And now, ten years later, here I am, finally done—the timing couldn’t be more perfect. I’m ready for a change.”

Ford slid his hand up and down my bare thigh. “I’m proud of you. I know I wasn’t there for the years you worked on things, but I know firsthand how difficult it can be to get caught up in the life you’re in and forget about your own dreams.”

I nodded. He definitely understood.

Ford got up from the bed. “I would love to stay and spend the day celebrating inside of you, but I have to be in the office. What do you say we celebrate tonight at my place? Pack a bag and stay overnight.”

“Okay…but pack a bag? I can just run next door if I need something.”

“I meant my place in the city. I want to show you my apartment anyway, and we need to celebrate. Take the train in, and let’s stay tonight.”

I loved the city and did feel like celebrating. A change of scenery would be fun. “That sounds great. I’ll take the train later and meet you wherever.”

***

Ford had texted me to wear something sexy. Then twenty minutes before I was to leave to catch a train into the city, a black limousine pulled up in front of my house. He’d sent a stretch for me, and when I called him, he’d insisted I get in and said we were starting our celebration early.

Champagne was already open and waiting when I got in the backseat. So I asked the driver to wait a few minutes and ran back into the house to change. I’d originally considered a skimpy, royal blue, halter-top dress and stilettos, but it had felt over the top to wear it on the train. Though, wearing it in the back of a limousine made me feel like I was heading out for a special night.

The driver had been instructed not to tell me where we were going, and Ford was being coy about dinner. As we wound our way through Manhattan, excitement built within me. It was a crystal-clear night, and the city was lit up outside the tinted windows. I felt like a kid in a candy store, waiting to see what delicious treat the shop owner had for me.

But the excitement I felt about the city was totally eclipsed by the man standing at the curb when the limo slowed and pulled to the sidewalk. Ford was dressed in a suit, his feet planted wide, hands casually tucked into his pants pockets while he watched the stretch approach. He buttoned his jacket and leaned down to open the back door as we rolled to a stop. Extending a hand, he greeted me with an insanely sexy smile. It took me longer than it should have to give him my hand because I was too busy drooling.

God, Ford looked incredible. His shoulders were broad, waist narrow, and the perfection of the tailored suit contrasted so uniquely with the messiness of his hair. It looked like he didn’t give a shit, and that upped the sexiness barometer to a lethal level.

I wet my dry lips and finally got out. “You look so handsome.”

He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close for a tender kiss. He mumbled against my lips, “Have you ever had sex in the back of a limo? Please tell me you have so I don’t push you back inside and fuck up this night right from the start.”

I smiled. “I haven’t. But I’m not opposed to skipping dessert and having it in the car later.”

He took a step back and shook his head. “You look…beautiful. Gorgeous. Sexy. And so incredibly fuckable at this moment.”

I giggled, but the praise shot straight to my head to meet the two glasses of champagne I’d enjoyed on the trip in. I felt dazed and high, but so very happy.

Ford shut the limousine door and took my hand. “Come on. Let’s go inside before we don’t.”

I distantly took in the name of the restaurant as we made our way to the door. Osteria Isabella—I knew it was an exclusive one. Eve had mentioned it before…the type of place where my menu wouldn’t even show the prices. It was so sweet of Ford to go all out for my celebration. But I had no idea how all out he’d gone until we walked to our table.

Five smiling faces yelled “Surprise!” all at once. Startled, I took a step back.

“Eve? Tom?” Not only was my best friend here, but so were my three study partners. I looked at Ford. “How? When?”

“I swiped your phone when you were in the shower and took their numbers to arrange tonight. You deserve a real celebration.”

I felt an ache in my chest, and my eyes started to well up. No one had ever done anything so thoughtful for me. All eyes from the table were on us. Choked up, I didn’t have the words to express my gratitude, but I knew what would speak volumes. For the first time, I didn’t hesitate. I reached up and took Ford’s beautiful face in my hands and pulled his lips down to meet mine—in public, in front of all my friends.

After, he leaned down to my ear. “Thank you.”

I smiled. “No, thank you.”

***

“I didn’t know. I’m sorry,” Mark leaned across the table to me and whispered.

Seeing the confused look on my face, he clarified by pointing his eyes to Ford, who sat on the other side of me, currently engrossed in a conversation with Tom.

“In Montauk. I didn’t realize you were seeing someone, and I pushed myself on you for the day.”

“No. It’s fine. I enjoyed showing you around.”

Mark’s eyes dropped to my lips for a moment. He smiled. “He’s a lucky bastard. But I’m happy if you’re happy. You deserve it.”

“Thank you.”