Page 1 of Unravel You

Chapter1

The Thigh-High Stockings

Valentina

“Mrs. Cole?” The maître d’ slid into my line of sight.

My gaze jerked up at him. “We’re not married.”

“I’m sorry?” He stepped forward in that way super-fancy servers move in super-fancy restaurants.

I sat back on the blue-velvet couch and downed the rest of my champagne. “Mr. Cole and I are not married.”

“My apologies. Mr. Cole…the ring…I assumed.” He placed his hands behind him, standing perfectly straight.

“Not yet.” I smiled, and his features relaxed some. Not all the way though. We were still in a very exclusive establishment. “Is my car ready?”

“Yes. Take your time.” He poured more wine into my glass.

I glanced at my watch, placing a hand to my forehead. How did I end up waiting two hours for him again?

“Mr. Cole already took care of everything.”

Of course, he did. “Thank you. I’d like to go home now.” I scooted one spot over and rose to my feet. The silk of my dress skimmed down my legs, and images of Derek’s hands inching up my thighs flickered through my mind. That had been the day he’d left on a business trip, roughly two weeks ago. God, I missed him.

“Of course.” The maître d’ ushered me to the entrance of the restaurant, where one of Derek’s drivers waited for me, and swung the door open.

“Thank you.” I climbed in and relaxed, running my hand along the supple leather of the seat. The car pulled out of the parking lot, and I kept my focus on the soft feel of the upholstery.

My phone rang in my purse, but I didn’t answer it. Derek wasn’t here. A call from him wasn’t going to fix that.

“Mrs. Cole?” The driver was new. Derek had hired him recently to drive me and my son Max.

“It’s Valentina,” I said. “We’re not married yet.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize.” He cleared his throat. “Mr. Cole is trying to reach you. Can he try again?”

“Yes, that’s fine.” I fished my phone from the bottom of my clutch. Derek’s incredibly handsome face and intense blue gaze lit up the screen. I stared at it for a few more rings before I swiped right to answer.

“Valentina, I’ve been trying to call you. Are you okay?”

“Yes.” I glared at the tiny letters that said the connection was poor and video wasn’t available. I wanted to see him. “Where are you?”

“I’m so sorry I missed our dinner. I’m still at the airport in Atlanta. My plane has an engine problem they thought they could fix right away. Turns out I’m stuck here ’til the morning. It’s so late now. But I promise I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

His deep voice, the way he spoke every word with such confidence, dulled all my senses. Suddenly, the disappointment of being stood up vanished. “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I started to sayI’m on my way home, but he already knew that if he’d texted the driver to get me to answer his call.

“I gotta go. I love you.”

My skin flushed, as it always did, when he said he loved me. I smiled at the phone. “I love you too.”

The connection ended, leaving me with an odd sense of emptiness. I tapped on my messages and then on our housekeeper’s name to let her know Derek wasn’t coming home. After I typed a few letters, I gave up. Of course, she already knew he wasn’t coming. Derek, the all-powerful billionaire, had a whole team of people monitoring and managing his entire life.

When the driver pulled into Derek’s Andalusian-style mansion in the northern part of Tucson, I climbed out of the car and darted up the stone steps that led to the massive wooden door. “Good night.” I waved to the driver.

“Good night, Mrs. Cole.”

“We’re… Good night, Tom.” I let it be. We were as good as married. Derek and I were engaged, and I’d already lived in his home for all of four weeks. His idea, not mine. I would have stayed in the small cottage he leased to me after I graduated college two months ago.

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