Page 42 of Bound and Blitzed

“We have a lot to catch up on,” she replies, her eyes flashing.

“We do,” I agree, somewhat regretfully. “Come on.” I hold out my hand. “Let’s eat dinner and do something…fun.”

“Fun?”

“Spontaneous,” I clarify. I glance at her. “I miss you, Lena. I miss us, the us from Austin.”

She looks up at me, a flare of hope in her Caribbean blue-green eyes. “I miss us too.”

“Then let’s rectify this. Let’s go somewhere, talk, spend time together.”

“Okay. I’d like that.”

We exit the building and walk toward my car in the parking lot. I suck in a breath and feel the weight I’ve been carrying around ease. Being with Valentina is soothing in a way I’ve never experienced before. I want to listen to her thoughts, to know her plans, to fall headfirst into her dazzle.

“I heard you had coffee with Nova and Leni yesterday,” I say, bumping my shoulder against hers.

She smiles. “Is that how you learned about tonight’s presentation?”

“From Talon,” I mutter.

She chuckles. “Did you feel one-upped?”

“It was awful.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t ask.”

Valentina shifts closer to me, and I wrap an arm around her shoulder, wanting her near.

“I spent some time downtown yesterday, just being caught up in the Christmas revelry. It was nice. Fun. It reminded me a bit of home. The entire city of Valencia comes alive in the weeks leading up to Christmas.” She scratches the bridge of her nose and even that, something banal and ordinary, captures my attention. “I didn’t realize how much I’d miss it.”

I squeeze her closer. “Then let’s head downtown and get lost in some Christmas magic.”

“Really, Avery? Don’t you have football?”

I shake my head. “I don’t have anything else I’d like to do more than spend time with you, Lena. But first, we have to talk.” My stomach grumbles loudly, causing her to grin. “And eat.”

“All right. Let’s walk to the downtown. We can grab our cars after.” Valentina stops to gesture back toward the biology department. “Let me swap my heels for flats first.”

“Sure,” I agree. We backtrack, she changes her shoes, and then, we head off campus.

We walk to the downtown area and the conversation between us is easy and light. It flows naturally and organically.

Talon was right. One of us must make the first move and then, compromises will follow. Right now, I’m happy to take the first step. I missed my wife. And spending days away from her, hardly speaking, and living in each other’s space, is not something I’m willing to do again.

Fake marriage or not, I respect Valentina too much to only be her roommate.

Chapter14

Valentina

“Can you ice-skate?”Avery asks as we eat dinner in a cozy restaurant downtown. Out the windows, we can see the ice-skating rink in Market Square and the skaters spinning in the center. Young couples are skating in sync, with cute pompom hats on their heads, their hands pressed together. And young children, who are learning for the first time, have a mixture of fear and determination on their faces.

I laugh at the earnest expression on his face. “Si! Yes, I can ice-skate.”

He shrugs. “I don’t know. You grew up next to a beach.”

---