Page 32 of Kissing Games
Valentina winced at the screen. ‘Did I wake you? Sorry, chica.’
‘Oh no, I’ve been awake for hours,’ replied Isabella, pulling the phone back to show her sitting on a sofa. ‘This baby …’
‘He’s getting you in training for when he’s born. How are you feeling?’
‘Like a cow. A big fat cow.’ Isabella puffed out her cheeks and put the phone below her belly so it filled the screen. ‘I hate being pregnant. I can’t put my shoes on. I can’t drive because I can’t reach the pedals. I need to pee, like, all the time. And Matias is driving me crazy.’
Valentina smiled. Her brother-in-law was one of the sweetest men she knew. ‘What’s he done wrong now?’
Isabella frowned. ‘He eats too loudly and sleeps too well.’
‘Has he started snoring?’
‘No. He just lies there. Asleep. While I’m awake. I want to kill him.’
Valentina laughed. ‘Baby girl, you cannot kill your husband. He’s one of the good ones.’
‘I know. I just want this over. I want to meet our baby.’
‘It’s only a few more weeks. It won’t be long.’
They looked at each other. Valentina’s heart tugged. Neither of them wanted to talk about the bigger issue. Isabella wanted her there for the birth, but Valentina was contracted for another film straight off the back of shootingBraveheart 2. It was such a painful subject it couldn’t be mentioned.
Isabella broke the silence. ‘Anyway, this is boring. I want to talk about Charlie. Oh. My. God. He is so hot.’
‘What?’ Valentina spluttered. ‘How do you know?’
‘So youdothink he’s hot.’ Isabella looked smug. ‘I knew it.’
‘Wait, you’ve seen a picture of him? How? There are no photos anywhere on the internet.’ Valentina groaned and pulled a pillow over her face as her sister shrieked with laughter. She’d walked straight into that one.
‘Abuela took screenshots during their call and sent them to me and Mamá. Did you know they got him to do a gun show? His biceps are the size of my head.’
Valentina dropped the pillow in horror and stared at her sister. ‘No, no, no, no, noooo!’ This was mortifying.
‘Big sister, you deserve this. You need to ride that man like the stallion he is.’
‘Isabella!’ she gasped. ‘I can’t believe you said that. If Abuelita heard you—’
‘She’d agree with me. Honestly, sometimes you’re such a prude. You’re not still thinking about that Bryce asshole, are you?’
Valentina shook her head. ‘But I can’t just sleep with Charlie.’
‘Why not? If I wasn’t the size of a house and married to Matias, I’d be all over him in a heartbeat.’
‘Isabella! But I won’t see him again after this.’
‘Exactly. It’s perfect. Think of it as a holiday fling.’
‘But—’
‘Ugh. Are you sure you’re my big sister and not my little one? You’ve had more fake sex in front of the camera than real sex behind it.’
Valentina raised her eyebrows. ‘Am I allowed any secrets?’
‘No. You need to tell me everything. I’m a heavily pregnant woman who can’t move. You’re my sole source of entertainment. Now, tell me, when are you seeing him again?’
Half an hourlater Valentina got off the call and turned her phone off completely. Isabella had been beside herself with excitement at Charlie’s idea and Valentina knew she only had an hour or so before the news reached her mother and grandmothers. She left her room and walked the short distance down the corridor to the last door before the attic stairs. Her heart was hammering up into her throat as she knocked tentatively.
