Page 81 of Bad Girls Don't Marry Marines (Rock Canyon, Idaho 3)

By the time they’d finished the meal, his dad was getting especially obnoxious. Justin suggested they put him to bed before he did something they’d all regret. Unfortunately, his dad decided loudly that he wasn’t going to bed unless Val tucked him in.

Without a word, she helped Justin carry his dad up the narrow staircase to the first bedroom. Once they’d deposited him on the bed, they worked together to get his shoes off, then pulled the blanket up and over his passed-out form.

They left the room quietly, and Justin whispered, “Thanks for doing that.”

He hated that she’d seen his dad at his worst, hated that anyone ever did.

Sweetly, she took his hand, raising it to her lips, “Just returning the favor.”

He realized she was talking about the night he’d brought her drunk sister home and smiled.

“What do you say we tell Everett good night and I take you over and show you my house?” he asked, leaning down to kiss her neck, trailing his mouth over the soft skin.

“Hmmm . . . I’m all for that. I didn’t want to mention this in front of your dad and brother, but I brought dessert with me.”

“What, you didn’t want to share?”

“It’s more of a private dessert.”

Private dessert?

His body jerked at the possibilities, and he practically dragged her down the stairs to say good night to his brother, her laughter following softly behind him.

Chapter Twenty

* * *

THE FIRST MONTH of their relationship was relatively low-key. Val found that getting to know Justin by taking their relationship slow really was the most fun she’d ever had with a man. Justin was crazy, both his antics to make her laugh and his just generally wanting to jump her bones.

For Valentine’s Day, they had decided to keep it simple, but the whole day he’d pulled hilariously sweet gestures that had made it special.

A red box on her doorstep, which she’d originally assumed held lingerie, turned out to be a red sweater with a big white heart on the back for Gus. He hadn’t exactly been happy when she’d wrestled it over his massive head, but the final effect had been adorable, and she’d taken a picture on her camera phone and sent it to Justin.

He’d texted back a few minutes later with Poor dog, and when she’d called him to ask why he’d given her the sweater if he didn’t want Gus to wear it, he’d said it was a joke.

“So you bought me a dog sweater, but you didn’t actually want him to wear it?”

“Exactly,” he said, and she’d called him a weirdo.

After finding a copy of My Bloody Valentine on her dashboard the next day, Val had had to admit she was enjoying Justin’s thoughtful gifts much more than the easy gifts of jewelry Cole had always bought her. They’d spent five years together, but he’d still never realized she preferred funky, fun costume jewelry to diamonds.

Justin’s final gift had come during dinner at his house, which he’d decorated with candles. Standing in a pair of red heart-covered boxers, he’d told her to strip. Val had obeyed, giggling the whole time and wondering how a pair of ridiculous novelty boxers could look so sexy, but at the first touch of his hands on her back, she’d forgotten about anything but enjoying the deep massage Justin gave her as he trailed his mouth over her skin and rubbed her aches away.

It was thoughtful and lovely, and she’d wanted to return the favor.

They had hardly slept that night, but Val had felt amazing the next day, especially when she’d given Justin his actual gift: two front-row Brad Paisley tickets in Portland, Oregon, the next month.

When he’d leaned over and whispered, “I’m pretty sure going to that singles weekend was a hell of a lot more fun than the concert would have been,” her heart had melted a little more. And when he’d pushed her back on the bed and kissed her, she’d realized she’d never felt this way before.

So when is the other shoe going to drop?

She just couldn’t seem to annihilate that final pessimistic voice that remembered how every happy moment in her life was usually destroyed by one thing or another.

And at least one of those potential problems had been missing in action; Val had seen very little of her father. He hadn’t taken her to church with him, which was just as well because Val preferred to go with Justin. Especially when they went off-roading together afterward.

Besides the sleepovers, they had gone to Boise for the weekend and seen Craig Morgan. Val had dragged Justin to The Cheesecake Factory beforehand and put a slice of cheesecake in their hotel fridge for dessert after. It had become a ritual for them to end dates with something sweet, but if Val wasn’t too careful, she was going to have to bust out her fat pants.

When they’d returned from Boise, her father had been at her house to talk to Ellie. He’d been civil but had left in a hurry. Despite his cool attitude, his lack of meddling was actually a little suspicious. She should have been tipped off by his easygoing behavior, but she was too caught up to really dwell on it.

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