Gail Martin - Her Valentine Hero

Erik didn’t miss the move. His face flickered with question as tension tightened his jaw. “What are you two doing together?”

She had no idea what to say, and searched Jonny’s face waiting for him to reply, but he didn’t. He only grinned.

Neely grinned, too, waiting.

Erik’s gaze dropped to Jonny’s arm around her waist, and when he looked up, he managed a chuckle tinged with sarcasm. “I assume you’ve let bygones be bygones.”

Jonny arched his brow. “We’re not kids anymore, Erik. We put childish behaviors behind us.”

Neely wondered if Erik recognized the scripture reference. He’d never talked about faith. She was a believer, and she cringed again, knowing that she’d allowed him to manipulate her into ignoring her morals and upbringing for his pleasure.

Erik appeared to have gotten grip of his emotions. He gave her a wink, and lifted his wineglass. “It’s good to see you again, Neely. Let’s toast a new beginning.”

She studied him wanting to walk away, but this wasn’t the time for a confrontation. She lifted her soda glass while Erik held his drink posed until Jonny joined the toast. They clinked their glasses together, and when Erik lowered his, he captured her gaze with a coy grin. “I’ll let you two enjoy yourselves, and, Neely, tell your sister I’m sorry about her loss. She’s way too attractive to be alone, isn’t she? That’s too bad.”

His comment seemed a little glib. She flinched as he turned away, but Jonny’s hold on her waist soothed her, and when she turned her focus to him, the sight of his beautiful eyes washed away the tension.

Jonny chucked her chin. “That’s over. Let’s have some fun.”

She tiptoed up, and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”

As they walked toward Rainie, Jonny almost gave the impression that this was a date, and she didn’t care. His protective nature nestled around her, and tonight she tried to forget the old Jonny. As Erik had said, she would toast a new Jonny and a new beginning.

* * *

Jon listened to girl talk between his sister and Neely for a few minutes, and then ambled away, unnoticed. He stood closer to the hall entrance and surveyed the crowd, seeing a few high school friends of Rainie’s but also people he really didn’t know. He spotted Erik who seemed to be charming a young woman Jon didn’t recognize. He wondered if Neely fell for the new-beginning toast. He wanted to gag, but what right did he have to interfere? Dreams didn’t count in the scheme of things. To be a winner meant developing a game plan by setting up plays, and then moving into action. He taught his boys how to play on the field, and now he wondered if the same skills could be used in relationships.

The whole situation plagued him. The best parts of the evening were Neely’s kiss on his check and Erik’s expression when he slipped his arm around Neely’s waist. He would have never had the courage except he knew she wanted nothing to do with Erik. He figured a flash of possession might thwart his obvious plans to hook Neely back into his arms.

He still wasn’t sure what caused her to be turned off by Erik, but whatever it was, he was glad.

An appetizer table he hadn’t noticed earlier appeared, and he wandered closer, eyeing the tidbits of food that were on the menu. Shrimp, cheeses, crackers, a series of chaffing dishes that promised tiny kabobs of meat, mushrooms with filling, and some he couldn’t make out, but the scent of herbs and spices rose from the table. He forked a couple of unknowns on the plate and carried it and his soft drink to a small empty table.

He savored one of the mystery items, thinking he’d go back and try another—maybe even learn its name, and as he reached for a meatball in sauce, a hand swept a sausage wrapped in a dough from his plate. He recognized the bracelet and grinned. “You’re welcome, Neely.”

She settled into the chair beside him, and took a bite of the appetizer. “Yummy.” She licked her lips, and then slipped his napkin from beneath the plate to wipe her fingers. “Thanks.” She motioned to the table. “I suppose I could get my own.”

“Here, finish mine.” He slid the plate in front of her. “I’ll load up another plate for both of us.”

She chuckled and delved into the stuffed mushroom. He hurried back and selected hors d’oeuvres for two plates, checked to make sure Erik was still preoccupied and carried the dishes back to the table. Erik’s country-club comment bothered him. He didn’t understand how that reference had entered the conversation. Neely had never seemed interested in all of that.

He set the plates on the table and returned to his chair. “What was that reference to country-club crowd?”

She drew in a deep breath and shook her head. “That was one of Erik’s encouragers.”

“Encouragers?” He let the word bounce in his mind. “Encouragers for what?”

“For a girl to be his wife. He thought everyone valued having membership in a country club. That was far from my mind.”

He chuckled. “Very far. You were down to earth. Always giving.”

“Me?” A grin brightened her face. “Look what you just did. You gave me your plate, and then went to fill two more. I don’t know why I’m surprised, I remember, as much as you irked me year ago, you were always thoughtful. Helpful, really.”

“So were you. You’ve always focused on the needs of others. I’ve seen you give a needy woman a piece of clothing you were wearing.”

Her eyes capture his. “I what?” She shook her head. “I don’t remember that? “

Maybe he’d admitted too much. “I helped you and Rainie take the canned goods you’d collected to a food kitchen in Detroit somewhere. It was October. I remember there was a chilly breeze, and...” He caught himself again, letting his sentence fade.

“October? Come on. How would you remember that?”

Her eyes grew as large as the pumpkin on her shirt that day. He’d done it. Too much information. He might as well tell her he could remember everything she wore back then. “When you gave the woman your sweater, underneath you were wearing a knit shirt that had a big pumpkin on it, and—”

“Jonny, I can’t believe you remembered that crazy pumpkin top.” Her gaping mouth drew into a smile. “I think I blocked that gaudy thing from my memory.”

But he hadn’t. When she’d hoisted the carton of food from the trunk, the sunlight hit her auburn hair and streaked it with gold, the color of leaves at the height of autumn. It had taken his breath away. He’d just turned fourteen, and Neely had become his first secret love.

Neely shook her head as a soft chuckle escaped her. “Why would you remember something like that?”

Talk about reality, the truth smacked him in the head. “Because I had the biggest crush on you.”

Her hand flew up, and flipped the edge of the plate. Two appetizers skipped to the table. She dropped them back on the plate, though her eyes never left him. “What are you saying? You had a crush on me?” She burst into a laugh. “You were a pesky kid.”

To her maybe, but to him, he was a man in love.

She lifted her hand and pressed his arm. “I’m sorry. I’m sure, at the time, you thought you were in love. I guess I did that, too. I remember picturing me in the arms of Leonardo DiCaprio.” She lifted her brows. “Sometimes I can still picture that.”

A faint chuckle tittered from her as if she were a teenager again.

She broke eye contact and smiled. “So you had a crush on me.”

Not had—have. He managed to return the grin as he picked up his drink. His tongue adhered to the roof of his mouth as if he’d eaten glue. She’d already taken his confession as a joke, and he needed to let it go for now. In time, he hoped she would see who he was from his actions. A man’s actions had to mean more than his age. He gazed at her, his mind going back. “Another thing I remember.”