Epilogue
Deuce
“Then you’ll love what my girl just designed. It’s one of a kind. I can guarantee you no other boutique is carrying a pair of dress shoes like this.”
The man standing before me has the smell of old money, like he rolled in crisp hundred-dollar bills before putting on his clothes just so his skin would give off wafts of wealth as he moved through his day.
I’d be jealous, but I’m currently living the best life there is, so fuck him and his Benjamins.
Speaking of the best life, my wife walks onto the sales floor, long, lean, and deadly with a deep burgundy dress clinging to her curves and stiletto heels that highlight calves that challenge me on our runs.
The man’s attention skips from me to her, where it lingers.
I’m not jealous. It’s only natural for someone’s attention to be drawn to the most intriguing woman on the planet. I know mine is.
“There she is now. Meet my wife, Valentina. She designed the shoes I was telling you about.”
The two shake hands and then Valentina shifts a fraction so that her arm is brushing against mine as we stand. She’s professional in the face of a client, but also close enough to signal that she’s mine. And I’m hers.
She walks the man through the design of the dress shoes.
Top-of-the-line Italian leather, handcrafted soles, and the pièce de résistance: a small opening that appears when you press on the heel just so.
A small knife shoots out, sharp enough to slice through thick rope or skin, whatever you need the knife for.
It’s worthy of James Bond, but stylish enough I wore them on the runway in New York two months ago.
He ends up ordering a pair, along with a few suits, before he leaves, black American Express tucked back inside his wallet. Valentina waits until the door shuts behind him before spinning toward me with a gloating smile.
“Should I be concerned that he was more impressed with the neckties that can double as restraints than the shoes?” She walks her burgundy-painted fingernails up my chest and straightens my tie.
The diamond on her finger flashes in all directions, reminding me of our wedding day, the best day of my life.
We kept the ceremony small and last minute, so much so my mother did not attend.
But she did send an impressive wedding gift when she heard the news, which in Mafia Maven speak means she’s honoring our wishes, but wants us to know she’s thinking about us.
It’s probably the best this relationship will get and all parties seem satisfied.
My palms slide onto Valentina’s hips, pulling her gently into me. “You should be more worried about the fact that we’re taking the rest of the day off after that large sale.”
Her dark eyebrows furrow. “Why’s that?”
My grin is downright lecherous. “Because I have things in mind for you that will make those restraints seem like child’s play.”
Her answering grin is just as dark and heated. She’s my match in every way. “Only if you can catch me first.”
Quick as a snake, she darts away, sprinting to the storage room on heels that were never meant for running. I bark out a laugh and sprint after her. Joy, the kind that makes you see the world through rose-colored glasses, fills my chest like it does every time I’m around my wife.
The door to the storage room bangs open as Valentina sails through, and I’ve almost caught up to her when the back door opens from the outside.
Valentina almost collides with Darby Kate Buckley, the owner of Blessed and Dressed, one of the four boutiques right on the Square.
Everyone skids to a halt, out of breath and eyes round with surprise.
“Hey, Darby,” I say into the awkward silence. “What are you doing here?”
The woman smiles shyly, eyes darting between us.
She’s tall, curvy in all the right places, and quite gorgeous with long dark hair and a built-in sense of style that only a Southern woman can have.
I know it’s shocking, but she and I never dated though we ran in the same circles growing up here in Heaven.
Probably because her aunt is the one and only Birdie Buckley, and I don’t have a death wish.
“I, um, have a shipment that came in unexpectedly.” Her voice is soft and dripping with feminine charm, so different from Valentina’s throaty growl.
“Any chance I can stack a few boxes here until Monday? I wouldn’t normally ask, but I’m desperate.
If you can’t, I totally understand. I can see about renting a storage unit short term. ”
“No, no. That’s fine.” I gesture to the half-filled storage room. “We have plenty of space you can use.”
Darby Kate visibly relaxes. “Oh, thank heavens. You’re a life saver.”
I can’t help but tease her a bit. “You’re acting a bit cagey. You got something illegal in those boxes?”
Darby Kate’s head whips up and she looks like she’s seen a ghost. “No! It’s just with Birdie for an aunt, you have to be super careful.”
I tip my head to the side. Well, that was an odd answer. Valentina must think so too because her whole body pauses for just a fraction of a second. Long enough for me to catch it, but not most people, I’m sure.
“If you’re smuggling guns or drugs, just tell us,” Valentina says breezily, shifting so that she and I can consolidate some of our stuff to make more room.
“It’s a profitable way to use your boutique to launder money, it’s just we don’t do that sort of thing.
I gave up that life.” She stands up and dusts her hands off.
“We’ll store these boxes for a few days, but we don’t want to get involved with anything like that. ”
Darby Kate looks like she’s about to cry. It happens a lot when Valentina uses her I-used-to-be-a-crime-boss voice. She wrings her hands in front of her waist as she stands there.
“It’s not…I’m not money laundering. I swear to you it’s all legal. I just…I’m not ready for anyone to know about what’s in the boxes.”
Valentina dips her head in one decisive nod. “Okay. I know what it’s like to have secrets.”
The two women share a long look that I don’t attempt to decipher. It’s a girl thing, and I’m not one of them.
“Thank you,” Darby Kate says quietly. I think she means it for both of us, but she’s still looking at Valentina.
“You know, we should get coffee sometime. You drink coffee?” Valentina asks.
“I do drink coffee.” Darby Kate drops her hands and rolls her shoulders back, looking more like her demure self. “And I’d love that.”
Valentina plugs her phone number into Darby Kate’s phone and then the woman leaves, her precious mystery boxes in our possession. My wife spins on her heel to look meaningfully at me.
“I think I like her.”
A smile spreads across my face. For as take-charge as Valentina is, she’s still learning how to make female friendships, and it’s endearing to see her uncertain about herself.
“I’m glad. Darby Kate is a good person. I think you’ll have a nice coffee date.” I walk over to her side, my arm wrapping around her waist. I can’t be in the same room and not touch her. “But she interrupted something I’d like to get back to.”
Valentina sways into my chest, her head tipping so far back the ends of her hair tease the back of my hand. “Did you hear the entire football coaching staff got fired?”
I must confess, most of the blood in my body has headed south, therefore rendering me speechless to answer this question out of left field. “I’m sorry, what?”
She reaches down and cups my balls through my suit pants with one aggressive hand. My eyelids flutter closed for a second, my brain highly distracted and not caring one bit about a conversation about football.
“Big news this morning. The AD fired almost the entire coaching staff.”
My hand slides down to grab ahold of her ass.
My fingers squeeze her luscious flesh, then let go enough to scrunch up the fabric of her dress, inching the hemline higher and higher.
Forget chasing her all the way to our bed.
Right here works just fine. My head dips, lips tingling with the need to land on hers.
“Do you really want to talk about football right now, wife?”
She brushes her lips against the corner of my mouth, the touch featherlight and not nearly enough to satisfy. “Not really. Just testing your patience.”
We’re both grinning as our lips finally collide in a passion that’s barely contained. We both know she’s going to be testing my patience for the rest of our lives together.
Heaven help me, I can’t wait.