This Is Love: Illusion of Love / From My Heart. Nana Malone

      “Yeah, yeah,” Mel rolled her dark eyes. “So slow you were avoiding sleeping with him. Come on. You should have been done with him in the first week. Him and those sweater vests? He wasn’t even hip enough to pull off that common look. You kept him because you figured it would be better to go home with someone than alone.”

      There were times in her life that she hated it when Mel was right. Times like this. “So, what, you suggest I find the nearest guy with a motorcycle, then ask for a ride?”

      Mel howled with laughter. “Depends. Does hot neighbor ride a motorcycle?”

      Val groaned. Come to think of it, he did have one. But she only ever noticed it in the summertime, when he brought it out of storage. “Yes, but that’s hardly the point. Come on, I need a solution for the wedding.”

      “Okay, I’ll come by tomorrow, and we’ll go over all your options. Make you a fancy pro/con list for each available option and we’ll fix this.”

      Val hung up with Mel and laid her head back against the door. Absently she played her fingertips along her lips. They still tingled from the remembered kiss, and her body was still far too warm for her liking.

      Bennett Cooper wasn’t on the list of potentials. Bad boy was so not her thing. It didn’t matter how well he could kiss.

Chapter 3

      Bennett had taken a calculated risk, and right about now he was sure that Adriana Voss was ready to kill him. Or have him fired...or jump his bones. He wasn’t sure which. But none of those options worked for him. This job didn’t just mean he’d get to shoot wildlife. It opened up his whole career. Voss owned more than just the magazine company. His name was all over galleries, museums and documentary exhibitions.

      As promised, he’d taken the portfolio in to Voss Magazines’ main offices. Even though her title was basically an empty one, as VP of styling or something like that, Adriana still had an office and still showed up to work. Apparently, Voss wanted his wife close to keep an eye on her.

      When Bennett asked her assistant to see her, Adriana had come out with a saccharine smile and a suit that said nothing about this is work appropriate. It was one of those couture thingies that looked good on a model walking down the runway, but in real life, on a woman with curves, it was too low cut and too tight for the office.

      But he’d gone in with a smile. “I’m so sorry we didn’t get a chance to go over these the other day, but Val and I hadn’t seen each other in a while, and, well, you know how it is. I saw her ex sniffing around her and had to lay claim to my girl.” Did he sound as much like an idiot as he thought he did?

      Adriana pinned him with a shrewd glare. “And how long have you two been seeing each other?”

      Damn. Bennett swallowed hard. He made a good chameleon. He’d learned early to be all things to all people. Sweet and sensitive one minute. Aggro hard-ass the next. He was good at reading people and showing them the facets of his personality they needed to see.

      What he was not good at, however, was outright lying. It never worked out in his favor, and he preferred not to do it. But he’d started this mess the other night, so there was no backing out now. “It’s been on and off for a few months—with our schedules, you know. But we’ve recently decided to make it exclusive.”

      She crossed her arms. “Oh, really? How recently? Because I remember Carmela Alvos bragging about how intimate your photo session was.”

      He held back a groan. Carmela was a bald-faced liar. She’d tried, but he hadn’t been interested. Not that he was going to quibble. Because, he had to face it, he had a type. “Nothing happened with Carmela. Val and I just needed some space. Time to work things out.”

      “Well, that’s just...lovely. And you’re serious?” Her brow lifted.

      Bennett didn’t know where this conversation was going, exactly, but it seemed to be headed down Nowhere Good Road and he wasn’t having it. “To be honest, I proposed to her last night.”

      He would have laughed at Adriana’s slack-jawed, pinched-nose expression if it didn’t mean his future would be in jeopardy.

      “Wow. Then I guess congratulations are in order.”

      “Thank you. She’s a great girl.” The way he figured it, he’d start traveling soon for Voss and give Adriana a wide berth. She’d never find out the truth.

      “That’s great. I’d love to get to know her better. Why don’t you bring her to the house this weekend for a dinner party we’re having?”

      Oh, hell. “I’m not sure she’s free.”

      Adriana’s eyes narrowed. “Well, you can just come.”

      Not on your life, barracuda. “We’ll see what we have going on.”

      “You do that.”

      By the time he made his escape, Bennett felt on edge, his skin tight. He needed to get out and shoot. Then he’d feel better. He could take all this shit off-line and breathe for a minute. Thanks to Val, who was a surprisingly good kisser, he’d had a sleepless night on Sunday. And yesterday hadn’t been much better. He’d had a catalog shoot in the park, but he hadn’t been into it at all. He needed to get his headspace back and away from the two women who were occupying far too much of it.

      After a quick subway hop home, he jogged inside just in time to catch the elevator doors as they were closing. “Hey, hold that a second.”

      The person inside fumbled with something, but Bennett got to the door and held it open just before it closed. Only to find Valentine on the phone and carrying two large grocery bags from the Fresh and Ready on the corner.

      She blinked dark eyes up at him, and for a moment, all he could do was stare. How had he never noticed how cute she was before? She was a tiny little thing. Nearly a foot smaller than he was. That put her maybe around five feet three inches, give or take. Her skin was luminescent. Dark and smooth, it reminded him of liquid milk chocolate. Another woman’s voice rang in the elevator. “I swear, Valentine, you have to go to these events. You can’t just turn up for the wedding. You’re needed for the shower, and the rehearsal.”

      She was talking on speaker, the phone on top of the groceries.

      “Mom, I’ll call you back, okay?”

      “No, not okay. And can you please tell me if James is coming for sure so I can do the place settings? You have been dodging me for months with this. They are going to the engravers tomorrow and I need to know. And while we’re at it...”

      As the other woman droned on, Valentine’s gaze pinned to his and the current of electricity nearly poleaxed him. Hell. He needed to get it together. He pushed their floor number again and scooted in next to her.

      “Mom, please, let me just—”

      “I swear, Valentine, it’s like you don’t want to spend any time with your family. Let’s not forget that you agreed to be part of this wedding, and you living on your own like a recluse in the city, it’s just—”

      “Mom, please. I will call you back.”

      “You always say that, then I have to chase you down. I mean, that vagabond life you live. Why can’t you just use your economics degree and get a job in finance? Or even better, find a man in finance so that you don’t have to work. Not like being a blogger is work, mind you.”

      Bennett shouldn’t have been listening. Really. He should have been paying attention to the numbers on the elevator as they went floor by floor. But he was riveted. He watched her face, dying to know how she’d shut down her mother. To be fair, her gaze never left his, either.

      “Mom. I love you. I have to go.” She tried to use her chin to end the call, but that just sent the bag of groceries tipping over.

      With