Page 41 of XOXO, Valentina

My eyebrows rose at the sight of my favorite white wine dangling from his fingertips. One of the cheaper wines from the local winery, it still cost thirty dollars a bottle. I never bought it unless it was a special occasion.

I eyed Thatcher skeptically. “Why do you have fancy wine?”

“Your emergency book club alert made me think you needed a treat.”

I didn’t need treats. The opposite. I’d had too many treats, and I didn’t know what to do.

“I brought chocolate,” Lacey said, slinging her arm around me.

My favorite wine. Chocolates. Multiple orgasms in one day. It was too much. I choked back a sob. Wow, orgasms made a person weepy.

“Hey, don’t cry.” Thatcher popped the cork. “It’s just wine.”

“I’m not crying.” I sniffed and pulled myself together. “It’s been a day.”

Thatcher held back a smirk and handed me a cup of wine. “I don’t have any glasses,” he said. “They’re all boxed up.”

Lacey raised her eyebrows at Thatcher. “Yet you found rain boots?”

“Daisy keeps stealing my shoes.”

“Daisy-Do,” Lacey said in a conversational voice, dropping into a squat so she was eye level with the golden retriever. “You wouldn’t want someone coming into your space and taking your toys, would you?”

Thatcher and I exchanged a look over Lacey’s head. Lacey was like a sister to us, an odd younger sister who we adored despite—or maybe because of—her strange habits.

“I wish Mia and Kennedy would hurry,” he said. “I want to know who made the Iron Lady all mushy.”

“Don’t call me that.”

He brushed by me and took the chips out of the bag. “It was a compliment.”

“You know I don’t care for it.”

Thatcher tugged on my ponytail. “But it suits you so perfectly.”

“Bite me, Sarge.”

He smiled mischievously. “I’ll leave that to the mystery man.”

Lacey finished whispering to Daisy and got to her feet. “Did you finally follow your own advice?”

“What advice?”

“Yeah, Gabi is full of advice.” He tugged my ponytail again.

“You told me to jump Beckett’s bones if I recall.”

I shrugged and sipped my wine. “It worked, didn’t it?”

A goofy grin stretched her mouth. “Perfectly.”

“How is Beckett?” Thatcher asked.

“He’s in London, but he told me to tell you he’s still on for the batting cage next week.” Lacey turned her attention to me. “So, did you jump his bones?”

I cleared my throat, staring at my feet. “It was just a onetime thing.”

Mia swept into the room. “Whose bones did you jump?” she asked.

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