25. Twenty-Five

Val

It’s the night of the Charity event, and I left work early. The hairstylist swept my hair up but left a few strands to curl and frame my face.

I let them do my makeup as well, and my eyelids have a line of iridescent makeup that sparkles above my cat eyeliner. The song from West Side Story keeps playing over and over in my mind. ‘I feel pretty, oh, so pretty...’

I just hope tonight ends better than that musical.

I’m dressed and waiting for Chase. He’s running late tonight. There was an accident, and he’s stuck in traffic. He said if he’s too late, he’ll send a car, but I’d rather wait for Chase to go with me.

“Val, I’m home. I’m sorry I’m so late—“ Chase stops mid-sentence when he sees me in my dress.

“So, you like my dress?”

“Hot damn, do I like your dress? No, I freaking love it. You look gorgeous.”

“Thanks. I have your tux all set-out.”

“Shit, yeah, I better hurry.”

He takes a quick shower, and then I’m helping him with his dress shirt. His bow tie.

“Damn, you look fine, Val.”

“You look pretty good yourself there, Knight.”

“I’m ready. Damn, this is tight,” he pulls on the stiff collar.

Chase stands, and he takes my breath away. He’s just too good-looking for his own good. While he is dangerously handsome in his biker leathers, he’s positively swoon-worthy, all dressed up in a tux. His hair has gotten long again, and that rakish lock falls over his forehead. This time, I step close and brush it back with my fingers.

I feel Chase’s hands on my backside as he cups my bottom and gives me a squeeze.

“I wish we hadn’t promised my mother we’d be there tonight. I think I’d rather stay home and untie this–”

There’s a knock at the door.

“Dammit. I went ahead and hired a driver for tonight and he’s right on time. Are you ready to go?”

At my nod, Chase takes my arm and opens the door for me.

The driver is holding the back car door open, and I slide in. Chase goes around to the other side and slides in beside me.

“We should be there in less than ten minutes. I’ll pull up to the front door once we arrive. I’ll be back at the agreed-upon time. If you decide to leave early, please let me know via text.”

“Thank you.”

“Where is the event? I never even asked your mom?”

“It’s at the Riverside Hotel on this side of the river.”

“We’ve arrived,” as the driver pulls up, Chase tells him, “I’ve got it. Thanks.”

Chase walks around and opens the door for me, and then I take his arm, and we walk into the hotel lobby.

Chase steers me toward the left and then gives our name at the table.

“Mr. and Mrs. Chase Knight.”

“This is if you decide to bid. Please sign here— Thank you, and enjoy your evening.”

We enter the ballroom, and it’s decorated beautifully.

“This looks fantastic.”

“Yeah, they did a good job. Let’s walk around a bit and see if we know anyone. We can mingle, and they should be announcing dinner fairly soon.”

“Will your uncle or any other Knights be here?”

“Sam? Hardly, this is not his style. He’s more comfortable in places like Wild Riders.”

“Aren’t most of the Knight families wealthy?”

“Yeah, and I’m not saying that Sam isn’t. He just prefers a different class of people.”

“I understand. I’m beginning to agree with him.”

“Nah, come on, I know that couple over there. Let me introduce you.”

“Hey, Hunter. Rebel. This is my wife, Val. This is Hunter Henson and his wife, Rebel. Rebel is half-owner of the Shot In The Dark pub.”

“Nice to meet you both. I love Shot In The Dark.”

“Thank you. I like your dress, Val.”

“Thanks, Rebel. This is my first time at one of these events,” I admit.

“I remember my first time, you’ll enjoy yourself. I promise. Everyone is here for a good cause.”

“Is Jaxson and Maggie here tonight?” Chase asks the couple.

“No, they couldn’t make it. The baby is sick.”

“That’s too bad. I was hoping to introduce them to Val,” Chase turns to me, “Jaxson is Rebel’s brother. Jaxson’s a private investigator. He owns one of the biggest P.I. companies around. Knight Security works with him a lot.”

I nod, and look at Rebel again, with her darker skin and dark hair and eyes, “Rebel, are you Italian?”

“Yes, I bet you are too.”

“Guilty as charged. My given name is Valentina.”

“As in Valentina Carlucci?” She asks with a raised brow.

“Yes, have we met before?”

“No, but Jaxson was telling us about an interview you did. It was about some new camera imaging software. My brother was pretty excited about it.”

“Oh yes, for New Tech magazine. He must have read their article.”

“Val has been working on that software for quite some time. She’s a whiz at software programming,” Chase states proudly.

“I work with a great team. We’re all proud of the software’s capabilities.”

“Sounds like you have reason to be proud.”

There’s a soft chime.

“That means dinner is ready to be served,” Chase tells me, “We’ll need to find which table they’ve reserved for us.”

“You’re seated at our table, Chase. It’s over here,” Hunter points out the table.

We follow Rebel to their table, and Chase holds out my chair for me.

“Hunter, are you eating or presenting tonight?”

“Both, I hope. I won’t eat until after the presentation, though.”

Chase looks at me, “Hunter is known for his charity and nonprofit work. He always does a great presentation.”

“My husband runs MAP, the Mothers Advancement Program. He’s helping out a couple of other smaller charities tonight as well. You’ll learn about each charity during his speech.”

The servers come by with a cart and hand each of us our meal. It’s rosemary chicken with roasted potatoes.

Chase looks at Rebel, “I’ll get Val a white wine. Would you like something from the bar, Rebel?”

“Yes, I’ll have a white wine, too, Chase. Thank you.”

Once Chase leaves to get our drinks, Rebel leans in and states, “Hunter should begin any minute now. Because there are three charities, his presentation will be longer than normal.”

Hunter steps up to the podium and begins the presentation.

Chase hands us our wine and then takes his seat beside me.

At the end of Hunter’s speech, I lean over and tell Rebel, “Hunter did a great job. MAP sounds wonderful. Helping single mothers find better jobs is definitely something I would like to support. I can talk to our HR department. This sounds like something our company should participate in.”

“Thank you, Val. It really is a worthwhile non-profit.”

Chase states, “Desert was delicious. Val, would you like to see the pieces up for auction?”

“Yes.”

Chase walks me into the section where the pieces are on display. We walk through the aisles of art pieces, paintings, and vases. I let my gaze linger on all the beautiful artwork.

“It’s all beautiful, but there’s nothing I want to bid on. I would like to donate to MAP, though.”

“Yes, that’s one of my mom’s favorite charities.”

“I can see why.”

When we get back to our table, I notice a space has been set up for dancing, and there’s a deejay playing some slow songs.

“Would you like to dance, Val?”

“Yes, I would.”

Chase leads me out onto the dance floor and then takes me in his arms. I put my hands on his shoulders and he pulls me in close. As we sway to the music, I lift my arms around his neck. I can smell his cologne and the scent that is just Chase. I move in closer.

“Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?”

“Yes, Chase, you have. Thank you.”

I feel his hands tighten around my waist. “Have I told you how much I like your dress?”

“Yes, you did.”

“Did you pick out that dress on purpose just to tempt me with that hot pink bow?”

I look up at him and innocently blink my eyes, “And if I did?”

“I would warn you that little girls who play with fire tend to get burned.”

“Oh really? What if they enjoy playing with fire?”

“Then they’ll go up in flames.”

“Promises, promises,” I can hear the breathlessness in my voice.

I lean my head on his shoulder, and he pulls me in even closer.

After the dance ends, he leads me back to the table.

I watch as he pulls out his phone and sends a quick text.

“Are you texting the driver to pick us up earlier?” I”m ready to be alone with my husband.

Chase looks over at me and gives me an intense look. “No.”

“Oh. I thought... um, never mind.”