Free Valentine (A Standalone Novel) (Bad Boy Romance Book) by Claire Adams Page B

his arm tightly.
    He jerked it back, and Val moved in front
of me. She slapped the guy hard in the face before I could do anything more.
    "Fuck off. I'm not interested in you.
I never was." She turned to me as tears filled her eyes. "Let's
go."
    I expected them to stop us, but the guy
looked too shocked to do much of anything.
    Looks
like the rich have the same problems as the rest of us. Drama.

 
    Chapter 9
    Val

 
 
    "I'm so sorry." I got off Tate's
bike and tried to keep my emotions on lock down. It was almost as if Paul had
me on a tracking device. He'd been involved in my day too many times. It dawned
on me then that we did link up our phones to find each other just for safety
precautions. I'd have to right that wrong – soon.
    "No worries. It looks like someone
fixed your tire for you, so you're all set to go." Tate handed me my keys
and gave me a sexy smile. "Thanks for the date."
    "Was it a date?" I took a step
toward him and stopped. A confidence that didn't belong to me bubbled up inside
of me. I wanted to close the gap between us and run my hands up his chest,
testing out my theory that he had a hot swimmers body under his clothes. I
loved muscle as much as the next girl, but not so much the body builder type.
    "I'd like to think so. I almost beat
up your ex-boyfriend. That sounds like a lot of my past dates." He
chuckled and slipped his hands into his pockets after I took the keys. "I
love your name, by the way. It's beautiful."
    "Val?" I scrunched up my nose. I
hated my name.
    "Yeah, but the fact that it's
actually Valentine is even better." He tilted his head as he studied me.
"Was that the jerk you went to the party to see the other night?"
    "Yeah, and I found him upstairs
fucking one of my sorority sisters." I hadn't planned on putting my shitty
life on display, but lying to him wasn't going to fly either.
    "Ouch. Well, I can't imagine anyone
being stupid enough to cheat on a pretty girl like you." He licked at his
lips. "So, when do I get to see you again?"
    He was confident, if nothing else.
    "Soon, maybe?" I hated the fact
that warmth had coated my cheeks and neck. I wasn't a high school girl being
asked to prom, but for some reason, everything felt uncomfortably new with
Tate. "I'll give you my number and you make that decision."
    "Not the controlling type?" He
lifted his eyebrow as if surprised.
    "Only when the urge overwhelms
me." I pulled out his card and texted the number on the back with my
number. Relief flooded me when his phone buzzed. I didn't know why, but some
part of me almost expected him to have given me someone else's number. It was
dumb seeing that I was standing in front of his shop, but something had to
give. The situation between us felt too good. Too right.
    "That's hot." He winked and
pulled his phone out, checking it and taking a step back. "Thanks for
making my day. See you around?"
    "I hope so." I walked to my side
of the car and got in without looking back at him. My heart was racing and
every cell of my being screamed for me to invite him out later that night, but
I didn't. I couldn't. I wasn't lamenting over Paul or worried about anything
other than falling for the handsome mechanic who was quick to steal my
thoughts. He was the polar opposite of what my parents would expect or approve
of, and though it shouldn't have mattered, it did. I couldn't figure out how to
get from underneath their oppression, but I knew that bringing home a guy like
Tate would only make matters worse.
    My parents didn't care how good someone
was. They cared how he looked. What he did for a living or was setting himself
up to do. They cared about his status, his stature, his wealth.
    All the things that I could care less
about.

 
    *

 
    I was working to get Paul off of my
contacts and turn off my tracking when he called later that afternoon. I
contemplated not answering the call, but I figured it would be a good chance to
tell him to back off for the last time. I wasn't the girl for him, and I