Valentine Wedding Hound: The Hart Family (Have A Hart Book 5) Read online

  “We do the wrestling. Exactly,” he said, opening the first carton of food and sticking his chopsticks in. “Try to relax and let me run the show for a change.”

  Chapter Seven

  The Chinese food was spicy and salty in her mouth, and her man was hot and cuddly. Jenna could finally relax. Maybe being booted from She Wouldn’t Dare was a blessing in disguise. For one thing, she didn’t have to make plans with the producer on staging the next shoot. The only appearance she needed to make was to film the consolation scene, where Amy would give her a pep talk, and the other contestants would argue among each other which one of the losers should get the lifeline.

  The vote would be fielded from the audience while the producers did a recap of all of the dares from the week, and the losers would be lined up on stage to give their final goodbyes before a spider on a string would be lowered in front of the one chosen to move on.

  “What are you thinking?” Larry asked, nuzzling the back of her neck with his lips. He’d finished scarfing down the kung-pao chicken and spicy lamb with red peppers, and had fed Harley a piece of tea-smoked duck.

  The volume to the wrestling match was thankfully turned way down, and Jenna wasn’t really paying attention to all of the bragging and posturing from the contestants. In a way, wrestling was a lot like a staged reality show, and all the antics and trash talking out of the ring were done for maximum drama.

  Were people’s lives really that drab that they needed to borrow drama and angst from unreal reality shows?

  It was a moment before she remembered Larry had asked her a question.

  “I was just thinking about the reality show. Maybe it’s better if I’m out. There’s enough to do with our family and friends without having to worry about the producers, TV crew, and Amy. You know she sent me a note of encouragement?”

  “She’s just trying to keep you pumped up and ready to go,” Larry said. “I’ve a feeling you’ll get the nod. The lady who was challenged to make out with her maid of honor is getting audience backlash for being anti-gay.”

  “That’s unfair of them. What if they’d asked me and I had to choose between Cait and Melisa? It would be a big ewwww.”

  “Apparently her maid of honor had a secret crush on her and tipped off the producers.” Larry switched the TV channel to another episode of She Wouldn’t Dare. “You interested?”

  Jenna grabbed the remote and switched off the TV. “Let’s concentrate on us tonight.”

  Larry’s Adam’s apple bobbled visibly, and he wiped his forehead. “Sure, what did you want to do?”

  Jenna licked her lips and dangled her tongue over her upper teeth. “We could retire to your bedroom and try pillow talk.”

  “Actually.” Larry bolted upright, almost knocking her off the sofa. “We have gelato.”

  “Oh, goody. I love gelato.” Jenna clapped her hands, shocking Harley who jerked one eye open and sat up, expectant for a treat.

  “You sit right there and I’ll bring you back three scoops.”

  “Did you get my trifecta of flavors?”

  “I got something I think you’ll like.” He disappeared into the kitchen with Harley at his heels.

  That dog was such a glutton that his stomach almost touched the ground. While she’d diligently lost ten pounds since meeting Larry, the little puppy had more than tripled in size.

  Jenna pinched the thin skin on her belly and did a mental calculation of how much gelato she could afford. Her wedding dress incorporated a daring design filled with cutouts showing her waistline and a keyhole over her belly, as well as a series of rings connecting the sheer lace top with the slim-line dress and train.

  It was bold and edgy, something an A-list actress would wear, and with her new, improved figure, she was sure to wow the fashion rags.

  Larry returned with heavy footsteps and a large sundae bowl. Jenna furrowed her brow as he placed her overly generous serving in front of her. Instead of the green, pink, and brown scoops of her trifecta, the gelato was cream-colored, beige, and light brown.

  “Did Luca run out of pistachio, raspberry, and chocolate?” Jenna asked. “This is way more than I can possibly eat.”

  “You need to try new things,” Larry said, handing her a long-stemmed spoon. “These are my favorite flavors. Can you guess what they are?”

  “Cream, vanilla, and brown sugar?” She was about to wrinkle her nose and say no, when she remembered they were Larry’s favorite flavors. He was giving her a chance to know him better, and she needed to file this information away so she could be thoughtful and surprise him someday.

  “Try it.” His eyes were intent on her, as if he weren’t sure she’d approve.

  “I’ll have to watch my weight, but I’m sure it’s good.” She dipped the spoon into the cream-colored one. “Mmmm … Amaretto?”

  It was spiked with crunchy bits of almond flavored cookies and very sweet. She tipped her face up and kissed Larry on the lips, passing him a bit of the cookie.

  Next, she tried the beige one. “Salty and sweet caramel?”

  “You’re batting one thousand.” Larry’s smile was cute and triumphant. “Do you like it?”

  “Definitely. I didn’t know you had such a sweet tooth.” She scooped herself a wedge of the light brown one. “Cappuccino. You’re definitely a dessert type of guy.”

  “Close, it’s latte macchiato, but yeah, I love after-dinner sweets.” He closed in and this time, when he kissed her, his tongue wandered over hers.

  Jenna drank him in and set the spoon down with a clatter. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him down on top of her.

  It was so cute that her man sought her approval for his favorite things, and it cut her heart that she’d been so bossy and demanding in the past. Larry was way more than a man to spoil her and give her love and affection.

  He was a hero in his own right, and a decent and honorable man. Someone who worked hard, complained little, and was always around to lend a helping hand.

  He was kind to the weak, especially lost people and animals, and he didn’t judge anyone’s situation. She was the lucky one in this relationship, despite her flawless skin and supposed beauty.

  “Wow, Jenna,” he whispered as he took a breath. “Are those your new favorite flavors?”

  “Yes, but you are my always favorite flavor.” She stroked his cheek and gazed into his warm, brown eyes. “I want to know so much more about you. Not just your favorite gelato flavors, but what you were like growing up. I know you played football in high school and you miss your foster mother, Claudia Raggio. But what about the rest of your family? Did you keep in touch with any of them?”

  “No, because most of them don’t know that I exist.” His voice was gravelly and thick in his throat. “My mother was very young when she gave birth.”

  “Oh … I’m sorry. Does she know where you are right now?”

  “She does, but …” He shook his head, his eyes creased with pain. “She pretends I don’t exist.”

  “Why?” She pressed her hand over the throbbing vein in his temple. “Do you want to get to know her?”

  “Not if she doesn’t want to know me,” Larry said. “She knows when I got burned because it was in the news. She knew about Claudia getting hit by a car, because my fiancée at the time told her.”

  “Shelly was in contact with her?”

  “Shelly is the daughter of her best friend. Can we not talk about them?”

  “Okay, whatever you want. I’d rather kiss and cuddle than talk.”

  “Me too, but our gelato’s melting.” He raised his body from hers, and she immediately missed his warmth.

  “Every time you do that, it makes me feel rejected,” she blurted before clapping a hand over her mouth. “Did I say that aloud? I wasn’t thinking.”

  Larry’s brows drew together, and he pressed his lips tight.

  Great. Now she’d insulted him and sounded like she was complaining.

  “You know? Forget what I said.” Jenna hurr
iedly switched on the TV and selected the wrestling channel. “Let’s do everything your way. We’ll watch wrestling, share your flavors of gelato, and not kiss and cuddle on the bed. We’ll steer clear of uncomfortable topics. Never mind we’re getting married in a few weeks, but hey, let’s tiptoe around each other and not peel off any scabs. Does that work for you?”

  He put his large hand over hers and removed the TV remote. “No, it doesn’t. I get you think I’m a big zero in the sex department, and maybe you’re even thinking of backing out of this because I won’t take you to bed.”

  “You’re not a zero, and no, I’m not backing out of anything,” Jenna protested. “I’m not looking for a quick lay.”

  “You’re not?” Larry stood up and glowered over her. “Then why are you constantly teasing me and goading me? You act as if I can’t get it up.”

  He grabbed her hand and pulled her to a standing position, then pressed her belly against his crotch.

  Jenna felt her cheeks heating at the obvious protuberance jutting against her. Of course, she knew he could get hard. She’d felt him before, but was he able to take any friction? Would it be painful for him? A million questions ran through her mind, but all would be too intrusive and embarrassing for her to ask.

  “Larry, you don’t have to prove anything to me,” she quickly backtracked. “You know I love you, and I’ve seen most of your scars.”

  “Most of them, but not what you believe is the most important part of me.” He took her hand and moved it to his arousal.

  Electricity zapped through Jenna and she jerked her hand away.

  “That is not your most important part.”

  “Then what is?” He grabbed her hand and led her to the bedroom.

  Jenna’s heart skipped around erratically, not sure whether to cheer or chill. She’d wanted to get it on with Larry, but not under these circumstances. She’d wanted love and love making, not anger and the need to prove himself to her.

  He picked her up in his strong arms and swept her onto the bed, then landed beside her, breathing hard.

  “If you want to examine me, go ahead. Undress me.”

  “No, I don’t.” Jenna shoved herself away from him. “I already know your heart and your mind, and you’ve never given me anything to doubt.”

  “Bull.” He shouted, leading Harley to peek in at the doorway and whine.

  “It’s okay, boy.” He got off the bed and put Harley out, then shut the door. “As for you, you’re always making snide remarks about me not treating you like a one night stand.”

  “It doesn’t have to be either one or the other.” Jenna got up into a sitting position. “I wanted kissing and cuddling. I respect that we’re not going any further.”

  “Somehow, I don’t believe that’s all you want.” Larry unbuckled his belt and dropped his jeans. “I bet you’re complaining about me to your brother.”

  “Definitely not.” Jenna backed away from Larry, although she couldn’t help her eyes wandering to the vicinity of his boxers.

  In the dim light of the bedroom, she could see the bare patches on his thighs where he’d been burned so badly that all the hair follicles were gone.

  Larry crouched onto the bed and got into Jenna’s face. “I can read it in your eyes. You think I’m afraid, and that I’m trying to pull a fast one on you. Dickless wonder lands a fashion icon.”

  “I know you have one. I felt it already,” Jenna stammered. Little pinpricks of sweat dampened her forehead and upper lip. “And even if you didn’t, I’d still marry you. I love you, Larry. Don’t you believe it?”

  “You still have doubts. I can see that.” He backed her against the headboard.

  “No, no, I don’t. It doesn’t matter.”

  “It does matter.” He got up on his knees and pulled his boxers down.

  Jenna refused to look. She fixed her eyes on his eyes, fighting her curiosity. The last thing he needed was for her to gawk and cringe. He’d been burnt. He’d had reconstructive surgery. Those things, he’d told her, and logically, she knew that his doctors had proclaimed him fully recovered.

  Not that he’d ever tested the waters. But still, he was the love of her life, and if such an accident had happened after they were married, she would never turn him away.

  “Look.” Larry grabbed Jenna’s head with both of his hands and tilted her face down.

  She shut her eyes tightly, shaking her head. “I trust you. Whatever you have, you’ll make the most of it. I’m sorry about the snide remarks. Of course, you love me and you’re not rejecting me. You want us to be celibate not because you can’t do it, but because you want to honor me and our marriage. You’re a rare gem.”

  “No, I’m afraid to lose you.” He knocked his forehead against hers and held himself still. “I’m afraid you’d leave me if I couldn’t satisfy your physical needs.”

  “I have faith we’ll both be satisfied. We click, Larry.” She slanted her face and locked her lips over his mouth.

  She wanted him to want her, but not this way. Not when he felt he had to prove himself. She’d hurt him with her constant display of sexuality, and now she understood how he could have interpreted the strip show as yet another dig to try to get him to break his vow.

  She kissed him hard, and he moaned, twisting his tongue around hers and mowing her down onto the bed. Pressing every hot inch of himself against her, he ravished her lips and savaged her mouth.

  His hands grabbed and caressed, stroking her body and raising her to a fevered pitch. In the back of her mind, she knew he wouldn’t stop this time. She’d brought this on, and wasn’t this exactly what she’d wanted?

  A thorough lovemaking to convince herself that Larry was the guy to give her ultimate fulfillment?

  Her body sang with heat, and she gasped, panting with desire. She closed her eyes as he elicited sweet and pleasurable sensations all over her body.

  But this was so wrong, on so many levels. She’d manipulated him by saying she felt rejected whenever he backed away.

  Short-term ecstasy was never worth long-term mistrust. He was testing her, and even if he didn’t know it now, if she allowed him to seduce her, he’d always hold it against her and believe she wouldn’t have married him had he not proven all his parts were functional.

  She steeled herself, allowing a moment more of his caresses before pushing him hard.

  “No. No, Larry, this isn’t what we agreed to. Don’t break your vow.”

  He gave her behind one last squeeze with his large hand and turned around, pulling up his boxers.

  When he didn’t say anything, Jenna wrapped her arms around him from the back, spooning him. “Very soon. It won’t be much longer. Thank you for honoring me, even if I don’t deserve it.”

  “You deserve everything I have to give,” he muttered and enclosed her hand with his.

  “It’s going to be so wonderful. I know it. Our wedding night will be so worth waiting for.” She closed her eyes and cuddled against the back of her strong and stalwart firefighter.

  Chapter Eight

  “I love this dress.” Cait twirled around and around wearing the new creation Jenna had stitched up for her. It was an elegant, single-shouldered aubergine-colored dress with a satin waistband over a flowing floor-length skirt.

  The three sisters and one sister-in-law, Nadine, were at Cait and Brian’s house where their parents were also staying. It was Saturday afternoon and the day of their weekly family dinner.

  “It doesn’t look as matronly as the other one,” Melisa said. “And much more chic than my baby-doll dress.”

  “Now, are you happy?” Nadine asked Cait. “Aren’t you glad that reality show made Jenna cut up the old one?”

  “Yes, I am.” Cait danced around her bedroom. “That other one was too stiff. This one feels like looovve!”

  “Great, you have a happy customer,” Melisa said, staring critically at her pale-pink medley of lace and tulle.

  “Yours looks great, too,” Nadine, ever the che
erleader, said. “It’s really unique.”

  Melisa wrinkled her nose and held the lace bodice against her chest while pressing on the flaring tulle skirt. “I love the top part with the lace and illusion panel, but the scalloped hem and all the layers make the skirt look bell-shaped. I’m afraid it’ll make me look fat.”

  “But it’s so cute.” Nadine patted the poufy skirt. “And you’re thin enough to pull it off. Jenna’s looking at balance, since you have to stand next to Cait.”

  “Uh, Nadine, as much as I love you …” Cait stuck her tongue out at their artist sister-in-law who looked at every scene in terms of balance, proportion, color, and texture.

  “You won’t look fat,” Jenna said. “Trust me, but if you want, I can remove one of the under-layers and make it less bell-like.”

  “Yes, I’d like that.” Melisa smiled. “Even though I’m slim and trim, if you ever want to sell this style of dress, you’d want to make sure it would flatter the average-sized woman.”

  “Maybe Jenna’s leaving room in case you suddenly gain weight, like around your middle.” Cait winked.

  “More like she needs to make room for you,” Melisa said, pressing her hands against her flat abdomen. “After all, you and Brian had quite the time up in that cabin away from Mom and Dad.”

  Cait rolled her eyes and shook her head while keeping a straight face. “It’s bad luck to say anything too soon.”

  “Oh, so both of you are keeping secrets from your dress designer and sister.” Jenna put her hands on her hips as if she was upset. “Tell me, which of you has peed on a stick already?”

  Nadine threw her head back, laughing, and Jenna couldn’t keep the giggles from bubbling out as both Cait and Melisa made innocent, “who-me?” faces and pointed to each other.

  “Busted.” Nadine went up to both of her sisters-in-law and looped an arm around each of their shoulders. “Jenna, I sure hope you left room to let out seams before your wedding day.”

  “Don’t worry.” Jenna joined them in a group hug. “Your secret’s safe with me, especially with Mom hovering around, but there’s now a reason why your skirts are flowing and poufy.”