Always My Valentine (A Donovan Friends Novella)

By AC Arthur

Once upon a time their passion had been boundless.

Four years ago FBI Agent Loren Knox decided that Cole Desdune and all they’d shared together was simply too much for her. When, after chasing a soulless dream and living a nomadic life, she receives an invitation to Cole’s sister’s wedding, Loren wonders if this is a sign of a new beginning, or another colossal mistake waiting to happen.

Homicide Detective Cole Desdune’s job is to catch the bad guys and put them away. But when Loren Knox—his personal nemesis—returns to town, Cole cannot resist delving deep into the depths of the love he’d once savored. Only this time, their connection is much deeper. It’s hypnotic. It’s insatiable. It almost gets Loren killed and could land Cole on the wrong side of the law.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AC Arthur
• Release date: Feb 12, 2018

AC Arthur

AC Arthur was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland where she currently resides with her husband, three children, two grandchildren and an English bulldog named Vader. An active imagination and a love for reading encouraged her to begin writing in high school and she hasn’t stopped since.Working in the legal field for over twenty-five years, AC has seen lots of horrific things and longs for the safe haven of a romance novel. To date, she has written in several genres: YA paranormal (w/a Artist Arthur), small town romance as Lacey Baker, and sexy contemporary and paranormal romance. With intriguing plots and sexy love scenes, AC brings a new edge to romance!

Book preview

ALWAYS MY VALENTINE

A.C. Arthur

Prologue

So instead of being a Scrooge this year, you’ve decided to become a matchmaker? Lynn Richardson asked Bree, who looked lovely in the knee-length black and white dress.

Frowning into the full-length mirror, pressing the dress flat beneath the large bulge of her five-month pregnant belly, Sabrina Desdune looked at her older sister and shrugged. Yeah. Why not? Cole deserves happiness just as much as the rest of us.

Lynn resisted the urge to sigh and instantly agree with her sister. She did, however, step behind Bree and unclasped her arms so the charmeuse material fell gracefully over her sister’s body. You look lovely, Lynn said, resting her chin on Bree’s shoulder and sneaking a touch of the glorious baby bump—or she should probably say baby bumps, as Bree was carrying triplets.

I look like I’m about to tip over, Bree countered with a slight frown that quickly turned to a smile. But the dress is cute. And I cannot wait to be your matron of honor in a couple of days.

Yeah, a couple of days, Lynn said, pulling back and shaking her head. I’ll be marrying Brice Wellington on New Year’s Eve. I can hardly believe it.

Bree turned then, lacing her arm through Lynn’s. Believe it, big sister. You’re the one who didn’t want to wait to get married.

I know, Lynn recalled. Brice and I just met and we just fell in love and his mother just came around from her culture shock about our relationship. For so long I thought I would never get married again. Ever. She sighed. But Jeremy loves Brice and Brice loves Jeremy. And he loves me. And I just couldn’t see any real reason to wait. It feels right and I just want to hurry up and do it, to grab ahold of this happiness. You know what I mean?

Bree nodded. I do. Because I felt that same way when Renny and I fell in love. And that’s why I’m telling you it’s time for Cole to have the same. Sam and Karena have been happily married for a couple of years now and they have Elijah. And in a couple of months, these little guys will be here. I want all of that for Cole. Don’t you?

Lynn looked down at Bree’s stomach once more and thought about her nephew Elijah and her son and she knew that Bree was absolutely right. It was time for Cole to find his happiness.

Okay, but if this blows up in our face, I’m telling him that it was all your idea, Lynn conceded finally.

Bree laughed. It’s going to work. I promise you it’s going to work and Cole’s going to be happy. Mark my words.

Chapter 1

Classic elegance. That’s what Bree had called the theme for Lynn’s New Year’s Eve wedding. His sisters and mother had been planning frantically since the morning after Christmas when a very excited Lynn and a confidently smiling Brice had announced their engagement on an impromptu Skype call with the rest of the family. Cole had simply given his congratulations and relieved himself of all the squealing and color suggestions as quickly as he possibly could. He’d also shaken his head at what poor Brice had gotten himself into. Cole had another call not a half hour after the first one alerting him to a new murder in the city, so all he’d had time to do over the past few days was get to the tuxedo shop on the date and time designated in the text message he’d received from Lynn and make it to the George O’Falcon Historic Estate in Old Greenwich before the wedding began.

Now, at 11:45 in the evening, he was standing at the altar beneath yards and yards of black and white material draped in a seductive pattern over the ceiling and cascading down walls. Huge arrangements of white roses greeted him in whichever direction he turned. And walking down the aisle, with their father Lucien looking as debonair as any twenty-year-old in his classic Christian Dior black tuxedo, was his sister Lynn, smiling brilliantly.

She wore a lovely white gown that made her look as stylish and sharp as Cole knew her to be. With each step Lynn took, Cole couldn’t help but think of how far she had come in her adult life. She’d married too soon, had a son and a career and then, heartbreakingly, a divorce. Cole still owed Roger Richardson a good ass kicking for the cowardly way he’d walked out of Lynn’s life. But not tonight. No, tonight was reserved only for the beauty of his sister’s smile. And she was smiling, her gaze locked on the groom who stood in the aisle just a few feet from Cole at the moment. Torbert Wellington, founder and, for as long as Cole could remember, the leading attorney at the firm of Wellington Ridley, stood next to Brice as his son’s best man. Cole had been added as Lynn announced she would have not only a matron of honor but also a bridesmaid who was their sister-in-law, Karena. Renny and Sam were both relieved that he’d been the one Lynn asked. Cole, on the other hand knew exactly why he’d been Lynn’s selection. Renny was only married into the family and Sam was Bree’s twin. Growing up, the Desdune siblings had teamed themselves off, with Sam and Bree unquestionably sticking together, leaving Cole and Lynn as a duo since they were only a year apart in age.

But he hadn’t minded. At least not throughout the remainder of the short ceremony and the seconds after midnight when Lynn and Brice shared their first kiss as husband and wife. Renny had been the first to ignore protocol, rising from his seat and heading straight to where his very pregnant wife stood at the altar, kissing her sweetly and wishing her a happy new year. Sam followed, carrying a sleeping Elijah up to where Karena stood. She smiled leaning in to kiss her son’s forehead first, and then her husband’s lips. Lucien had already turned to his wife Marie, kissing her once and then again—for good luck, Cole remembered his father always joking. Even Mr. Wellington had stepped away from the aisle to meet his wife in the first row of seats, extending his hands and waiting for her to stand before kissing her deep red-painted lips. Cole stood tall, hands clasped in front of him, waiting for the kissing moment to reside, and that’s when he saw her.

She looked at him, her piercing light brown gaze catching his quickly. And then she looked away.

Cole frowned initially, but smiled the moment music began to play. It was some sappy love song that Lynn no doubt requested be played while she and her new husband walked back up the aisle. The couples that had commenced sharing New Year’s kisses now walked hand-in-hand behind the bride and groom, leaving Cole—that’s right—alone. That part didn’t worry him so much because each step brought him closer to the row of seats where he knew he’d seen Loren Knox, even though she’d acted as if she hadn’t seen him.

Okay, to be fair he couldn’t really say that. Maybe she hadn’t been looking at him after all. Lynn and Brice had optimistically invited 135 people to this hastily planned black-tie, black and white affair. To Cole’s surprise, at least eighty percent of them showed up all decked out in color coordinated outfits. So it was conceivable that Loren hadn’t seen him at all. No, he thought again, she’d seen him, he knew it.

And if he really considered things, which he did as he walked at the end of the line, Loren Knox should not have been here, in Old Greenwich, at all. She should have been in Washington, D.C., where she had a stylish penthouse apartment and worked as an FBI agent in the cyber-crimes department. She drove a candy apple red Audi and did most of her shopping online because she was so used to spending the bulk of her time on the computer anyway. She’d left Connecticut four years ago, one chilly, rainy night in February, and said she was never coming back.

Yet here she was, now standing right beside him as the line grew closer to the row where he’d seen her.

Hello Cole, she said in that sexy husky tone he’d never managed to hear in another female’s voice. Cole was yanked from his reverie and once again stared into those light brown eyes.

She smiled, a picture-perfect smile that caused her already high cheekbones to rise. Her hair, dark as night and soft as cotton, was pulled back tightly and folded into a large bun at the top of her head. Her butter toned skin was flawless, the makeup she’d applied only enhancing the already pretty face.

Loren. Her name was a breath. Cole would wonder later if it was one of relief or distress.

She nodded as if telling him he’d gotten the right answer. Lynn emailed me an invitation and Bree followed up with a call to make sure I was coming.

What? Cole asked, now confused by the sweet floral scent of her perfume and the smooth mounds of cleavage displayed by the short black dress she wore. Tight, he thought absently. The dress was short, black and tight.

Why am I here? That’s what you were thinking right? Loren continued, only now her voice had gone from light and cordial to a you’re a dunce tone.

Um, yeah. I mean, yes, that’s exactly what I was thinking, Cole stated, clearing his throat afterwards and silently demanding his body stop reacting to seeing her in that short…tight dress. You said Lynn sent you an invitation?

Yes, she did. I wouldn’t be here otherwise.

Cole was about to ask her what this new tone her voice had taken meant. She was looking at him strangely, as if she were waiting for him to say something, anything, that would tick her off. He didn’t get the chance because one of the guests pushed against him as he tried to get past. After a muttered excuse me, Cole realized that he’d stopped in the center of the aisle the moment he’d seen Loren. She’d stopped also. They were both blocking the pathway.

Come on, he said, grasping her wrist and guiding them through the traffic.

The ceremony had been held in the O’Falcon mansion’s grand library. It was a large room with wall-to-wall windows at one end—the end where the altar had been—and eight-foot-tall double oak doors that were now opened for guests to pass through as they moved to the ballroom where the reception would be held.

Without thought, his grasp had softened and adjusted slightly so that he was now holding her hand. Her palm was warm against his, and even though he was moving and nodding hellos to others, his body was steadily reacting to the closeness of hers. He felt it in every step he took, the heat steadily sifting through him like slow running water until finally it filled him. Immediately he turned into a small nook in the hallway. He dropped Loren’s hand and leaned forward to see if the stained glass window would actually open. He needed some air.

If you want me to leave, Loren said from behind him, I will.

Cole’s hands went still on the window that wasn’t opening, and he looked over his shoulder at her.

Why would I want you to leave? he asked. Then, as if he were losing every ounce of his mind with her proximity, he remembered. Loren had walked out on him four years ago, minutes after he’d asked her to marry him.

I just mean, if this is uncomfortable for you… she paused, holding her lips tightly together as if to force herself not to say more.

Her lips were plump and soft, he remembered instantly. They’d always been so soft, her mouth warm and inviting each time he’d kissed her.

I’m not uncomfortable, he said, turning to face her. Are you?

She shook her head, long glittering earrings dancing with the movement. No. I’m not.

Well then, Cole continued, straightening and inhaling deeply. We should get to the reception.

This