The Heart Wants What It Wants (Completed)

Chapter 24

Chapter 23 Recap

"And what about you? Mom's told me quite a bit about this 'Val' chick. She someone special?" Casey asked.

"Is she?" he retorted, raising his eyebrows and shaking his head. "She's more than someone special, Case. I'm in love with her, and I know what you're gonna say," he said, holding his hands up to stop her before she could respond.

"What?"

"You guys haven't been together long, so how could you be in love," he terribly mimicked in a woman's voice. "Trust me. I've heard it more than once. I can honestly say though, that I've never felt this way about anyone-not even Lina."

"And how does she feel about you?"

Joe sighed and looked at his sister. "That's the question left to be answered."

Chapter 24

"Damn, Val! You're on the phone again?!" Lexy said, frowning at her sister.

Val put her finger to her own lips to silence Lexy. "Yeah, Kelly. No, it's cool. Thank you."

She saw Lexy roll her eyes and impatiently fold her arms over her chest. Since arriving in Orlando over two hours ago, Lexy had been trying to drag her out of the hotel room for lunch, but her cell phone had been bombarded by call after call from corporate concerning her availability for the upcoming UK tour. The call that she'd just ended finally confirmed her attendance for the tour.

She laid the phone aside and threw a pillow at Lexy, hitting her in the back of the head.

"I hate you!" Lexy exclaimed, throwing the pillow back at her.

"That was work. I'm going on the UK tour later this year," Val said, standing and placing her suitcase on her bed. She unzipped it and began to sift through her clothing to find an outfit for their day out.

"The UK? That should be fun. I should-"

The metal guitars of "The Truth Reigns" cut Lexy's thought short to her dismay.

"Oh my God. No Val! I'm starving!"

"It'll only take a sec! I promise!" Val said, answering the call. "Hey Joe."

Lexy grabbed a card key and rambled through her purse for change, and then walked to the door.

"Where ya goin'? " Val asked.

"Vending machine, so I don't die, duh," she sarcastically answered before leaving the room.

"She sounds pissed," Joe said over a sea of voices.

"She is. We were supposed ro be gone for lunch already."

"So I guess that means you ladies got settled in OK."

"Yeah, we did. What's all the chatter I hear?" Val asked, finding a yellow bodycon maxi dress to wear.

"My sisters and their children are visiting. Sorry about that."

"No, it's OK. I understand."

"I'm gonna step outside, so I can talk to you about last night."

As much as her ears burned to hear what transpired between Joe and his sometimes opinionated coworkers, she wanted him to spend time with his family.

"No, baby. We can talk when things simmer down for us both. You're with your family and Lexy's gonna kill me, if I don't feed her soon," Val said, stripping her jeans and T-shirt off just as Lexy walked back through the door.