Love Story

Chapter 3

"David?"

He turned to see Valleri standing in the doorway of the kitchen in the red silk pajamas he'd given her, her long hair pulled back into a ponytail.  She looked absolutely beautiful.

"Are you alright?" She asked concern clear in her voice.

He nodded. "Fine, just thinking is all"

They sat across from each other at the small table, each of them holding a mug.

"What about?"

He shook his head. "It's not important"

She could tell he was bothered by something, really bothered, but she wasn't going to press the issue.

"Would it be alright if I stayed with you tonight? I don't really care to go back to the world of champagne and escargot just yet."

David's head snapped up from looking down into his mug. "You want to stay here?"

Valleri nodded. "Unless it would bother you?"

He shook his head. "No, it..." He looked from her back down at his tea "I wouldn't mind, but your father-"

He stopped abruptly hoping she hadn't heard the last bit, unfortunately for him, she had.

"My father? What about my father?"

David shook his head a third time. "Nothing, forget I said anything"

"I will not, what about my father David? Is he the reason you've been acting so strangely around me lately?"

"Valleri please"

"Tell me, did he say something to you?"

When he didn't say anything she came to the conclusion herself. "He did didn't he, David what did he say?"

"That I'm, under no circumstances to see you. Ever, or I'll pay the consequences"

David sat across from her at the table and watched her eyes darken with anger.

"Consequences?! What consequences?"

"He didn't say"

Valleri shoved her chair back and stood up from the table. David stood too.

"Valleri don't"

"He had no right to do that to you."

"Of course he did, he's your father"

Valleri wasn't listening. She walked quickly through the small house to the front door.

"Valleri don't" David said again grabbing her wrist. "Don't do this, you're upset"

"I have every right to be upset!  He can't dictate every detail of my life and expect me to just stand by and watch, this ends. Now"

David stood on the porch and watched her disappear over the hill. He let out a breath.  This wasn't going to end well for someone, he hoped it wasn't Valleri.

Valleri made the short walk across the grassy field, back through the gate and up to the house. She yanked the door open and stormed down the hallway towards the parlour.  As she got closer she could hear the music and chatter of the guests. Again she yanked the big double doors of the room open and they banged shut behind her, drawing attention of those nearby.

Her eyes scanned the room looking for the only familiar face aside from Parker Morgan. Then she saw him, a few feet from the bar, almost exactly the spot he'd been when she left almost an hour and a half earlier.

She didn't have to get very far before he saw her coming, the look of confusion apparent on his face at her new choice of evening attire.

"Valleri what on Earth-"