As soon as Kaiser left, Valentina began fanning her face. How embarrassing. She couldn't believe that he had kissed her hands. That was something she thought only happened in movies or novels. Recalling the intensity in his eyes and the soft touch of his lips across her fingers, Valentina felt herself blush once again.
As she got more comfortable being around Kaiser, she found herself flirting more and more with him. He was honestly the most handsome man she had seen so far. Rio, Shawn, Jay King, and even Roman. All of them were very good-looking and had their own good points but Kaiser was a complete ten across the board.
He was tall, his face was gorgeous, his beard connected, and most importantly he was muscular. Being in the entertainment field, all the male actors Valentina had seen so far were very slim and lean. Although his body looked lean, Kaiser was very defined. The few times she had seen him without his suit, he had filled out his shirt completely. And the forearms never lied.
The problem was he was flirting back. He had repeatedly told her he was interested in her and every time he asked her to be Luca's stepmother as a joke, she considered accepting just to see his facial expression. But she couldn't make that step and do anything, even if it was a one-night stand. What had brought them together was his son needing her. They would never have crossed paths in this life if she hadn't happened to find Luca. She wanted Luca to heal as she empathized with the child and didn't want to do anything to jeopardize that. Plus, she couldn't bear the thought of thinking he was only interested in her because she was helping his son.
Valentina shook her head. She was obviously overthinking. She would keep things light and breezy. They were both adults so flirting wouldn't hurt anybody. Once her time in the house was done, she would leave, and they would go their separate ways. The chances of them meeting again in the future was close to zero. Honestly, the thought of it made her feel sad and her mood turned melancholy.
Before she could get too deep in her feelings, the car door was suddenly opened. Looking at the culprit, it was Luca.
He looked at her with a flushed face and teary eyes before yelling "Auntie!" and jumping in her arms.
Valentina quickly held him before closing the door.
"Hi, my little nugget." She smiled as she hugged him tightly.
"What's wrong? I heard you were upset?" Valentina asked him once he settled down on her lap.
"I missed you, but Dad said I couldn't see you since I was at grandma's house. I wanted to come back they wouldn't let me, so I broke everything" Luca whispered with his head downcast.
"I missed you too little nugget. But that behavior is no good. Even if we're upset, we have to use our words to communicate how we feel. Breaking things is bad because you could hurt yourself and break something another person cares about understand?"
"Yesss" was his downcast reply.
"It's okay Luca, everyone still loves you. How about we make apology letters tomorrow and give them to your grandparents and dad okay? When your dad comes you can say sorry and thank you for picking me up"
"Can we make a letter for Uncle Roman too?"
"Sure. If your uncle Roman was there we'll make one for him too." Valentina agreed, happy to see the child so conscientious.
"Okay!" hearing the strength in Luca's voice, Valentina smiled. The boy tilted his head up to look at her with his large eyes and said, "I'm sorry for being bad Auntie Val. Thank you for picking me up."
Seeing his adorable face, Valentina wanted to squeeze his cheeks but settled for kissing the top of his head.
"Apology accepted my little nugget."
The two sat in peaceful silence until Kaiser came out the front door of the house. As he shut the door, Valentina thought she heard something howling.
"Do your grandparents have a dog?" Valentina asked Luca. Seeing him shake his head, she shrugged. Maybe it was a neighbor's pet.
When Kaiser got into the car, he turned to stare at Luca in the back seat.
"What do you have to say for yourself?" he coolly asked his son.
Luca hesitated. He clutched Valentina's hand, bowed his head, and said, "I'm sorry for being bad. Thank you for picking me up."
Kaiser gazed at Luca in surprise before his eyes flashed to Valentina's. Seeing her smiling face, he nodded to himself. It had to be her influence.
Reaching out to pat his son's head, Kaiser said "It's okay. But don't do it again."
"Okay!"
The drive home took a while as Luca fell asleep in Valentina's arms and he drove slowly to accommodate him.
When they arrived home, he took Luca from her arms and took him to his bedroom while Valentina slowly followed along. Kaiser gently tucked him in, and quietly stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
Facing Valentina he nodded at her, "Thank you for today."
"I should be thanking you, without your help I wouldn't have made it to the premiere tonight." Valentina shook her head in response.
"You look beautiful today. More exquisite than any jewel."
Caught off guard at the sudden compliment, Valentina blushed. But seeing Kaiser's smile as if he said it to get a reaction out of her, she flipped her hair, narrowed her eyes, and smirked at him. Face value of 90, graceful body movement, time to work your charm!
"I look beautiful every day, but I'm glad you of all people think so." She tried to walk seductively towards him, and she could feel her body quickly correcting itself. As she encroached on his personal space, his hands reached out as if to hold her and hovered around her back without touching her.
"Are you afraid to touch me?" she asked huskily.
"I'm not afraid, but I always ask for permission. You of course can touch me how you please. May I touch you?"