B01EU62FUC (R) by Kirsten Osbourne Read Free Book Online

honeymoons.”
    There was a long pause. “You married Curtis?”
    Valerie bit her lip. She didn’t want to have to admit to her mother that she’d broken up with her best friend’s son. “Actually no. I married Jesse.”
    “Your co-star? Really?” The excitement in her mother’s voice shocked Valerie.
    “Yeah.”
    “Does Curtis know?” There was fear in her mother’s voice. Did she know more than she’d let on?
    “No. I broke up with Curtis, but he didn’t know I was marrying Jesse.”
    “He called today.”
    Valerie closed her eyes, not wanting to know more, but needing to ask. “What did he want?”
    “He told me you two had a fight, and he needed to find some way to make it up to you. He asked what your favorite flower is.”
    “What did you tell him?”
    “I told him that since you’d been dating for eight years, he should know the answer to that better than I do.” There was a pause. “I’m glad you broke it off with him. He wasn’t good for you.”
    “No, he wasn’t. How did you know?”
    Her mother’s laugh was bitter. “Carol told me. His dad was just like him.”
    “I didn’t know.” Valerie was unsure how to respond to that. Her mother had known he was abusive and said nothing to her?
    “There was no way for you to know. We didn’t want to come between you, but we’ve both been watching you when you came home. Worrying he’d hit you.”
    “I’m fine, Mom.”
    “Did he hit you?”
    Valerie closed her eyes. She wished her mother had asked her that question four years before. Maybe she’d have been bolder about getting out of the situation with her mom at her side. “I’m a strong woman, Mom. I’ll be fine.” Her eyes met Jesse’s, and she could see the sadness in them.
    “Well, I’m happy you married Jesse. I could see from the moment you two were on my TV screen you were perfect for each other.”
    Valerie smiled at that. “He’s a good man.”
    “I know he is. You can almost touch the emotion between you two.”
    “Be careful, Mom. I’m afraid that when Curtis finds out I married, he’s going to come after you. Or Rikki.”
    “I’m going to go to the police station first thing on Monday morning and take out a restraining order.”
    “Thank you.”
    “Will Jesse protect you?”
    “Yeah, Jesse won’t let him hurt me.”
    Jesse took the phone from her hand. “Ms. Dobson? This is Jesse. I won’t let anything happen to Valerie. You just watch out for yourself. Don’t wait to get that restraining order. Go to the police station today. Better yet, come to Texas for a while. We’d love to have you as our guests on the set.”
    Valerie couldn’t hear her mother’s response.
    “I understand that. Just be careful. Yes, Valerie and I will visit as soon as we get a break in our schedules.”
    He pushed the end button and handed the phone back to her. “How worried are you that he’ll hurt your family?”
    She shrugged. “I’m glad you told her to go to the police station today. I don’t think he’ll waste his money flying back to Iowa to see them, but you never can tell. He’s crazy.”
    “Would you feel better if we put off filming for a while to go there and be with them?”
    “We can’t do that.”
    He shrugged. “We’re the stars. We can do what we want. It’s probably not a good idea, though. I don’t want to put the whole show behind schedule.”
    “I’m sure Mom will go to the police today. She won’t let anything happen to Rikki.”
    “How old is Rikki now?”
    “Twenty. And she thinks you’re the hottest man on the planet. She asks me every time we talk what it’s like to kiss you.” She winked at him, letting him know she thought her sister’s crush was amusing.
    Jesse raised an eyebrow. “And what do you tell her?”
    “That it feels better than chocolate tastes.”
    He grinned. “I’ve seen you with a pint of chocolate ice cream with chocolate syrup on top. There’s nothing you like more than chocolate.”
    Valerie leaned