The news had spread that she was her father's daughter. Everywhere Chloe went within the hospital, she was treated with kid gloves and kept from doing any real work, and she hated every minute of it. It was as if no one believed she was capable of doing the job. She had even complained to her father one night at dinner, and he had said it was because she was so beautiful, no one believed her capable of hard work. It was an insult in disguise as far as she was concerned. 

Juric had disappeared once again, and there had been no news of him. Otherwise, she might have asked him to intervene and let them know that she was a capable nurse since even her father believed her to be incapable of the work.

Chloe's days had evolved into a routine. She spent the week at the hospital and the weekends with her father at his house. It allowed them to spend time together and allowed her to get to know him again.

On Friday, after a long shift of running errands for others, she arrived at her father's house. It was just as she remembered it. It was a modest two-story concrete building. There was a walled courtyard with a small garden, and the front entry hall was dark with a peeling vinyl floor. The ceilings were low, and the carpet throughout the house was a muddy brown color that was worn very thin in the high traffic areas.

Chloe's first weekend had been spent cleaning and straightening, something it appeared her father hadn't done in the past twelve years.

Her room was also the same. The first time she had entered it, it was like walking into the past. The bed still held the white quilt and fluffy pillows she had always loved. Many of her clothes were still in the closet, and she had spent an entire day sorting through them, remembering her favorite pieces and the memories attached to them.

Now, however, she had a mission. Her father was bringing a surprise guest to dinner, and she was going to cook. When Chloe entered the house, she raced up to her room and stripped before jumping into the shower in her ensuite bathroom. She took her time, luxuriating in the warm water as the stress of the day slid away.

Her father had said diner would be at eight, so she had plenty of time, but she wanted to see what was in the kitchen in case she needed to run to the market before it closed. Turning off the water, she jumped out of the shower, briskly dried herself, then pulled her hair out of its top knot and started brushing out the kinks, working through some ideas as to what she could prepare for the meal.

With a resigned sigh about her untamable hair, she reached for the bathroom door handle just as it turned, and the door swung open. She jumped back with a startled yelp, hitting a patch of water left by her feet, starting to slip. A strong arm reached out and caught her, yanking her forward, which caused her to hit a very solid and naked chest.

Of course, she knew who it was without looking. Her body's reaction gave it away. A completely naked Juric was holding a completely naked Chloe. Every part of her was pressed against every part of him, and Lord help them, neither one of them was letting go. She felt every inch of his skin where it touched hers, and she had to close her eyes to keep from asking for more. Chloe couldn't help but tremble in response. It had been so long since he had held her.

After a few minutes, when neither one of them had moved, Chloe realized that they couldn't stay as they were forever, so she took a step back, knowing that her body's reaction to him was giving her need away. Chloe should have reached for a towel or offered him one, but she couldn't move as she took her time studying the changes in his body. A body that was telling on him just as much as her body was telling on her. She hadn't imagined the new muscle he had developed. He was built for fighting. His thick arms and legs were solid muscle, and his chest was twice as broad as it used to be. The most significant change was all of the scars that crisscrossed his body. There were so many of them.

Unable to help herself, she reached out and traced a large one that ran the width of his pectoral muscle. As her fingers traced the line, his muscles jumped in reaction.

"Chloe," he warned through clenched teeth.

"I thought you wouldn't allow me to affect you anymore. That was what you told me twelve years ago." She knew she was playing with fire, that she should jump away and cover herself, but she didn't care. It should be odd that he was there and that they were completely naked, but it wasn't it. They had once been as familiar with each other's bodies as they were with their own.

"What do you think about the changes in me?" she asked, looking down at her body. "I'm not as thin as I once was, and I'm a bit rounder in places," she frowned as she looked down at her much larger breasts and rounded belly. It wasn't huge, but it wasn't flat like a board anymore.

"You're beautiful, Chloe. You're not a girl anymore." His voice was hoarse, and he almost choked as she reached up and weighed a breast at his comment.

His face and chest had turned red, and she guessed it wasn't from embarrassment.

"You're beautiful too, Valentine," she assured him, letting her gaze slide over his body once more. "I waited for you, Valentine. Why didn't you wait for me?" she asked. Something about being naked had stripped her of her fears as well, and the question didn't seem as scary as it once did.

"I don't understand?" he asked, his voice still rough.

Chloe reached for a towel and wrapped it around her, handing him one as well.

"There's been no one since you," Chloe stated as she moved passed him and into her bedroom.

"No one?" he sounded incredulous as he followed her out of the bathroom.

"I promised you I would wait, and I did." Chloe started to rummage through her drawers for underwear. "I mean, I didn't expect you to be one hundred percent faithful, it's been twelve years, and you're fighting a war, but I didn't expect you to fall in love with someone else enough to want to marry them."

Juric reclined into a chair, and Chloe couldn't help but admire the way his muscles moved at the action. He continued to watch her as she removed the towel and put on her underwear. They weren't anything exciting, which was probably for the best.

At his continued silence, she turned to look at him. "Why are you here, in my bedroom, naked?" Part of her hoped he would say that he had followed her.

"Your father lets me stay here sometimes. It's off the grid for me, and it gives me an evening to decompress. I needed a shower." He adjusted his body in the chair as if he was uncomfortable.

"Why my room? Why not the guest room?" Chloe moved to the closet and pulled out a sundress to wear. It had been big on her when she was nineteen, but now her curves filled it out nicely. She might take it home with her. The thought made her pause. Would she be going home?

"I'm still waiting for your answer," Chloe said, stepping out of the closet.

"I like this room better," was all he said, watching her as she started to try on her old jewelry.

Chloe couldn't help but sneak looks at him in the mirror, but he caught her looking every time.

"Are you the surprise guest for dinner?" Chloe asked as she swung her head, letting her glass earrings catch the light.

"No, your father didn't know I was coming. I'm sure if he had, he would have made sure I knew you were here." Juric stood, his massive frame filling the room.

"Hmmm, yes. So nothing embarrassing, like meeting each other naked in a bathroom, would happen." Chloe nodded.

"Was it embarrassing? You didn't seem embarrassed?" He crossed his arms defensively.

Chloe turned to face him, looking over his broad chest once more. "No, perhaps it's being back here, in this house, in this room where we spent so much time together, that makes it seem almost normal." Chloe walked towards him and ran her finger across the scar on his chest once more.

"Sometimes you're so familiar to me, and other times you're like a stranger, but here it's like you're my Valentine again. Why didn't you wait for me, Valentine?"

Juric's face grew hard as he reached out and gently removed her hand from his chest, and they looked at one another as the distance between them grew.

Chloe took a step back and cleared her throat. "Go ahead and get your shower. Are you staying for dinner?"

"Am I invited?" he asked.

"Of course, you're always welcome at my father's table," she assured him.

Juric nodded and then went into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

Chloe sat down hard on the bed and took a few deep breaths. That had been intense, and looking back on it, she had no clue how she managed to play it so cool. She reached up with a shaking hand and felt her heart rate before looking at the bathroom door.

What would he do if she stripped down and joined him? She shook her head. He was so emotionally strong he would probably toss her across the room and slam the shower door shut again.

The thought made her giggle, because what else could she do? She was done crying over Valentine Juric.

As she left her bedroom and headed toward the kitchen, she thought about his physical changes and wondered what else had changed. Would he still be the same tender lover he had always been, or would he be less gentle and more demanding?

Chloe shook her head; that train of thought wouldn't be productive. After all, he was an engaged man.

She should focus on what was for dinner; that she could handle.