"Val?" Parker and Tessa ask at once, their voices overlapping like synchronized surprise that hits the air with enough force to make everyone in the ballroom lean forward.
For Tessa, the name hits like a fucking freight train of childhood memories.
She knows exactly who Val is. Damn, how many times had the old man told her that story? For eighteen years he'd told her that story like it was scripture, still celebrating the way he'd been saved by Val like it happened yesterday instead of decades ago.
So, she was surprised as hell to hear him say that name while looking at Helena like he'd found something he'd been searching for his entire fucking life.
Only problem? Tessa knew Helena. She was far from about as far from the heroine type as you can get without actively being a villain.
