CHAPTER 9

The next day Valerie didn’t make it to the office until after noon, because she had clients she had to meet in the morning. When she arrived, Luke motioned for her to come into his office. The moment he closed the door behind her, he greeted her with one of the most sensual kisses he’d given her to date. It took her by surprise, and left her a bit breathless. But as usual she didn’t feel much else.

“What’s that about?” She turned to make sure the blinds on his office windows were closed all the way. They were, but if someone really wanted to they could easily see through the small opening between the blinds.

Luke shrugged. “It’s just a couple. You’re the fastest and most efficient. I need this done yesterday. I don’t want to waste my time with those slackers. It’s no big deal.”

Valerie took the files and read them. They were both looking to buy commercial buildings and had big budgets. She didn’t feel comfortable with this. If anyone in the office found out, they might accuse Luke of playing favorites.

“You think you can get a list together and set up something by next week?”

“Yeah, sure.” She started to walk toward the door.

“Hey,” Luke said. “Is sevenish okay for tonight? I’m gonna try to get out of here earlier than normal. I’m a good cook just not very fast.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Valerie still wasn’t one hundred percent sure about tonight. She’d just play it by ear.

She walked to her cubicle and pulled out her laptop. The envelope on the screen of her phone when she set it down reminded her of the unheard message from Alex.

She stared at it for a second before picking up the phone and dialing her voicemail. Her heart fluttered when she heard his deep voice. Every word he said made her heart race faster. Then she felt the knot at her throat when she heard the words, “Please tell me you haven’t given up on us.”

Taking a deep breath, she saved the message. She knew she should just delete it, but there was no way. God, how did he do that? One message and she was close to tears. She missed being with him so much and hearing his voice made her miss him even more. He sounded so sincere. He always did. There was no way she could concentrate now. Valerie glanced at the time. She hurried outside with her phone and immediately dialed Isabel.

“Isabel, it sounded so sincere.” Valerie pulled her hair behind her ear and moved the phone to her other ear. “He said he hopes I haven’t given up on us.”

“Val, hon, he always sounds sincere. We’ve been over this a million times. He has a huge ego. Always has. He can’t stand the thought of you with someone else, but he’ll never be a one woman guy.”

Valerie’s heart was still pounding with excitement from his words. “I don’t know, Isabel. I’ve never heard him like this. You think… you really think it’s just wishful thinking on my part?”

“I know it is. This is the longest you’ve been away from him. He must be feeling the weight of it, too. Seeing you with someone else, I’m sure, is contributing to this sudden urge to be with you. But you know what’ll happen if you go back again.”

She finished the list of properties to show in a matter of minutes. Then she called Sarah to let her know the offer had been accepted on the property next door to the restaurant. She begged her to please let Alex know and she’d update them on the escrow. As unprofessional as she knew that was, there was no way she was calling him directly.

After hanging up, she left early without even saying goodbye to Luke. She’d see him tonight. There’d been plenty of times she rushed out of the office without saying goodbye to him. She didn’t want to start any habits now. But mostly, she was avoiding any possible embraces. It was happening already. Just hearing Alex’s message had begun to affect the way she felt about her relationship with Luke.

Back home, she did everything she could to keep her mind off the message. But she couldn’t fight the urge to listen to it just one more time. She hated to admit it but it made her feel good. Too good. That damn lingering hope was back. As much as she told herself he would never change, something about the way he sounded in the message stood out to her. He’d always been good about pleading his case in the past, but this time he sounded almost desperate.

Damn it, Valerie. Stop it.

Valerie dialed the voicemail and hit the prompts until Alex’s message was about to start. She put it against Isabel’s ear and watched Isabel’s unreadable expression closely. But when it was over she frowned.

“Valerie, I don’t doubt for a second that he misses you. But what exactly is it that you’re supposed to not give up on? The possibility that he may one day, be able to be with just one woman? That’s pretty selfish, don’t you think?”

Valerie listened and watched as Isabel gathered her things from the counter. She followed her into her room and sat on the bed while Isabel put every little thing back in its place. She even had a holder on her dresser for her sunglasses.

“So, you really don’t think it’s any different than all the other times?”

“Honey, the only difference is that you’ve stuck to your guns longer this time than all the others, and most importantly that he knows you’re seeing someone else now. He’s probably missing you more than he ever has before, and you can hear it in his voice. But I wouldn’t get my hopes up.”

Isabel was right, and Valerie knew it. She forced herself to get ready for her dinner with Luke. She remembered the way he kissed her today. She hadn’t felt much, but he definitely knew what he was doing. Maybe tonight wouldn’t be so bad.

*

Friday nights weren’t as busy as the weekend, but Alex was helping out in the kitchen because two of his cooks called in. This wasn’t the first time these two called in on a Friday night. He’d find replacements for those two bums soon enough.

He walked out of the kitchen and into the office. Angel was there, working on the computer. Alex looked around to make sure Sarah wasn’t within earshot. “Sarah here?”

Sal had told him, but that’s not what Alex wanted to know. “Yeah, he told me. I already made an appointment for the contractor to come out when it closes to give us an estimate on the work and how long it’s going to take.”

“Cool.” Angel turned back to the computer. “Valerie found us this place over by the marina for the restaurant. Sarah fell in love with the location. Check this out.”

Angel moved over so Alex could see the pictures on the screen. Angel scrolled through shots of an abandoned old seafood restaurant, but it was right on the marina. That’s usually all that was out there, seafood. Top quality too. Alex wasn’t sure how Well, their Mexican cuisine would hold up on the marina, although they did have quite a bit of seafood on their menu.

“The Marina? Isn’t that going to be pricey?”

Angel glanced back at him. “Valerie says we could get a good deal because it needs so much work. We’ll get a good price, but we’ll have our hands full getting it up to code. Best part about it is, it’s for sale. So, we wouldn’t be leasing. We’d be buying.”

Just hearing her name did things to Alex. He stared at the pictures a little longer trying to focus on that instead. The place was going to need a major overhaul. “What did Pops say?”

Angel clicked on a few more pictures on the screen, and Alex made small talk about the place. Then he finally walked away. He stopped just before walking out.

Alex frowned. He wasn’t one of those guys, so he wasn’t about to keep asking. If Angel knew anything, he’d tell him. He’d just have to wait until the rehearsal dinner.

He started back out when Angel spoke up. “I’m not sure, because she didn’t actually tell me, but I overheard Sarah on the phone last night. It sounded like Valerie was telling her about him.”

“Yeah, what did you hear?”

Angel looked up trying to remember. Something seemed to come to him but he hesitated. “I don’t think you wanna hear it, Alex. I know I wouldn’t.”

Alex squeezed the door frame. What the hell could he have heard? “Tell me.”

Angel shook his head and looked back at the monitor. “Only reason it caught my attention was because I overheard Sarah ask her something about wearing lingerie.”

Alex felt the hair on the back of his neck rise and his gut tightened. He banged his fist against the doorway. He didn’t need to hear any more. Angel was right that’s the last thing he needed right now. He charged back out of the office, infuriated with himself. Why the fuck had he asked?

Dinner was been better than Valerie expected. Maybe it was just because hearing Alex’s message distracted her so much, but she actually skipped lunch, and she arrived at his house starving. Whatever the reason, she wolfed her food down in minutes. Luke laughed as usual, impressed on how much she could take in for such a dainty woman.

It was a brochure to a weekend-long George Stone real estate seminar held at one of La Jolla’s most upscale resorts. She opened the brochure, and there were two tickets in it. Valerie couldn’t help but smile. She leaned over and kissed him.

“Thank you.”

Purposely she kept the kiss to a soft peck but he leaned over and kissed her again. Only his kiss was much longer, and he licked her bottom lip when he was done.

Later in the evening, after a few glasses of wine, they danced on the romantic terrace that overlooked his backyard. This was the first time she’d been to his place, and as expected, it was lavish. The backyard resembled a resort with a huge pool and outdoor kitchen. He said it was all about the investment. A single man obviously didn’t need such a big home. Resale value is what he was looking at when he’d bought it.

She thought of Alex’s simple more unassuming house. Alex said the more house he had the more there was to clean, and he was hardly ever home so what was the point? But Valerie knew that as modest as his place was it was still upscale, because of the area he lived in.

Luke promised her the grand tour later, and she had a feeling she knew where the tour would end. He was already being more passionate than usual, and he’d started to call her honey. But it didn’t sound like when Isabel or her dad called her that. With Isabel it was like having your older sister say it, even though they were the same age. The way Luke said it, felt intimate.

Luke kissed her neck as they danced slowly and squeezed her a little tighter. Then he kissed her lips. Valerie focused more than usual on trying to enjoy it. She felt him start to breathe heavier as their tongues intertwined faster. His hand lowered on her back and caressed her behind softly.

“Do you know how long you’ve been driving me crazy?” He gasped between kisses.

Valerie shook her head. She didn’t want to know. It was hard enough trying to enjoy the moment without thinking about Alex. Now he was going to add guilt to the mix?

He stopped dancing and kissed her with more aggression. Thrusting his tongue deep in her mouth, his hand slid up her blouse and caressed her breast. Surprised that she was beginning to feel a little aroused, Valerie closed her eyes and let herself go with it. She welcomed his tongue and kissed him back with just as much passion even biting his lip softly.

In a flash, he picked her up. She instantly wrapped her legs around his waist, her skirt lifting. His hands squeezed her behind as she continued to kiss him even as he walked into the house. She held his face in her hands, kissing him with the kind of yearning she only ever felt with Alex. Her heart raced. She closed her eyes tight, excited by the unexpected enjoyment of it.

By the time they reached his bed she was fully ready to go to the next step, and it thrilled her. They fumbled undressing each other partially while still trying to keep their mouths together. She fell back on the bed, and he fell onto her. He took her naked breast in his mouth while she ran her frantic fingers through his hair.

“I want you so bad.” His strained voice was barely understandable.

She was so incredibly aroused at this point she could barely muster up the words herself. “I want you too, Alex.”

Luke froze, then jerked his face away from her breast. Valerie’s eyes flew open, her hand flew to her mouth, covering it as if that would take back what she’d just said. Mortified, she tried desperately to understand what just happened. Alex’s words rang in her head. Please tell me you haven’t given up on us.