Andrew hung up the phone, his fear subsiding. Alexandra’s girlfriend had just called and wanted to talk with him. If he couldn’t have his love, Nina would be the closest thing he’d have.

Unfortunately, he had to wait until she had finished running some errand, which would be another twenty minutes. It had been several hours since this morning’s circus show. What was a few more minutes?

A knock on his door surprised him. Jen should’ve locked up on her way out.

The door opened and Jen stuck her head in. “I thought I sent you home for the day,” he said with a smile.

She walked in carrying a white plastic bag. “I know,” she said. “But I figured you wouldn’t eat unless I brought you something.” She winked at him. “I know you.”

Andrew laughed. “Yes, you do. Better than anyone.”

“Don’t you forget that,” she said and laughed, setting the bag on the desk. She pulled out tall boxes of rice then the scent of his favorite Chinese dish wafted to him.

Up to that point, he didn’t realize how hungry he was. After his workout, he usually had a protein bar and banana. Today, that was completely forgotten.

She set a second meal on the desk and scooted the chair in front of his desk closer. “This is nice,” she said. “It’s been a while since we’ve done this. You should slow down, Andrew. You’ll make yourself sick with all the stress and late hours.”

He chuckled at her words. She sounded like a seasoned mother even though she was only a couple years older than he was. “Mother knows best,” he said.

She leaned forward and patted his hand. “Yes, she does.” She snatched a set of chopsticks off the desk and opened a box of rice. “How are your parents, by the way?”

“I haven’t talked to them in several weeks,” he answered.

“Are they still in Europe?”

He looked up, surprised that she knew where his parents were. “Yeah, how did you know?”

Her eyes rolled. “Your mother sent a postcard from Rome to the office, if you remember.”

She did. He’d forgotten about that. He wondered how she was doing on her own. “Do you need anything? Is everything good with you?” Again, he felt bad for not being around to listen when she needed an ear to vent about her divorce. If there was one thing he’d learned, it was that women needed to talk to let go of internal stress and anger.

Mom used to get so stressed out over her job, Dad eventually hired her at his office so he would have peace and quiet at home. He remembered his dad telling him women were too high strung to work in a man’s complicated world. It was more like Mom was too high strung, period.

Her smile turned shy. “Thank you for asking, but I’m doing okay.” She stared down at her food. “It would be nice to have someone to talk to. Someone who would listen and care. I could really use that.”

“You were with Alexandra and another girl at the club last week. Neither of them has time?” He knew Alexandra wouldn’t be available. He planned to have her in his bed as long as possible.

Jen shook her head. “I’m not sure a girlfriend would help—”

A voice called from the lobby. “Hello? Jen? Andrew?” His assistant perked up.

“Nina?” Jen hurried into the front room and hugged the third woman he saw in Alexandra’s group at the club. Through the open door, he saw them whispering. Then Jen jerked away suddenly.

“Oh,” Jen said. She turned and walked back to his desk and gathered her meal. “Nina is here to see you.” He’d forgotten to mention that he got off the phone with Nina shortly before Jen brought in lunch.

Nina stepped into his office and stood by the door. Jen turned on her heel. “I guess I’ll go home now since I’m not being paid to be here.” She stopped by the door and dumped her food into the trashcan then walked out.

Nina shot a glance at Andrew as if to ask him what the deal was with Jen. He shrugged. He would be the last one to know what went through a woman’s head when pissed off.

Nina closed the door and then plopped into the chair Jen vacated.

“You look tired,” Andrew said, then quickly added, “in a good way.” Eh, that’s not what he wanted to say. “I mean, your tired look is...still pretty?” Damn, it sounded like he was hitting on her. “No, what I meant—”

“I get it, Andrew,” she said, letting him off the hook. “Let’s move on, shall we?”

“Yes, please.” He set his chopsticks on his rice to give her his full attention. “Why isn’t she answering my calls?”

“Now hold on a fucking second. You’re the one who needs to answer some questions here.” She snagged the fortune cookie sitting on the desk and popped it open.

“I’m sorry. I just—I need to see her.” He ran a hand through his hair.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re the one who is making me look like an ass, buddy.”

“Yeah? How’s that?” Was she there to help or what?

“Because no matter how cute you are, if it weren’t for me, she wouldn’t have given you a chance in the first place.” She smiled.

“Why wouldn’t she have given me a chance?”

She leaned forward, her face serious. “Her asshole ex cheated on her, pretty much dragged all her self-confidence through the mud. She’s had a hard time trusting her own judgment and other people since. She acted like it was a minor breakup, but I know he messed with her head in the end.”

Quiet, he absorbed her words. Anger surged, and he wished for a way to dole out some pain to the idiot, Jack.

“Why are you telling me this?” He needed to find Alexandra, speak to her.

She sighed, shook her head, and gave him a sad smile. “She left to get away. She would’ve never done that before. She’s confused, scared she’s made a mistake again, and doesn’t want to get hurt.”

“I would never hurt her. I need to find her, please.” Frustration was clear in his voice.

“Yeah? Well, you mind telling me what the hell happened here earlier? After that, I’ll consider helping you.” Folding one leg over the other, she leaned back.

“I have no interest in Leslie. The stupid woman can’t get it through her head we’re through, were through months ago. I’m at my wit’s end with her. Short of calling the police on her, I’m not sure what else to do.”

When he saw Nina’s unconvinced look, he sat forward. “Look—” He sighed. “What I’m about to tell you is going to sound strange, but just listen. I—the moment I saw Alexandra, something caught my attention about her. It was like an invisible pull. I found out she had a boyfriend, so I stayed away, but the connection I felt was always there.

“Every time our eyes locked from across our offices, I wanted to talk to her. These days of us getting to know each other? I’ve never felt so...at peace. I don’t want to lose that. I would never hurt her. Please, just tell me where to find her. I promise I only want to make her happy.”

“All right, I can tell you’re not the slime she’s imagining you to be right now. That’s telling you a lot. I had a feeling about you two since the night at the club.” She grinned and studied the nails on her hand.

“So, what should I do?”

“How badly do you want her back?” Her dark brows lifted.

“More than anything.”

She gave him a nod. “I’m leaving as soon as I can to join her at my family’s cabin up at the state park. After we have a pow-wow, I’ll make sure she calls you. Will that work?”

It would have to if that was all he was getting. “Yeah. I’ll have my phone with me all night. Have her call no matter how late it is. I probably won’t sleep until I hear from her anyway.”

“Yeah, okay,” Nina replied, getting up from the seat. She hesitated like she wanted to say something else. “Be easy on Alex when you talk. She’s had a long day already. We’ll talk later.”