Alex sat up. Could that be it? He held off pursuing Valerie because he’d known it was just a matter of time before all the wedding hoopla would come around. She’d have no choice but to show up, and he’d get his chance to win her back in his life. That would explain the unreasonable nerves the morning of shower.

In hindsight, what he had with Valerie before was a relationship. Just because they’d never called it that didn’t mean it wasn’t. During the time they were supposedly just hanging out, if he’d found out she was seeing someone else he would’ve been absolutely livid. Unlike her, he wouldn’t have had any qualms about telling her either.

He knew what she thought when he’d avoided her for days. She thought that he was with other women. But she never asked outright, so, he never had to actually deny it. Though, he never really confirmed what he had been doing either.

If only he could leave her a message that didn’t sound so stupid. Every time he tried, it came out all wrong. So, he gave up. He stared at the pad of paper and pen on his coffee table for a moment before finally grabbing it. He began jotting some things he could say.

After a while of scribbling a few sentences down and scratching things off, he had something he could live with. He read it back a few times and decided there was no getting around sounding robotic, so, he tried memorizing it. That was even worse. Frustrated, he threw the pad back down on his coffee table. He was getting a headache.

Who was he kidding? She probably wouldn’t listen to it anyway. With a full blown headache now, he decided to take an aspirin and call it a night. Maybe with some rest and a little luck, he could come up with something else.

CHAPTER 5

Inspections for commercial buildings typically took a lot longer than for a residential. This latest sale was another big one. There were offices, multi restrooms, a kitchen and even a small gym. Valerie hoped that because it was an afternoon appointment, they’d hurry to get out of there early but no such luck. She’d been there for hours while the inspectors meticulously did their thing. She’d spent most the time on her laptop writing up more offers. Luke had been right about the Lemon Ridge sale. It had opened up doors for her. Since things had gone so smoothly, for a building that size, she was getting referrals left and right.

By all accounts, everything in Valerie’s life was going favorably. She enjoyed the kind of success that Luke said only seasoned agents got to enjoy. Her relationship with Luke moved along. Albeit, she’d made sure they were taking things cosmically slow. Luckily, Luke had turned out to be as patient as he was charismatic.

With the inspectors gone, Valerie walked around, making sure she locked up everything. Her hollowed heart made her feel guilty. She’d never been one to whine about the little stuff and was grateful for all the blessings in her life. Despite all the positive things going on, she still missed Alex terribly.

Almost done locking up, Valerie thought she heard footsteps. The inspectors were long gone. She’d watched them drive away. She stood very still and listened, but heard nothing else. This wasn’t the first time she got the creeps in a big empty building. She’d have to get used to it, because from the looks of things she’d be dealing with big empty buildings a lot from here on.

After double-checking a few more doors, she headed back to the table she used as her desk for the day. She slowed her pace when she heard the sound of footsteps again. She glanced around but saw nothing. With everything packed in her briefcase and her nerves on edge, a loud buzzing made her jump and clutch her chest. Her phone vibrated against the table.

“Shit.” She let out a relieved breath.

She glanced at the Caller ID. It was Luke. Deciding she just wanted to get out of there, Valerie ignored the call. She grabbed the phone and rushed toward the entrance of the building. She could call him once safe in her car.

The heels she wore caused her footsteps to echo noisily. That only rattled her nerves even more. When she turned the corner, rushing into the small entrance lobby of the building, she stopped cold feeling the icy chill to the very marrow of her bones.

“Hello, darling.” Bruce sat on the counter of the receptionist station smiling. “You really should lock the door, when you’re here alone you know. You never know who might stroll in.”

Valerie stood frozen, her heart pounding at her throat. She thought of the pepper spray in her purse and Isabel’s words echoed in her head. “What good is that thing going to be for you buried at the bottom of your purse? You need to carry it on your keychain.”

She cleared her throat and tried to conceal the alarm she felt. “I was just leaving.”

Bruce jumped off the counter, forcing Valerie to move. She started for the door. Bruce’s hand touched her elbow and she flung her arm away. He raised his hands in front of him to show he meant no harm and smirked. “Take it easy.”

“Why are you here?” She demanded.

“I saw your car parked outside and thought I’d drop in so we could talk.”

Valerie hurried out the door. “I’ve nothing to talk to you about.”

“What’s the rush, Valerie? Meeting up with the manager again?”

Valerie continued to walk toward her car determined to not let him see that not only had he stunned her, which he obviously meant to do, but he’d managed to add to her already growing anxiety. Had he been following her around again? Because of their working relationship, she and Luke had gone out of their way to be discreet. And the parking lot of this building was too far away from the main street for him to have merely spotted it, like he claimed.