Alex wasn’t sure about that, but for now he’d had about as much talk of Luke as he could stand. He hugged Valerie, thinking of everything she’d just told him. He still wasn’t too sure she was telling him everything. One thing he was sure of, he definitely had to come up with a way to get her out of that office.

CHAPTER 20

The morning went without a hitch. Valerie had a couple of properties to show the same clients from the night before. To her pleasant surprise, Alex didn’t put up much of a fight when she’d told him she was doing it alone.

A few cautionary warnings were all he gave her, and he reminded her to keep her pepper spray handy. He even left before she did that morning. Valerie felt guilty knowing that he’d probably been in a hurry to catch up since he was busy babysitting her the day before.

She’d gone back to his place to change. She was supposed to meet Alex at the restaurant, and they would drive out to the church together for the wedding rehearsal. But Valerie was running late. After changing, she called him and told him it would be faster if she met him at the church.

Just a few blocks from the church, her phone rang.

“Hey, where are you?” Luke sounded a little irritated.

“On my way to church, why?”

“Church? You have clients waiting for you at La Jolla Mesa. Did you forget?”

Valerie’s jaw dropped. “Oh my God. I completely forgot!”

She’d scheduled it over a week ago. With everything that happened this past week it had slipped her mind.

“How do you forget something like that?”

“This week’s been crazy, Luke. I was going to reschedule, but I totally forgot about it. I’m on my way to my cousins wedding rehearsal. I can’t miss it, because I’m the maid of honor. Is there anyway you can- ”

She heard him grunt then what sounded like papers rustling. “Shit, Val. Is it just a combo or do I need keys?”

Valerie put her hand on her face and made a u-turn. “You’ll need keys for the warehouse in the back. I have them on me. I can meet you halfway.”

“Call the clients and let them know I’ll be late. Don’t tell them you forgot.”

Ten minutes later, she was at the gas station where they agreed to meet. She dug through the box in her trunk where she kept all her property keys. She still couldn’t believe she forgot. Luke drove up just a few minutes later. He had a stern expression as he drove in next to her car but smirked once out of the car.

Valerie smiled, relieved that he wasn’t too upset with her. She handed him the keys then gave him a quick hug. “Thank you so much for doing this. I owe you big time.”

He caught her hand as she pulled away and without warning, she locked into one of Luke’s stares. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve been meaning to ask you, did you ever finish your painting?”

Feeling a bit uncomfortable, but at the same time surprised that he remembered, Valerie smiled. “Almost. I didn’t have any time to work on it this week. But it just needs some final touches, then I gotta get it framed.”

“I know where you can get a good deal. Remind me when we’re back at the office. I’ll give you their card.”

Valerie remembered all the expensive artwork in Luke’s house. She hadn’t unveiled her painting to anyone yet. Not even Isabel. It was still sitting back in the closet at her apartment. She planned to make some time next week to work on it, then take it in to get it framed. The wedding was next week. It was crunch time, but she hoped to get someone’s opinion on it first. She was still so nervous about it. Maybe she could show it to her dad once she framed it.

“Thanks, I will.” Luke still held her hand and Valerie tugged it away. “I really appreciate you saving me like this. I gotta go—I was already running late before you called.”

She rushed to the church, making a few unnecessary sharp turns along the way. Fortunately, it seemed they were running late at the church as well. Things had just started when she got there. Alex’s eyes questioned her late arrival but she told him she’d explain later.

After the rehearsal, they headed to the restaurant for the dinner. Her visit to the restaurant to explain the offer had been so nerve-racking she hadn’t even noticed the pictures on the walls near the bar area. She slowed to examine them.

“Wow, so many.” Valerie remembered a few pictures of local little league teams hanging on the wall back in the days. Now, two entire walls displayed not only pictures of teams thanking the restaurant for their sponsorship, but awards as well.

“They’ve accumulated over the years.” Alex made light of it, but Valerie was impressed. Many of the photos appeared to be team parties in the new banquet rooms Alex had told her about. He was in most of the photos surrounded by adoring mini football players wearing their jerseys. Their smiles were big and they seemed to be relishing the moment next to Alex as if he were some kind of celebrity.

Valerie noted the majority of the dates on the pictures were in the last year. Then she saw the pictures of him with a team on the field and the inscription, To Coach Moreno, the best coach ever! There were names scribbled all over it.

She turned to him in surprise. “You coached?”

“Coach.” He pulled her by the hand away from the wall and toward the dining room where the dinner awaited. “I’m only taking a break right now from coaching because this damn wedding has tied up just about every weekend of mine. But the season doesn’t start for a couple months, so, I’ll be good by then.”