But now he couldn’t get Valerie out of his head. It didn’t make sense. He’d always known she drove him crazy but he always told himself it was more physical than anything. What he felt at the party was different. Very different. He couldn’t even hang around after she told him about her boyfriend.

Normally, his reaction to any thoughts of her with another man was instinctive carnal rage. This time it was different from the rage he’d felt before, something he never had in the past. Suddenly, he hadn’t been able to bear even looking at her, knowing she belonged to someone else. This time his rage had been accompanied by an unexplained ache. An ache that settled in his heart and hadn’t left since.

He hadn’t gotten much sleep and had been in a hell of mood all week. Today he’d worked a full day at the restaurant, staying as busy as he could. It wasn’t hard. It was non stop all day. Sundays were always that way.

They were closed now. As usual he was working late, avoiding going back to his empty home at all costs. He glanced at his cell phone that sat on the desk and picked it up. Knowing the shower was just around the corner, Alex hadn’t tried calling her in a while. He wondered if maybe after seeing him at the shower she’d pick up.

He stared at it thinking about what he’d say to her. All the other times he’d called her since their falling out he hadn’t given it much thought. Now he was a mess. He dialed and held his breath. As usual the call went to voicemail and Alex sat frozen at the sound of her voice. It was the damnedest thing. Her voicemail hadn’t changed since the last time he called, yet just hearing her voice now made his heart speed up. He hung up without leaving a voicemail acutely aware of the thud in his chest. What the hell?

CHAPTER 3

This was the second time this week Valerie was running late. It wasn’t like her, but her mind had been so muddled lately. Her phone rang. Thankfully she glanced at the caller I.D. before automatically answering. She froze when she read Bruce Nash. She knew he’d been out for weeks but really prayed she wouldn’t hear from him.

Bruce was a perfect example of what happens when you go out in hopes of forgetting someone. He was the reason Valerie stopped frequenting night clubs and going out, period.

After weeks of wallowing over Alex last year, she’d finally taken the plunge and went out again. She met Bruce at a night club that evening. They exchanged information, and with the encouragement of Isabel, she decided to take him up on his offer of going for coffee.

She mistook his overbearing personality for intensity, something she’d always loved about Alex. But after only a few weeks of seeing Bruce, it became clear that his overbearing personality might actually be detrimental. Alex may have been hard as nails on the outside, but she was one of the few people who knew how soft and wonderful he was on the inside. Never once had she felt threatened by him.

Bruce was different altogether. Something disturbed her about the way his anger seemed to control him. He became a different person and more than once had to apologize for his outbursts.

They’d only gone out for several weeks. Then after he showed up at her place enraged and under the influence of something that appeared to be more than just alcohol, she called it off. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine the nightmare that would ensue. When it was over she’d all but sworn off men.

Valerie waited to see if he’d leave a message. He didn’t. Her insides grew heavy. She could only pray that now that he was out, the nightmare wouldn’t start all over again.

She turned into the parking lot of the building she was going to show. The clients were already standing outside.

Valerie smiled at the two men in suits as she pulled her car in next to theirs. Doing her best to snap out of the sudden plunge in her mood, she smiled brightly at her clients. She got out and apologized for her late arrival. Within minutes she was back to her energetic self showing them the property.

When she returned to her office, Luke, her office manager, was waiting for her at the door. He had a big smile on his face and she had a feeling she knew why.

“Lemon Ridge just closed.”

“You’re kidding?”

“No, it’s a done deal, baby.” He opened the door for her. “I was about to call you.”

Valerie had closed a lot of deals since she’d gotten her license, but this was by far the largest. She’d been working on it for months. As soon as she put her things down on her already cluttered desk she did a little dance and hugged Luke.

“God, I’m so glad that’s over. That was such a pain.”

Luke smiled. “But totally worth it. And you know what? You’ll probably get a lot more clients in that range because of it.”

That’s exactly what she was banking on. She’d worked so hard on that one, going back and forth with the sellers and then the lenders. This was her ticket to making a name for herself in the commercial world of real estate. It felt so good when her hard work finally paid off.

“So, are you done for the day?”

Valerie smiled even bigger. “Actually, my clients wanna make a full price offer on the La Jolla building. I was going to write it up now.”

“Impressive, Val. I knew you’d be good the moment I met you.” Luke looked at his watch. “Do it in the morning, though. Let’s go get a drink to celebrate.”

Luke had been suggesting they go have a drink for months now. Valerie had a feeling by the way he looked at her sometimes that it wasn’t just a friendly offer. She’d always made one excuse after another not to go out with him. But it had been weeks since the shower and she’d been in a funk ever since. She finally had something to smile about. What the heck.