Always Been Mine

  Isabel’s eyes were opened wide. “Alright, so, he’s not usually the type of guy I date.”

  “Ah ha! You said it. It is a date.” Isabel’s expression was warning enough. Valerie attempted to hide the smirk.

  “Valerie. I don’t want him to think I’m all into him. I just thought it’d be interesting to try something new.” She dabbed at her eyes trying to remove some of the makeup.

  “Stop that. It looks really great.”

  There was a knock on the door, and Isabel turned to Valerie with a look of sheer panic. Valerie grinned but couldn’t help feeling guilty that she’d managed to take Isabel’s mood from dancing and smiling giddy to an anxious mess. “Relax. You wanna get that, or shall I?”

  “You get it.” Isabel rushed into her bedroom.

  Damn. Why did she have to open her big mouth? Valerie hoped Isabel wasn’t changing. But she hadn’t even finished saying hello to Romero when Isabel was already out of the room. She’d just gone in to grab a jacket and her purse.

  Romero’s expression was almost comical. He’d never been discreet about anything. If she thought she saw something in the way Romero looked at Isabel at the party, there was no doubt about it now. Isabel wouldn’t be walking away from this one as easily as she thought.

  Romero didn’t look too shabby himself. He wore a Padre t-shirt that hugged him pretty well. He was obviously still working out as much as she remembered he used to. There was no way Isabel could not notice that.

  After awkward hellos and goodbyes, they were out the door and Valerie stuck her nose through the curtains. Even with Isabel’s heels, Romero was half a head taller than her. They made a really cute couple and Valerie giggled as she texted Isabel to tell her.

  She walked back to her room to get ready for her own date with Luke. Even though things were beginning to look positive, Valerie couldn’t help feeling a dull ache in her heart. She was really counting on Luke to help her get rid of it. She needed to remind herself to stop comparing him to Alex. As much as she hated to admit it, no one would ever live up to him. She may as well, stop hoping someone would, and accept Luke for the man that he was.

  *

  The restaurant was busy as it always was lately. With renovations done and the construction all cleared out, Alex and his older brother Sal started a campaign on the internet. They even ran a commercial twice a day on the local radio station.

  Because Angel and Sarah were already looking for a place to lease to open their restaurant as soon as they got married, Sal had plans of possibly making the restaurant some kind of chain eventually. But he didn’t want it to be too commercial. He wanted to keep the authentic quality his parents had created with the same recipes. Alex had no doubt he could do it.

  Sal was by far the most driven of the three brothers. Alex and Angel had gone to college because it was expected of them. Their dad hadn’t given them a choice. But Sal loved it. Even though he was the oldest, he was still in school.

  He went to school in Los Angeles, so, he stayed out there and only came home on the weekends. But lately he’d been coming home less and less. His schedule was heavier. He was really trying to finish up school faster, so he’d taken on a full load the past couple of semesters. That’s why Alex had been surprised to see him at the restaurant that morning.

  He supervised all day and put in his two cents on everything. Alex didn’t mind. Sal knew what he was talking about. He’d helped his dad run the place for years, so Alex welcomed the help. Alex made in the excel sheets for payroll and scheduling. He’d expected Sal to be pleased but hadn’t expected just how impressed he’d been.

  Alex was in the back room showing Sal more of the changes he’d made when Angel walked in.

  “Hey, did you hear about next door?” Angel asked.

  Both Alex and Sal turned to face him. “What about it?” Alex hadn’t noticed much of anything lately.

  “Old man Mason is finally gonna retire. I ran into his son this morning. They’re putting the place up for sale.”

  Alex and Sal exchanged knowing glances. They’d been waiting for this for years. If they bought the place, they could expand the restaurant further out to allow for a bigger bar area. Already the place had gained so much popularity. The weekend evening crowd had outgrown it.

  “He owns the place right? He’s not leasing?” Alex knew what Sal was getting at because it was exactly what he was thinking. They’d make him an offer before it even went on the market.

  “I’m one step ahead of you brother.” Angel grinned. “They already signed the papers with the listing agent. So, it’s scheduled to go on the market this week.”

  Alex sat up. “It’s not gonna last. That’s prime location.” He could kick himself for being so damn distracted. He should’ve known about this sooner. If he’d just gone over there more like he used to, he might’ve gotten the inside scoop sooner.

  “So, call Valerie.” Sal said standing up.

  “Already did.” Angel walked over and opened up one of the cabinets. “Well, Sarah did anyway.”

  “Whoa, wait.” For some unknown reason that made Alex uncomfortable. “Why Valerie?”

  Angel turned back to him. “Why not? She’s handling finding a place for the new restaurant. Plus she’s good.” He pulled out a file and waved it at him. “Matter of fact, we’re meeting with her tomorrow to walk through a few properties. Dad’s coming with us. She’ll bring the paperwork for the offer dad needs to sign.”

  Sal gave Angel a high five. “Way to handle it.”

  “That fast?” Alex asked. “Doesn’t it have to actually be on the market for us to make an offer?”

  “Nope, Sarah said Valerie told her it wouldn’t be a problem. She’d take care of everything.” Angel winked at him. “Told you she’s good.”

  Angel grabbed his keys from the desk. “I’m gotta go pick up Sarah. We’re going to drive by some of these properties first.” He waved the file at Alex and Sal again. “No sense in having Valerie walk us through something if we don’t even like the location.”

  Both Angel and Alex made an exit. He needed to work off some tension. Just thinking about being around Valerie again tensed his muscles to no end.

  After working out Alex was tempted to go back to the restaurant. He wanted to avoid sitting around his place brooding. But he knew Sal had things covered. The one thing he couldn’t get out of his mind tonight was what Valerie had said. She’d only been involved with someone else for a few weeks. Maybe it wasn’t too late to change her mind. Maybe, if he’d finally just come clean about why he’d always been so elusive all those years.

  He had to really think this through. Is that really what he wanted? A relationship with her? All those years he could have had one but they both chose not to.

  He knew one of the main reasons was time. Or was it? Now that he’d cut down on school so drastically, and football was out, things could definitely be different between them. If only she’d answer her phone or at least return his calls. He stopped leaving messages long ago. He was pretty sure she didn’t bother listening to them. All the messages he left always came out wrong anyway.

  When he got home, he busied himself. He had a ton of laundry to catch up on and he got right on it. He was hardly ever home, so, there wasn’t much else to clean in between loads.

  He made himself a protein drink and sat down to watch T.V. After flipping the through the channels and finding nothing that interested him, he turned it off and let his head fall back. He stared at the ceiling for a while, trying to put his feelings into prospective.

  Was seeing Valerie at the shower really that caustic? Or had he been in denial all this time? This was insane. He was fine with the way things were until that damn shower.

  He checked his watch. It was still early. He considered going back to the restaurant again, and then it hit him. He’d hardly been home alone since Valerie stopped coming around. The only time he was ever home was when he had to study or sleep. The rest of the time he kept himself busy el
sewhere.

  Between the therapy for his ankle and trying to prove he could not only run the restaurant, he could do it well, the past year had been a blur of going back and forth, spending little to no time at home. Hell, he’d even opted to spend the night at his parents more than a few times rather than come back to his empty house. He could hardly stand to be here now.

  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.

  He caught up to her and they walked out side by side. “Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”

  Valerie forced a laugh. “I’ve no reason to keep anything from you.”

  After making sure she locked the door securely, she headed back to her car but Bruce stepped in front of her. She took an irritated, but cautious step back and glared at him.

  “Can you give me a sec, please?”

  It would be dark soon, the parking lot was empty, and she knew she was no match for him. At this point she didn’t know what to expect, so, she decided to play along. That had always worked in the past.

  “Okay, you have a sec.”

  He exhaled and frowned. “First of all, I want to apologize.” He reached for her hand and she flinched, taking another step back.

  “Apology accepted.” She tried to walk around him.

  “I’m not done.” He said firmly. The crazed look in his eyes brought back memories of her past with him. “Tell me something. This guy’s different than Alex, isn’t he? Is that the attraction?”

  Valerie took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself. Before things blew up between her and Bruce she shared with him about Alex. Of course that was before she uncovered the truth about him, and only after he opened up to her about what she now knew was a fake past. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Sure you do.” He took a step forward. “Alex never appreciated what he had. Luke does and you’re falling for him right?”

  He couldn’t be further from the truth, but maybe if he thought so, he’d leave her alone.

  “Maybe.”

  The glimmer in his eyes went from smug back to crazed in a moment. “I see it, Valerie. See it in the way you look at him. It’s what you’ve always wanted isn’t it? A man who would want you and only you?”

  She nodded this time without another word. Her mind raced trying to think of a way to get away from him.

  “You’ll be in love soon. But before that you owe me first.”

  “Owe you, for what?” Her voice almost trembled.

  “For ruining my life. You know I
can’t even get a job now? Can’t see my kids.” His feral eyes took her in up and down. He cupped his hand to her chin as the corners of his lips rose slowly. “Oh, yeah, you owe me.”

  His tone made her think of how easily he could go from calm to crazy in a matter of seconds. Valerie held her breath. She didn’t even know he had kids. She felt even stupider now for having gotten involved with a man she knew so little about.

  It was dark now and the headlights of a car coming toward them made them both turn to it. Valerie took advantage of the distraction and started toward her car. The car was still moving in their direction. Bruce didn’t follow her.

  He didn’t say anything until she was almost at her car. There was no hiding the disdain in his voice. “You ruined my life, Valerie.” His voice rose with every word. “You decide how you’re going to make it up to me, the easy way or the hard way. Just remember darling, it will happen.”

  Valerie glanced at him as she got in the car but didn’t bother with a response. The car that distracted him was just passing through. She threw her car in reverse and skidded out of there. Once around the corner, what had just occurred sunk in, and she clutched her pounding chest. That could’ve been so much worse.

  It wasn’t until she adjusted the rearview mirror that she realized her hands were shaking. She squeezed her hand into a fist and placed it on her lap.

  Her phone vibrating in the cup holder made her jump again. One look at the caller ID and it confirmed what she had been dreading. Her nightmare was starting up all over again. She hit ignore and held her breath as she waited to see if Bruce would leave a message, but again he didn’t.