Romero assured him the guy was reliable and that his lips were sealed. They discussed it for a few more minutes until he heard his back door open and cut the call.

Valerie was still in her work suit and high heels. She looked good enough to eat. She leaned against the doorway. “You hungry?”

“Funny you should ask.”

She seemed puzzled. Alex chuckled. He’d explain later. “Yeah, actually I’m starving. You wanna order a pizza?”

Her excited expression made him laugh. He couldn’t help kissing her as soon as he reached her. “Go ahead. Just make sure you order enough. You eat as much as I do.”

***

They ate in his front room on the floor in front of the television. Valerie had changed into shorts and one of his T-shirts. Alex loved seeing her in his shirts. He especially loved the smell of her in his shirts later.

After a few slices and going over their plans for the next day, Alex was ready to get down to the business of Luke. The box of pizza sat on the coffee table and Valerie reached for another slice and then sat back down facing Alex, legs crossed in front of her.

“Tell me about this seminar you’re going to.”

Valerie glanced at him and took a swig of her beer. “The weekend after the wedding at that fancy resort on the marina.”

Alex always noticed Valerie would avoid eye contact whenever the conversation made her nervous. She was doing it now. Though she did her best to try to hide her unease, he could see it and it bothered him.

“And you’re going together? You and Luke?” Alex braced himself. He didn’t want to turn this into an argument, but this was her ex-boyfriend they were talking about. One she worked with on a daily basis. Based solely on the way he’d looked at Valerie at the wine tasting, the guy was far from over her.

“No.” Again with the glancing at anything but his eyes. “Well, originally that was the plan. But once I broke things off with him, I offered to give him the ticket back. He said he wanted me to have it.” She looked at him for a second then took another swig of her beer. “He did buy two tickets, and they weren’t cheap. So, we’re both still going, just not together.”

“What about the meet and greet? Luke said you’re both invited. Are you sure he doesn’t still think you guys are going together?”

Valerie shook her head. “No, I’m sure he means once there, we’ll meet up.”

Alex didn’t like the sound of that either. “Is this an all day thing?”

“All weekend.”

“What? You’re staying overnight?” That was definitely out of the question.

Valerie stood up and grabbed their empty beer bottles from the coffee table. Alex sensed she was getting irritated. That made two of them.

“Nope. He is. I’m not.”

“He told you he was staying the night?” Alex kept his eyes on her as she walked into the kitchen. He wouldn’t put it past Luke to casually mention something like that.

Valerie dropped the bottles in the trash. They crashed loudly as they hit the bottom. She opened the refrigerator. “He reserved a room when he bought the tickets.”

Alex straightened out literally feeling the rise in his temper. “I thought you said you never slept with him?”

“I didn’t.” There was no hiding her irritation now, but Alex didn’t care.

He stood up, no longer comfortable sitting. “Then why the room, Z?”

Valerie stared into the refrigerator without saying a word. Alex stalked toward her, his temper pushing with every step. “Why would he get a room if you two weren’t sleeping together?”

Rationally, he knew it shouldn’t matter. This was in her past. But he wanted it straight. What was the point in lying about it, unless she had reason to.

She finally turned and glared at him. “I don’t ask you about the girls you slept with while we were apart.”

He knew it. He f**king knew it. “So, you did sleep with him?”

“No. I didn’t.”

“Then why the room?” He wanted to believe her more than ever. It was hard enough to accept how much time she spent around Luke now. If she’d slept with him, it changed everything.

She finally closed the refrigerator doors and turned to him. “I don’t know, Alex. I guess he assumed we might be sleeping together by then. But I knew things were over between us the same night he gave those tickets to me. I broke things off the very next time I saw him.”

She didn’t avoid his eyes this time, instead looked straight at him. Every muscle in his body tensed up now.

“Sweetheart,” she said, reaching for his hand. “I’d tell you the truth if I had. But things were never that serious between us. I never felt anything for him.” She took his other hand and kissed his knuckles then stared in his eyes again. “I wanted to feel something for him. I really did.”

Alex didn’t want to hear that.

“But I couldn’t. Isabel kept assuring me I would eventually. It just never happened.” She slipped her arms around his waist and leaned her cheek against his chest. Alex couldn’t hold back hugging her as much as he was still feeling on edge. “All I could think about was you, Alex. The entire time I was with him, every embrace, every kiss.”

Alex pulled back. She’d killed it. “Stop, Z. I can barely handle the thought of you going out with that ass**le, much less the visual of him touching you.”

Valerie smiled at him, lopsided. “How ‘bout we never talk about this again?”




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