“Yeah, she better.”
Alex thought about what Lawrence had said as he fastened Valerie’s duffle in the back of his truck. If Romero hadn’t jumped him first he might’ve hurt the guy himself. He didn’t even mind the assumption the idiot made about him and Romero. But he wouldn’t stand there and let him insult Valerie.
Valerie was already in the passenger side when he got in his truck. “It wasn’t that big a deal,” she said as she fastened her seatbelt. “She only dated him a few times. She doesn’t have to tell Romero everything.”
Alex looked at her. “What more is there to tell?”
Valerie glanced at him and then out the window. “I just mean she could leave the details out. No need to get into anything explicit. It’ll just make him mad.”
Alex gripped the steering wheel and stared at Valerie. “Are we still talking about Isabel?”
Something resembling panic flashed in her eyes when she glanced at him again.“Of course.”
He tried shaking off the unease her last statement gave him as he drove. She must’ve sensed his tension, because she reached over and squeezed his thigh.
“I packed a lot of shoes.”
That straightened him out real quick. Now here was something he’d prefer to think about. He looked at his dash. It was still early. He had her all to himself for the rest of the evening. There was already movement in his pants.
*
Days later Valerie was still trying to grasp the enormous change her life had taken. Since it felt almost too good to be true. She cautioned herself about becoming too optimistic. Anything could happen.
She told Isabel that she would be staying with Alex a few days out of the week for now. But she did mention that he wanted her to move in. Isabel told her not to worry about it, she’d figure something out, but never once mentioned the possibility of Romero moving in. Valerie didn’t mention it either. She didn’t want Isabel thinking she was just trying to push the issue so that he could take over the lease. With Lawrence two doors down, she wasn’t sure Romero moving in would be such a good idea now anyway. One thing was for sure. She planned to pay Isabel her share of the bills every month until the lease was up.
Isabel called her the day after the Lawrence incident. She’d told Romero the whole truth about Lawrence which only made him madder. He said he couldn’t tell her who she could and couldn’t have over her place, but made it clear he wouldn’t be responsible for his reaction if he ever showed up and Lawrence was there again. Valerie told her she didn’t think he’d have to worry too much about that. She highly doubted after his embarrassing roll in the bushes Lawrence would ever come over to their place again.
They both got a good laugh about that. Then Isabel told her about the dinner with her family. It hadn’t gone as Well, as she hoped, especially since Romero knew Pat had set her up Friday night. He was in no mood to play nice and the dinner had been a bit tense. Nevertheless, she was glad it was over. Her family knew about him now and whether they approved or not Isabel had no intentions of breaking things off with Romero. Valerie assured her she’d done the right thing.
CHAPTER 18
Valerie had shown properties all morning. As usual, she was running late again. The wine tasting was tonight. Alex would be attending with her, and was probably already home getting ready.
On her way back to Alex’s, she got a call from a restricted number. Valerie hesitated to answer. She hadn’t heard from Bruce in days and hoped he had finally given up. There were two important phone calls she was waiting for from clients, and she didn’t want to chance missing them. She clicked the button and paused before saying hello.
“So, I see you switched from doing the boss to the steroid freak this week.” Bruce’s words were slurred. “You got me penciled in for next week?”
Valerie gripped the wheel. “Not if my life depended on it.”
“Well, it just might!” He went from calm and teasing to loud and wild in an instant. “I’m watching you, Val. It’s just a matter of time—”
She hung up before he got any more obnoxious. Her heart was pounding already she didn’t need to hear anymore. She glanced in her rearview mirror. The car behind her was too close. She sped up and so did the car. There was no making out if it was him but it was definitely a guy.
With her heart at her throat now, she panicked and grabbed her phone. She wasn’t even sure who to call. She didn’t want to alarm Alex. Calling the police was out of the question. What would she say? The car behind me is tailgating? The light turned yellow and she sped up to catch it. No way was she stopping. The car behind her sped up as well and took the yellow, as it turned red.
Valerie hit the speed dial and called Isabel’s cell. Just as Isabel answered, the car made a right on the street behind her. Valerie sighed in relief.
“Jesus!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, Bruce just called sounding all crazy. Then I got freaked out and thought someone was following me, but I was being paranoid.”
“Are you sure they weren’t?”
“Yeah,” She gulped. “I’m sure. They turned the other way.”
“What did Bruce want?”
“Same as always and to make sure I know he’s watching me.”
“Maybe you should get a restraining order, Valerie. We already know what he’s capable of. I still can’t believe they let him out so early.”