On the torturous ride to the restaurant, she called Isabel who tried in vain to calm her. “I can’t do this.” Valerie’s voice almost trembled. She squeezed the steering wheel with both hands.
Isabel’s voice came into her earpiece loud and clear. “Listen to me, hon. You can and you will. Remember what your dad always says: Everything happens for a reason. This is going to make you stronger. Every time you see him you’ll gain a little more control over your emotions around him. He’s just another guy. Remember that.”
Oh, but he was so much more. This guy owned her heart and soul. Seeing him last night only confirmed that further. She drove into the parking lot of the restaurant, amazed at how different it looked. Sarah told her about the renovations, but she hadn’t expected this much of a change. The place was huge and they were going to expand even further?
She took a deep breath hoping for some more words of comfort from Isabel. “All right, I’m here.”
“Be strong, Valerie. You’re a professional. Go in there and do your thing as if he were any other client.”
Sarah and Angel had driven there also. They parked and got out of the car giving Valerie little time to prepare herself. She stepped out of the car, upset that her legs felt so damned weak. Even though Sarah insisted she didn’t have to dress up, she was glad now she decided to wear a pant suit and do her hair anyway.
Her stomach roiled wild with anxiety. The three of them walked in the front door. The renovations were amazing. Valerie stopped just inside the doorway, taking in the beauty of the restaurant. The family had never spared any expense on decorating, making it into one of La Jolla’s most breathtaking establishments. Elaborate archways like the ones you only saw in old Mexican movies or paintings separated the rooms. Multi-colored clay pots overflowing with bright flowers and shrubs adorned every corner and crevice.
Painted murals of scenery from the old country covered the brick walls. As an artist, she could appreciate the amazing talent of whoever painted them. It must’ve taken months. One of them took up an entire wall. It was a portrait of an old Mexican town. The detail was astounding, from the mules that stood tied outside the quaint brick buildings to the children that played in the dirt road.
They walked through one of the archways and into the bigger dining room she remembered so fondly. The place was packed. Sunday brunch was always like this. The delectable smell of spices and hand made tortillas brought back bittersweet memories. She shook them off and continued walking.
Her eyes gazed incredibly at all the changes they made. All this in one year? It was unbelievable. Valerie was transfixed by another mural. This one was a close up of an old Mexican woman making corn tortillas by hand. Every detail, even of the wrinkles around her smiling eyes, was remarkable.
Feminine giggling finally pulled her attention away from the mural. She turned to see Alex and one of the waitresses carrying on. His back was to her but it was plain as day. He was flirting, and the girl ate it up.
Immediately she was immersed in a blaze of jealousy. It infuriated her that after all this time she cared so much it hurt. But she needed this—a reminder of why she could not, would not allow him back in her life.
“Alex you ready?”
Alex spun around at the sound of Angel’s voice. Valerie stood tall. Alex turned back and said something to the waitress. The waitress quickly walked into the kitchen. He brought his attention back to them and his eyes met Valerie’s. Even from a distance, they were so piercing that her determination almost faltered. Almost.
CHAPTER 8
As usual, Alex was nearly incapable of keeping his eyes off Valerie. Even as she pulled her reading glasses on and was all business, he couldn’t stop the thoughts that invaded his mind. She helped herself to a plate of food from the buffet and tortured him with every bite she took. He’d always loved watching her eat. To Valerie eating was like an aphrodisiac. She loved eating and practically made love to every bite.
He hardly heard a word she said. They were sitting at one of the booths in the back dining room that wasn’t opened up anymore, now that brunch was nearly over. It was just her, Sal and himself. No part of her was exposed except her face and her hands and he had a throbbing hard on the entire time. It was madness. Even her perfectly manicured fingers drove him crazy. All he could think of as she flayed them around haphazardly pointing from her laptop to the paperwork was the many times those very fingers had dug into his back.
Then like a brick shattering a window, an image of her with Luke broke through into his thoughts and he almost growled. Both Valerie and Sal stopped and looked at him.
“What the hell’s your problem?” Sal asked.
“We can change the numbers.” Valerie started typing on her laptop. “I told your dad that. I’m just saying with property like this in this area-”
“It’s fine.” Alex strained to speak. “The offer’s fine, Val.” Maybe if she didn’t drive him so completely insane he’d actually know what the offer was.
“I think so too.” Sal added standing up. “Sounds good to me, Valerie. If Alex is good with it also, go ahead and send it over.”
Sal patted Alex on the shoulder in an entirely obvious gesture that this was his chance to talk to her. He thanked Valerie for going over the offer and excused himself, explaining it was Angel’s day off and he had to relieve him now.
Valerie stood up and started packing up her things in what seemed too much of a rush.
“You got somewhere to be?” Someone to see? Alex’s hand fisted involuntarily.