She smiled. “It’s official.”
Jeff laughed, and Alicia wanted to capture that laugh and let it wash over her when she’d need it the most.
His phone rang, and he glanced at it.
“You can get it,” she said. “I mean, I’ve kept you long enough from work.” She hadn’t meant to look at the screen on his phone, but when she saw the name Paige, Alicia had the impression it wasn’t a work call.
“Uh, it’s not work,” Jeff said, staring at the phone like he was in a trance.
“Oh, your girlfriend.” Alicia waved at the phone. “Seriously, you can answer it. I won’t make a peep.”
But the phone had stopped ringing.
“Do you want to call her back?”
Jeff finally met her gaze. “Paige and I have been dating, but it’s not all that serious,” he said, his tone sounding uncomfortable.
His phone started ringing again, and Alicia couldn’t help but look at the screen. Paige, again.
“Hang on,” Jeff said, opening his door and jumping out. He shut the door, then answered his phone.
Alicia might have felt offended that he didn’t want her to overhear his conversation, but it wasn’t really any of her business. She and Jeff were just becoming reacquainted, and while she’d told him some personal things about her mom, they really didn’t know each other. So what did she expect? It was nearly dark, and the deer were moving back into the trees to find their warm copse for the night.
She watched Jeff pace in the packed snow, his breath looking like white smoke. He didn’t look happy. Paige seemed to be a high-maintenance woman, and Alicia wondered what Jeff saw in her besides her obviously perfect looks. Alicia knew she shouldn’t judge. It wasn’t like her own life was all that great. And maybe Paige was an amazing person beneath her immaculate veneer.
But watching Jeff pace, and the tense set of his broad shoulders, made her wonder if things weren’t how they seemed between Jeff and Paige. Even beautiful people had problems, she decided.
Jeff walked back toward the SUV, apparently off his phone call with Paige. He opened the door and climbed in, then started the ignition. When he didn’t put the SUV into drive, Alicia said, “Is everything all right?”
He didn’t say anything for a minute. Then he looked over at her, and Alicia could clearly see the stress on his face. “Not really,” he said at last. “We broke up.”
Alicia blinked. “Just now?”
He gave a slow nod. “At least, I think so.” He leaned his head against the seat and closed his eyes.
Alicia looked away from his handsome, but tortured profile. Had he been in love with Paige? Had she dumped him, or was it the other way around? Or were they one of those on-again, off-again couples?
“I’m sorry,” she said, because no matter which way the break-up happened, it would still be an emotional drain.
“Me too.” He opened his eyes and put the SUV into drive. He drove across the clearing, then along the groomed trail. When they reached the parking lot, it was empty, and he picked up speed as they pulled onto the canyon road.
Alicia didn’t dare press for more details about Paige or the break-up; it wasn’t like they were best friends anymore. She wondered what would happen after he dropped her off at her house. Would he ask for her number? Would they keep in touch? Or would their friendship be reduced to liking each other’s pictures on social media?
The thought made her feel numb. The past couple of hours with Jeff had been cathartic. And it was all about to end. He was obviously going through some drama, and she had no right to put her burdens on him.
Although the heater of the SUV quickly warmed up the interior, Alicia stayed burrowed in her coat, keeping herself isolated from a rush of past feelings. Feelings of protectiveness of Jeff, feelings of wanting to spend more time with him, feelings of what it was like to have a best friend. She had to forget all of that, and the sooner, the better.
Jeff watched Alicia walk into her mom’s house. When she shut the front door, he backed out of the driveway. The house looked like it could use some outside repairs, and from Alicia’s explanations about her mom, he assumed the inside probably could as well. Jeff wasn’t much of a handyman, but he could call up his friend Grant, who was an expert craftsman and ran a construction business with his brother-in-law. Jeff had hired Grant to do fix ups before, and he could ask him to give the Waters a good deal, or Jeff could even pay for it himself. Alicia’s mom was on a fixed income, and Alicia probably wasn’t raking in the money working at the restaurant.
Helping out Alicia was the least he could do. A sort of apology, he supposed, even though Alicia had told him he didn’t owe her anything. He knew she’d refuse if he offered, so he’d just set it up. Except now he was hesitating. The drive back from the ski resort had been quiet, and that had been Jeff’s fault. His mood had plummeted after being railed on by Paige. And he couldn’t come up with something inane to talk about with Alicia.
When he’d told Paige he wanted to meet somewhere and talk, she’d immediately set in on him, asking him point blank if he was breaking up with her. No matter how many times he said he’d rather talk in person, she dragged his confession out of him. And when he did admit, over the phone, that he wanted to call things off, she’d gone ballistic.
The names she called him hadn’t been deserved. Their recent dates had been more and more tense, filled with complaints from Paige about how little time they spent together and how busy Jeff was. The more time he spent with Paige, the more he realized they had little in common. When he told her that he didn’t want to be with someone who didn’t trust him and constantly questioned him about ex-girlfriends, Paige had told him that he’d always be a playboy. She asked him when he’d ever dated someone more than a few months.
He couldn’t answer that, because he’d never dated anyone more than a few months.
As he pulled up to his office, he saw that Clara was already gone. A couple more texts had come in from her with questions about the Jensens’ offer, but he hadn’t replied yet. He parked and unlocked the back door. The stray cat was nowhere to be seen—it was probably out enjoying the night life, or whatever cats did with their night vision.
As he turned on the lights, then the laptop, he wondered if Paige was right. Was he a playboy? His longest friendship with a girl/woman had been with Alicia, but he’d blown that in high school. As he pulled up the Jensens’ offer, he wondered if maybe he hadn’t allowed himself to be serious with a woman because of Alicia.
He sat back in his chair and sighed. That was ridiculous. Until last night, he hadn’t seen or spoken to her for ten years. He just hadn’t found someone he could see himself spending the rest of his life with. It wasn’t that he was a playboy, he was just . . . still looking.
Focus. His brain was starting to feel numb, and he wanted to get this offer submitted before he crashed. He read through what Clara had put together, adjusted a handful of things, then emailed it to the seller. Then he texted Clara to let her know that it was submitted and there was a forty-eight-hour contingent on the offer.
Done.
Jeff yawned and stretched. He should really go through the rest of his emails and return some texts. But most people had called it a day—most normal people who had families or social lives. He propped his chin on his hands and closed his eyes for a moment. He was grateful that Alicia had stopped to talk to him, that she’d shared her troubles, and that they’d begun a friendship. At least, he hoped they had. Was this afternoon a one-time thing?
When he’d dropped her off, they hadn’t made any plans to meet again. They hadn’t exchanged numbers. Jeff should have asked for her number, but would that have been too forward or presumptuous?
Had Paige’s accusations been right? Was he only a playboy when it came to women? Or could he be a good friend? He hoped he could be a friend to Alicia. In the morning, he’d call Grant and see what he could arrange to get some work done on the Waters house. Or maybe he should reach out to Grant to
night.
That was his last thought before Jeff realized he’d fallen asleep with his head resting on his arms atop his desk. He lifted his head and looked around. He felt disoriented, and he looked at the decorative clock on the wall. It was 1:00 a.m. The lights were still on, but the laptop had powered off. And something was rustling in the back room.
Jeff froze, listening. Had someone broken in? Surely a robber wouldn’t break in when the office lights were on. He rose to his feet, his body and neck stiff from sleeping at a desk. Then he heard a meow.
The cat. It walked out of the back room and meowed again.
“How did you get in here?” Jeff said, peering down at the scraggly calico. He walked toward it, but it turned and trotted to the back door. Jeff followed and opened the door, and the cat darted out. Probably to use the bathroom.
He walked into the back room and flipped on the light. The corner where Clara kept the cat food looked like the cat had helped himself. And apparently the cat had slept on a padded folding chair, if the stray hair was any indication.
Jeff shook his head. How had he come to this? Falling asleep in his office? Chasing down Alicia. Breaking up with Paige. Running on empty?
He turned off the office lights and exited the building, locking up the place. Then he jumped into his cold SUV and made the drive back home. He probably wouldn’t be able to get any real sleep, but at least he could get cleaned up and not scare away his clients.
After his shower, he found enough fixings to make a double-decker sandwich, and he sat at the granite island of his kitchen. His home had undergone extensive renovations before he’d moved into it. He appreciated the space compared to his former condo, but right now it felt cavernous and empty. Lonely somehow, like him.
He didn’t understand his emotions. He’d wanted to break things off with Paige, so it wasn’t as if he was missing her. Far from it. He was relieved. He felt like he was missing someone though, and the couple of hours with Alicia had made him feel less alone.
Jeff blew out a breath. He had to stop letting his thoughts circle. He had too much to do without letting himself get sidetracked.
He picked up his phone, thinking about sending Alicia a message to tell her about Grant and some of the work he could do on the outside of her house. He didn’t know if she’d be appreciative or defensive. But he didn’t have her cell number, so his only choice was to message her through Facebook.
It was 2:00 a.m. now, and if she noticed the time stamp, she might think he was creepy. Or a work-a-holic, which he readily admitted, and Paige hated about him. So he sent a message anyway: Hey, I hope work went well tonight. I forgot to get your cell number, so, you know, we could be friends.
Simple. Casual. Light-hearted.
He’d just finished off his sandwich when his phone dinged. He picked it up; Alicia had messaged him back.
Do you have insomnia or something? Here’s my number . . . What’s yours?
Jeff grinned. He opened his contacts and put in her number. Then he sent her a text: This is Jeff. And I fell asleep at the office last night. So here I am. Wide awake.
Her reply: Jeff who?
He laughed. Funny. Do you have insomnia?
She didn’t reply back right away, so he cleaned up the kitchen while he waited. When his phone rang, he was shocked to see her name pop up on the screen. He took a breath before answering. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
He leaned against the counter, trying to summon up every bit of casualness he could to counteract the racing of his pulse. It was just Alicia. The girl he’d grown up with. “Can’t sleep? Or are you usually up this early?” He didn’t want to tell her he knew about her early morning trips to the dumpster.
“Can’t sleep,” she said.
Her voice sounded a little scratchy to Jeff. Sexy, actually. But he focused on the scratchy description. “How was the restaurant?”
“Busy,” she said. “But not as busy as Valentine’s was. Gwen wasn’t on shift, so it seemed like the hours crawled by.”
“I wouldn’t know,” Jeff said, moving from the kitchen to the living room, where he settled on the couch. “I was having a nice nap at my desk.”
Her laughter was soft. “How’s your neck?”
“Painful.” He leaned back on the couch. “I should probably take Advil or something.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever fallen asleep at a desk.”
“Not even in college?”
“Nope,” she said, amusement in her voice. “I’m talented enough to make it to my bed.”
Jeff smiled. “How do you know it doesn’t take talent to fall asleep at a desk? I mean, you have to be able to sleep and not fall off your chair.”
“That’s true.”
He could hear the smile in her voice.
“But the real question is, can you sleep on planes?” she asked.
“I can, and I have,” Jeff proclaimed.
“Then you definitely win,” Alicia said.
“What do I win?” he asked.
“The prize for being a talented sleeper.”
Jeff laughed. He had forgotten how much he loved talking to Alicia. He’d missed her. He’d missed this. “Are you working tomorrow, I mean, today?”
“Yeah, I work every night,” she said. “It’s my break from my mom, so I don’t mind. Ironic, huh?”
“So not much of a night life, I guess,” Jeff said.
“No, I live vicariously through everyone who comes to the restaurant,” Alicia said with a self-deprecating laugh. “Sometimes I hang out with Gwen when our schedules work out. I’m sort of a pathetic friend, so you might want to rethink us.”
“I don’t believe you for a moment,” Jeff said. “You’re pretty amazing, Alicia.”
Was Jeff flirting with her? Alicia brushed off his “amazing” compliment. She wasn’t fishing for compliments anyway. When he’d messaged her his number on Facebook, she didn’t know why she decided to call him. It just seemed so juvenile to trade messages when they could talk on the phone. Now that they were talking, Alicia had curled beneath the pile of blankets on her bed—there were never any shortages of blankets in her house, thanks to her mom.
Whether or not Jeff was flirting, or just being nice, she loved listening to the low tones of his voice coming through the phone. His adult voice was familiar, yet different too—deeper, richer, masculine.
“You’ve always been generous with the compliments,” Alicia told him, trying to deflect the uncomfortableness that grew inside when people complimented her.
“Telling you that you’re amazing isn’t a compliment,” he said. “It’s the plain truth. Don’t tell me you still can’t take a compliment after all these years?”
“Well, I don’t have a problem with compliments in general, especially when they’re earned.”
“Look,” Jeff said. “Not that I want to argue with you, but you just left your entire life behind to come home and take care of your mom. If that’s not amazing, then I don’t know what is.”
His tone was teasing, but Alicia didn’t want to be complimented on this part of her life. She should have probably let it drop, told him thank you, and asked him about his work or something. Instead she said, “It’s not amazing when I’m probably making it worse. Yeah, I’m keeping her out of jail—at least, I think I am—it’s not like I’m here twenty-four-seven. But I’ve caused her plenty of grief and interfered with her routine. Just because I’m here doesn’t mean I’m the most loving and compassionate daughter. I know it causes her even more anxiety to have someone in the house, touching her stuff, moving things around, and she’s always paranoid I’m going to throw something away . . . which I’ve done plenty of times, although I’m pretty good at hiding it.”
But Jeff wasn’t buying it. “Of course it’s hard, and of course you have some resentment. The amazing part I’m talking about is that you are there, you are trying, and you haven’t given up.”
“Yet.” Alicia didn’t know why she was being so n
egative, but something about Jeff made her feel safe to be vulnerable—at least about this.
He gave a half-laugh. “Yet? Even if you left tomorrow, you’ve been helping her for months. That’s pretty incredible in my book, sweetheart.”
She knew he wasn’t calling her sweetheart in any romantic way, but the endearment filled her with warmth. She thought about what she’d done for her mother over the past few months. It hadn’t been perfect, but Alicia had been there. “Thank you, Jeff,” she finally said. It felt good to have someone acknowledge her sacrifice and her love for her mom. Jeff’s words had made her feel stronger and like she wasn’t so alone in all of this.
“So, how are you doing?” she asked, pulling a pillow against her chest. “I mean, you just broke up with your girlfriend, and here I am, unloading my problems onto you.”
“I’m fine,” he said. “It’s just been a crazy week, and the thing with Paige is just another situation to add to the mess.”
“The mess?” Alicia asked. Was she a part of that mess?
“I’ve got court in a few hours where a judge will determine whether or not my former business partner has to pay back the $400,000 he embezzled from our company, or if it’s money that was owed to him.” Jeff exhaled. “Long story, but I’m hoping that after court I can finally get back to normal.”
“Wow,” she said. “I’m really sorry. Was your partner doing real estate with you?”
“Yeah,” Jeff said. “Remember my cousin Kyle?”
She had a vague recollection of a blond kid who used to stare at her a lot when he came to visit the Finch family. “I do.”
“He was my partner,” he said, some bitterness in his voice. “Didn’t think I could go wrong with family. We both put in some of our own money to start up our own real estate company a few years ago when Pine Valley was starting to explode. I also got a business loan under my name so we could cover office rent and other business expenses while waiting for commissions to come in. Kyle had the degree in business finance, so he was co-owner and CFO. I’m the people person, so I worked with most of the clients. Kyle was on vacation with his wife when I met a new client for lunch. I used the business credit card, and when it was declined, I didn’t think much of it. Later I texted Kyle to tell him that the balance must be low since the card was declined. I asked him to transfer some money from our business loan into the business checking account if needed. We had a couple of big commissions coming in, but they hadn’t funded yet.”
Worth the Risk Page 5