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It was like she’d disappeared off the face of the planet.
But she was safe, he knew, having texted her Tuesday when he still hadn’t seen or heard from her only to be told in a short text she was staying at Daisy’s for the week.
It still hadn’t stopped him from cricking his neck every morning and every evening when he reached the parking garage, hoping for a glimpse of her or her car so he’d know she was back. He couldn’t help stepping off the elevator and wondering if he’d spot her, maybe getting her mail or getting some things from her place. But…nothing.
So he’d tried to fill his time with dates and parties and evenings out with his friends, anything to take his mind off the fact that he missed her.
He missed Benny. He missed her smile, her brilliant blue eyes, her sharp wit and way of cutting through the bullshit, the way she made him laugh, the ways she smelled and tasted…the list was endless.
Hell. He drew his hand through his hair. This entire week hadn’t gone anywhere near how it should have. With the letter from the home owners’ association confirming that all complaints against him had been withdrawn and there was no risk in the near future of any eviction, he was in the clear with the tabloids—and with the clients of his new big account. Combined with the satisfaction of landing that account and the nomination for best ad campaign, he should be on cloud nine.
Not feeling so totally lost.
He shoved the garbage bag down the chute and headed out, only to be completely taken aback to find Benny just a few feet way, on her way out of her place.
When had she come home?
She looked as stunned to see him as he probably did at seeing her. Another woman was with her, someone he didn’t recognize in a navy pantsuit and with a clipboard in her arms. A bit formal for a Saturday.
“Benny. Hey. You’re back,” he said, suddenly at a loss for anything clever or witty to say.
“Oh.” Her eyes darted from him, looking nervous. “I was just leaving, actually.”
She looked good. Tired, but good, if the shadows under her eyes were any indication.
“Hi, I’m Vivienne,” the woman at Benny’s side said too cheerfully, taking his hand in a firm shake. “Are you another resident?”
“Henry lives in the three-bedroom next door.”
“Really,” the woman said with a calculated gleam in her eye. “Why don’t I leave you my card, then.”
Her card?
He must have looked confused, because the woman laughed as she placed a card in his hand. He glanced down at it just as she clarified. “I’m a real estate agent. Dr. Sorensen has hired me to help get her place listed and on the market. You know, I have quite a number of clients who are interested in getting into this building, and they’d be positively rabid if they heard you were putting your place up on the market. How many square feet did you say you had?”
“I didn’t.” On the market? Benny was moving? He looked at her accusingly now. “I hadn’t realized that Dr. Sorensen was moving out. In fact, since it looks like you two are finished, maybe I could have a minute with Dr. Sorensen.”
This time Benny raised her eyes to meet his. “No. I’m afraid I have an appointment I have to make.”
Really? She was going to play it this way? He looked at her in accusation. Who was the coward now, he wanted to ask, but he bit back the accusation.
Although what exactly he hoped to say or tell her in privacy he didn’t know. Nothing that hadn’t already been said. Nothing that he could say.
The agent seemed to finally sense the tension in the air as she looked back and forth between them. “I can wait out here, if you two need—”
“That’s not necessary,” Benny assured her. “Henry, I really do have to go. I think we’ve said everything there is to say, don’t you?”
“I suppose.” Unless you counted the fact that he missed her and this distance was causing him all sorts of misgivings and doubts.
He just wanted her here. He wanted things the way they were. Her the way she was. And now, if she was actually putting this place up for sale, that wasn’t going to happen. Things were really…over.
She nodded, almost looking disappointed at his response. “Why don’t I walk you down,” she said to her Realtor, already dismissing him.
“Okay. It was nice meeting you, Henry. Don’t hesitate to call me if your real estate needs change,” the woman said, nodding to her card still in his hand before following Benny back down the hall.
“Benny.”
She stopped and turned, waiting for him to say something.
