AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You know Dean?”
“Who the hell doesn’t? We graduated from high school together. He’s the guy who drew up all of my business’s incorporation paperwork.”
“Back in the day before he had a paralegal and legal assistant, I take it.”
“Yep.”
“I married him probably a little bit after he did that work for you. We met at a conference. I’m a contracts attorney.” She cringed. “Part-time, nowadays.”
“Hectic.”
“You have no idea. Suits me, though. I’m actually more productive with fewer hours of work, and I set my own billing rates and only take on the clients I want to be bothered with.”
“That’s fantastic.”
Valerie had thought so, too. She’d been fascinated by how Nikki was able to balance it all, and what had made it possible was some outside-of-the-box thinking. Valerie had simply been curious at first, but now she wondered if she could have what Nikki did—everything.
And with Tim.
“Well, I won’t hold you up,” Tim said. “I don’t want to leave my folks roasting in the truck. I just ran in to pick up an order.”
“I’ll tell Dean I saw you.” Nikki sighed. “And…he’ll probably tell me how much he really wants that boat.”
“If he calls me, I’ll do my best to talk him out of it, even if that move isn’t so great for my business’s bottom line.” Tim winked and backed away from the table. “See you later.”
“Bye, Tim,” Nikki said.
Valerie watched him grab his bags from the deli counter and shoulder the door open.
The door closed behind him, and she kept staring until someone else walked in and made the bell over the door rattle.
“I’ll be right back, okay?” she said to Nikki.
“No hurry. I don’t have to pick my daughter up from dance until six.”
Valerie had never had a chance to do activities outside of school ones. Her grandmother either hadn’t had the money, or Valerie didn’t have a way to get there. Her mother had wanted all those enriching extracurriculars for Valerie and Leah, but even back then, they couldn’t have everything. Maybe that was part of the reason Valerie so staunchly believed she couldn’t have it now, either.
She stepped into the parking lot and put her hand up to shield her eyes from the sun’s harsh light, and found Tim climbing up into the driver’s side of his truck at the far end.
She jogged over with his name caught in her throat but didn’t make it before he closed the door.
She almost stopped and turned around, but she was so close anyway, so she kept going.
She knocked on the window just as he started the engine.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hi. Um…” She tucked a couple of errant coils of hair behind her ears and let her gaze track to the lady in the passenger’s seat and the older man in the back.
His parents.
There was curiosity in their polite smiles—no hostility at all—and yet a debilitating stage fright settled over her. She didn’t know what she’d even run out there to say to him, only that she couldn’t let him go without getting his attention—without making sure he was thinking about her still because damned if she were going to be the only one of them who was infatuated.
But there in front of him, she didn’t have any words to give him.
“Uh, never mind,” she stammered. “I thought I…but no.”
“You all right?” he asked. Concern furrowed his brow and mitigated the coolness of his stare.
