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“Once I talk to the realtor, we’ll figure out when we can close. Probably Friday. It won’t take long since I’m paying cash, and I have a great lawyer. Once I know for sure, I’ll send you the information so you can order the moving trucks.”
She nodded. “All right.”
“I’ll be in the Cities, but you know you can always get a hold of me if you need me.”
Normally it was him getting a hold of her, so she didn’t quite know what to say. Turned out she didn’t need to say anything, because he spoke again.
“Thanks for sharing a little of your history with me. It’s been interesting getting to know you this weekend. I... I enjoyed it.”
Her mouth dropped open, and she didn’t have the presence of mind to close it.
“Come on. I’ll drive you back to your mom’s. I need to head to the airport.”
“All right.”
She felt unbalanced, unsteady. Like she was walking over ground she had never tried before. Which was exactly what was going on.
They didn’t say much on the ride back to her mom’s house, and he left shortly after.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that something had changed in their relationship, but she didn’t know what to do about it. Didn’t know if that was the direction she wanted to go. And it was so difficult to read him. But knowing the bit of his past that she’d found out this weekend had changed the way she saw him completely.
After she stripped the bed in the attic room and started that load of laundry, she went back to her small cottage and got ready to leave in the morning.
Chapter 11
The week was a physicalone, with Clara packing up boxes of books and papers and all the things that made up an office for both Alex and for her. In the seven years that she’d known him, the office in the high-rise in downtown Chicago overlooking Lake Michigan had been his home base. She could hardly believe that he was taking everything and moving it.
Her office was a little easier to pack up, and it was a little easier for her to believe that she was moving. So, Wednesday evening at nine o’clock, she had her office completely finished and had about ten boxes full of things that she had packed from his office. She was sitting in front of the bookshelf, a box beside her, carefully taking volumes off and putting them in the box when the door opened and her head jerked around. Her heart leapt to her throat, because she thought she was alone.
“You’re still working,” Alex said as he walked in carrying a bag from a Chinese take-out place just down the street.
“Yeah. I was...hoping to get everything done by Thursday evening so I could go home Friday.”
She’d often worked extra during the week, and oftentimes when she’d done that, he’d given her Friday or Monday off so she could have a long weekend at home. It was normal and not something she even really discussed with him anymore. As long as she put in as much time as he needed her to, he was fine with her taking time off when things got slow.
“Is your office finished?” He came over, the bag crinkling as he set it down on his desk. It still looked the same as it had when he left, since she hadn’t touched it.
