CHAPTER FORTY
Nadine
The past month without Reynolds had been both good and bad. The good news was that I was fitting right in at Salazar Real Estate. I enjoyed being an apprentice realtor and had been beyond thrilled when I learned I’d passed my licensure test.
Carmen was right. I was a natural at it. I enjoyed it, and people seemed to enjoy working with me. It gave my damaged self-esteem the boost it had desperately needed after finding out how Reynolds really felt about me. And how I’d been wrong about yet another guy.
But at night, I got lonely. I had never lived by myself. Even at the condo Reynolds had been there a lot. I’d asked Mama if I could move in with her for a while, but she’d thought that was a bad idea.
“Peaches, you’ve got to stand on your own two feet now. We can go and do things together, but we each need our own place.”
“That doesn’t even make sense. Why wouldn’t you want me there? I’m your daughter. It would be so fun!”
She had given me a look, but didn’t say much other than no.
She did drop by to see me often. I think it was because she felt sorry for me.
I knew she was the one who’d worked out the arrangement with the flower delivery guys.
She paid them to take the flowers Reynolds kept sending to the nearest retirement home instead of my house, my office, and her house.
She’d promised him cash under the table, and it had worked.
But my luck ran out. It always did.
I was just finishing up lunch when I felt eyes on me. I was with Lester and Margie Millet, a couple who were some of my first real estate clients, even though I was still working under Tiffani Grace. She had assigned the sweet couple to me, and they’d been fun to work with.
I looked up casually, just to see who it was, and locked eyes with Reynolds. I did a quick, hopefully imperceptible double take and sucked in a breath.
Part of me wanted to run and hide or look away and pretend I didn’t know him. But I knew I couldn’t do that. It was time to face him.
It took just about everything I had in me, but I knew I had to acknowledge Reynolds at some point. We were both good friends with the Salazars. I had high-end real estate clients. It seemed as if we would be moving in the same social circles. We were going to run into each other from time to time.
“Well, hey there, Mr. Mayor,” Lester said with a big smile. “I’ve got someone you should meet.” He gestured towards me. “Nadine Walker is the best real estate agent you could hope to have if you’re ever in the market for a new place.”
I smiled at Lester, then turned to the man who’d made me fall in love with him. “Hello, Reynolds,” I said, forcing myself to smile.
“Hey,” he said softly, staring at me.
“You know each other?” Lester Millet asked, looking between the two of us.
“We do,” I said before Reynolds could jump in.
Lester seemed to sense the tension in the air. “Well, that’s great.” He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Nadine, this has been wonderful. Thanks for showing us around, and thanks for lunch. I’ll email you and Ms. Grace about what Margie and I decide.”
He reached out his hand, and I fought the urge to hold on to it and beg him not to leave me alone with Reynolds. I shook it instead. “I look forward to hearing from y’all.”
“Bye, dear,” Margie gave me a quick hug, and the two of them left the restaurant.
Reynolds waited until they were gone before saying, “Come up to my office with me? Please? I want to talk to you. I want to…”
I was already shaking my head. “I don’t want to go to your office, Reynolds.
And I don’t think I need to hear anything you have to say.
” Even as I said the words, I was pretty sure they weren’t true.
I wanted to know why. I wanted to know what it was about me that screamed, “Please hurt me. Please lie to me.” I wanted to know what I had done wrong that had made him act the way he had.
Because no matter what everyone said about it being Reynolds’ fault, there was a small part of me that couldn’t help but think I was doing something wrong. How could this happen first with Mark and then again with Reynolds?
“Please, Nadine. I need to talk to you. I want you to know how sorry I am.”
“I’ve seen the flowers, Reynolds. I know how often you’ve tried to get in touch with me. None of it really matters. I just want you to leave me alone.”
He looked taken aback, and I ignored the hurt look on his face.
I turned and walked away from him. I started to relax as I stepped into the January air.
It was an unseasonably warm, breezy day.
I took a deep breath of the fresh, salty air and turned my face up to the sun.
I started my walk back to the real estate office.
It was kind of far, and I wished the Millets had offered me a ride.
Obviously they’d thought I would be talking to Reynolds and that he’d get me back to the office.
Well, if I had to walk any sort of distance, this was the day for it. It was the kind of day we didn’t get very often in the winter, and I was going to enjoy it. I just wished I’d worn different shoes.
“Let me walk with you.”
I twisted my head, surprised that I hadn’t heard his approach.
I couldn’t help but stare at how handsome he was.
His dark blond hair was a little longer than he usually kept it, and his face looked leaner than usual.
The cut of his jaw stood out sharply. His blue-gray eyes were intense as he looked down at me.
Finally, I nodded. “Fine.”
He looked relieved. “Thank you. It’s more than I deserve.”
I didn’t answer.
He took a deep breath. “I never meant to hurt you, Nadine. I… I took terrible advice about taking Whitney to the Mayor’s Ball instead of you. I shouldn’t have, but I did. And I waited to tell you because I didn’t want to hurt you. But waiting hurt you even worse. I’m so, so sorry.”
I stopped walking and looked up at him. “We should have walked away from each other at the end of the contract.”
He frowned and shook his head. “No. No, I loved spending December with you. I wouldn’t trade those Christmas memories with you for anything. I think that will always be my favorite Christmas, Nadine.”
I blinked back tears. It was my favorite Christmas, too.
But I had to be honest. “You told me you loved me then left and went to a party with Whitney. You told me not to look at the pictures of the two of you, so I didn’t.
” I shook my head. “I was a fool. Once I saw the pictures, I knew you’d been lying to me for a long time.
I could see by the way you looked at Whitney that your relationship was real,” I said.
“So, Christmas couldn’t have been that great for you. ”
He looked confused. “Why do you think I was in a real relationship with her?”
I gave him a look. “Because I saw the pictures of you with her at the Christmas charity ball. And New Year’s Eve.
And the inauguration. The two of you looked truly happy together.
” I stared at him. “Why did you tell me you weren’t in a relationship when you were?
You didn’t have to lie. You could have just told me the truth.
” I looked around and lowered my voice. “The contract already said that you had a girlfriend. You never had to lie and say you didn’t love her.
You were probably sleeping with her the whole time, too. ”
“That’s what you think? That the relationship was real?” For some reason, he got a hopeful look on his face. “No! No, Nadine. The relationship was always fake. I wasn’t sleeping with her. I couldn’t stand her.”
“I don’t believe you. You lied to me about your feelings for her just like you lied to me about the Mayor’s Ball.”
His face fell, but I kept going.
“I don’t want to be with someone who thinks I’m not good enough for them.
” I looked away from him briefly. “I know that you talked about me with Whitney. I overheard her talking with a friend. She talked about how the two of you laughed together about how I could possibly think someone like you could choose someone like me. She said,” I paused and swallowed hard, “that you were ashamed of me.”
The words were hard to get out, but I felt better for saying them.
“None of that is true, Nadine. I never talked about you with her. She lied…”
“You wouldn’t have been worried taking me to the Mayor’s Ball? You wouldn’t have been afraid that I’d do something to embarrass you?” I asked.
He looked guilty as he opened his mouth to answer. Nothing came out. “Not exactly,” he started, and I held up my hand. I had my answer.
“Right. So, in a way, I’m thankful for what you did. If you hadn’t lied to me, asked me to the ball, and then let me find out in the worst way possible that you never intended to take me, I’d still be putting my feelings last. But I’m not doing that anymore.”
“Good, Nadine, your feelings should come first…”
I ignored him. “I would’ve stayed in a relationship where I would always know that you didn’t think I was good enough for you. And I deserve a lot more than that. I deserve someone who accepts me for who I am. Someone who truly loves me.”
“I love you, Nadine,” he reached out and grabbed my upper arm. “I know you’re good enough for me now.” He must have realized how that sounded, because he tried to take it back. “No, that’s not what I meant…”