Page 22 of If We Never Met

"It has been a long road. I'm protective of her."

"As you should be." He met her gaze. "I hope as you get to know me, you'll be able to trust me."

"I hope so, too." He seemed like he was being direct and honest.Was that just part of his game? Or was she being ridiculously suspicious?

A knock came at the door, and then Andrea popped her head into the office. "I'm sorry, Mr. Langley, but you have a call, and she won't take no for an answer. She wouldn't give me her name, but she said it was urgent. She seemed quite upset, almost hysterical."

"All right. I'll pick it up." He got to his feet, an apology in his gaze. "I'll take a look at these and get back to you, Keira."

"Sure, take your time. If you're interested in seeing any of them, I'll set up a showing," she said as she stood up.

"I will do that. I wish we could talk more, but I have to get this."

"Please, go ahead." She headed to the door as he answered his phone.

She lingered just long enough to hear him say, "Mandy, why on earth are you calling me here?" He paused, then said, "No, you listen. This stops now." The anger in his voice was unmistakable.

She wished she could hear more, but Andrea was giving her a speculative look, so she pulled the door shut behind her and left the office suite.

Mark had definitely gone from friendly and sincere to extremely pissed off with the woman on the phone.

Why? Who was Mandy?

Mark had almost persuaded her that her suspicions were unnecessary, but now alarm bells were going off again. She needed to find out more about Mark.

As she moved through the lobby, she couldn't help noticing that Dante was gone, which was just as well, or she might have been tempted to tell him about her latest encounter with Mark, and she didn't need to do that. She'd already gotten him more involved in her life than he needed to be.

Chapter Six

Keira didn't geta chance to dig into Mark Langley's life until Sunday afternoon. But after helping her mom in the garden until one, she took her computer and a tall glass of iced tea out to the pool patio. She sat down at a table under an umbrella to keep the hot summer sun off her face and then opened up her search engine. Twenty minutes later, she was frowning at her lack of success.

Mark wasn't on social media. However, she was able to come up with a business profile. He'd started out in pharmaceutical sales and then worked his way into healthcare administration, working at a number of small clinics and hospitals before moving to Whisper Lake.

But the information she wanted was much more personal. She thought about what she did know. Her mom had said his first wife's name was Valerie. And he had a son, Richard, who lived in Los Angeles and was studying to be a veterinarian.

Tapping those details into the search engine didn't yield better results. She couldn't find a Valerie Langley online. It was possible she was using her maiden name or perhaps she'd remarried. There were a dozen or more results for Richard Langley, but none that seemed to be the right age.

She thought about what to do next. There were sites she could pay to do research for her.Was she ready to go that far?Not quite yet.

She opened a new search window and put in Mark and Valerie Langley, as well as the city of Los Angeles. She flipped through several screens, nothing popping out until her gaze settled on a news article about a house fire in the Los Feliz area. A twenty-six-year-old woman named Gretchen Yates had died in the fire. The house was owned by Mark and Valerie Langley, who were not at home at the time. Nor was their nine-year-old son, Richard. Gretchen Yates had been their nanny.

Her heart sped up as she thought about what she'd just read.Did it mean anything?Her mother had told her that Mark and his wife divorced when their son was nine.Was it a coincidence that the two events had happened the same year? Or was she trying to make something out of nothing?

She thought for a moment and then entered the name Gretchen Yates. She had to add in several more keywords before finally locating the obituary. Gretchen had been survived by her parents, Rena and Stan, her brother, Donald, and her sister, Amanda. Her pulse jumped again.

Was Amanda—Mandy—the woman who'd called Mark? Why would they have a connection now, fifteen years after Gretchen's death?

Her imagination started working overtime, coming up with all kinds of implausible theories. She tried to rein herself in. She really didn't know anything except there had been a fire in Mark's house, a woman had died, and that woman's sister might still be in touch with him. Maybe he'd simply been taking care of Gretchen's family since then. He could be the amazing man her mother wanted him to be.

As a series of texts popped up on her screen about the party at Lizzie's inn, she realized she needed to put Mark Langley aside for the moment. Lizzie needed someone to pick up a special cake she'd ordered while she waited for someone to fix the cable TV at the inn. She was freaking out that they wouldn't be able to get reception for the awards show.

Chloe, who was supposed to be bringing a case of wine and a lasagna, said that her almost-three-year-old son, Leo, had just come down with a fever, so she wasn't going to be able to come at all, and if someone could pick up the wine and lasagna, that would be amazing.

Gianna texted that she was leaving for Denver, so she and Zach might be late. And Hannah said she was stuck at work until five and the bakery would be closed by the time she got off.

She volunteered to pick up the wine, lasagna, and the cake. Her friends had always been there for her, and she'd always be there for them.

She took her computer back into the house. Her mom was washing her hands in the kitchen. "I need to help Lizzie for tonight's party," she said. "Do you need anything?"

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