Page 133 of Homewrecker

I grabbed my bag and headed out the door.

Mrs. Henderson wasn’t there. Of course. I sat in my car staring at the text.

Mrs. Henderson: So sorry! Emergency meeting. Derek is there and can walk through everything with you. I’ll catch up tonight!

My stomach tightened. Absolutely ridiculous. I’d been inside hundreds of homes.

I’d even worked with male clients who were single, married, divorced, gay, straight, old, and young. It didn’t matter except sometimes it did. Sometimes I still became too aware of closed doors, compliments, how close a man stood, and wedding rings. I hated that.

Before Caleb, married had been information. After Caleb, it became something my brain highlighted in red.

I looked toward the house and saw Mr. Henderson open the front door. My phone rang and thank God it was Janelle.

“You going in?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve been sitting there for five minutes.”

“Why are you watching me?”

“Because I’m behind you.”

I checked my mirror to see her car was parked three spaces back.

I rolled my eyes. “I was answering an email.”

“Liar. Do you want me to come in?”

My hand paused on the door handle. I almost said yes. Then hated that I almost said yes.

“No.”

“You sure?”

“Yes. You can go back to the office, but stay available.”

“Always.”

I hung up, took one breath, and got out the car.

“Blair.”

Mr. Henderson smiled as I approached.

“Derek.”

“Come in.”

I stepped inside and he moved aside. I didn’t miss the fact that the front door remained open behind me. I didn’t close it and neither did he. Good.

“Sorry about Caren.”

“Work happens.”

“She was pissed she couldn’t be here.”

“We’ll send her everything.”