Written with Regret (The Regret Duet #1)(33)

She grinned, sweet and stunning. And that grin showed from the curve of her crescent lips all the way to the twinkle in her red-rimmed eyes.

I stared, confused by the way her happiness didn’t piss me off. It actually made me feel… Shit. Happy too.

“That’s funny,” she said.

“What?”

“You said out of the picture.” She kept smiling.

I kept staring and ignored the fact that the longer I stood there, the more the ice in my veins thawed. “And?” I drawled gruffly.

“Oh. It’s just… I’m a photographer. So it was a good kind of…um…punny joke.”

Punny joke.

Jesus. Christ.

“Right.”

She bit her lips between her teeth and looked away, but that damn smile still showed. And I still fucking felt it.

Time for me to leave. “I’m gonna take off now. It might be a little while, but when I come to a decision, I’ll reach out.”

“Okay.”

“Okay,” I replied without moving. Just standing there like a damn idiot.

Thankfully, she had more sense than I did. “I guess maybe I’ll go too.” Leaning into the booth, she nabbed her purse and hooked it over her shoulder.

I followed her out of the diner, rolling my eyes when she stopped to gush her thanks to the waitress.

When we got to the parking lot, we both awkwardly turned in the same direction.

I followed.

And followed.

And followed.

Feeling more like a stalker with every step until I finally felt the need to ask, “Where’d you park?”

“Right there.” She pointed to the red Porsche Cayenne parked directly next to my Lexus LX.

My brows shot up. I knew cars. Mine had cost a mint. But I found it very interesting that hers had too.

“Is that yours?”

“Oh, God, no. It’s a smidge pretentious for my tastes. It’s my best friend’s. I couldn’t get my Prius out of impound tonight. Hopefully the environment will forgive me.”

I nodded, feeling the tiniest flicker of guilt for having her car towed.

And then I just stood there.

Like.

A.

Fucking.

Idiot.

“Well, uh… Thanks for walking me to my car. That was really sweet of you.”

“Actually…” I jerked my chin toward my SUV. “That’s me in the pretentious gas guzzler.”

She laughed. “Of course it is. Don’t worry. Since I dragged us both out here tonight, I’ll raid the neighbor’s trash and do some extra recycling in the morning. It’ll balance out our carbon footprint.”

“How ecologically conscious of you,” I smarted.

She walked to the door of her car, a quiet chirp sounding before she opened it. “I try.”

That was my moment to leave. She was about to get in her car; surely my brain would figure out how to make my legs start working again.

But there was one thing that, even though I had no right to ask, I was dying to know. “How’d you survive?”

“Huh?”

“The mall. You couldn’t have been very old and you said your parents died. How’d you make it through?”

Her smile vanished, and her already creamy white skin paled. “I was eight when it happened.” She aimed her gaze over my shoulder to the door of the diner, the streetlights casting a shadow over her face. “I, uh…hid under the counter at the Chinese restaurant. Alone.” Her eyes came back to mine, nervous and guarded.

Squinting, I tried to get a better read on her, but just as quickly as it had disappeared, the color returned to her face.

“I don’t like to talk about it,” she said.

I nodded. I couldn’t blame her there. “Right. Sorry I asked.”

“You should learn to stop apologizing, Caven.” And with that, she climbed into her car and shut the door. She offered me a finger wave and a smile before backing out and driving away.

I stood there long after her taillights had disappeared, my mind spinning in a million different directions.

Something big had happened. I could feel it in my bones.

I didn’t know if that something was good or bad.

Right or wrong.

Dreaded or long awaited.

But then again, the same could be said about Hadley’s return.

After pulling my phone from my pocket, I dialed Doug’s number. It was late, but I paid him to answer on the first ring. He didn’t let me down.

“Are you in jail?” he asked.

After folding into my SUV, I hit the button to start it but made no move to back out. “No. Though I did just have a very enlightening conversation with Hadley.”

“What the hell? Did she come back to your place?”

“No, she sent me a text. I met her for coffee. Listen, do you have that preliminary background report handy?”

He groaned. “You’re lucky my wife loves Rosalee. You? She could live without. Hang on. Let me get out of bed and find it.”

“I just need to know the name of her parents.”

“Her parents?”

“She claims they were killed at the mall.”

“Fuck,” he hissed. “You believe her?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I’m calling you.”