Written with Regret (The Regret Duet #1)(64)

“Absolutely.” I took it from her.

She tucked a wave of red behind her ear. “Nice to see you again, Ian.”

“Yeah. Fantastic,” he mumbled.

After a tight smile, she hurried away.

Setting her bag on the seat on the aisle, I sank into the chair beside it. Ian followed suit on my other side.

“Do you even remember the head trip you went on those first six months after she dropped Rosalee off? You were a wreck, but now, you’re willing to forget about all that just to—”

“Would you shut up? I’m not sleeping with her.” He did not need to know about the stroke-induced dreams. Best friend or not, I was not required to check in with him any time my cock got hard. “I’m being nice. Something you should really try. Like it or not, she’s going to be a part of our life forever. Rosalee, me, and yeah, you if you’d stop being a dick long enough to get to know her.”

He scoffed. “Unless she leaves.”

“Then she leaves. And like the first time, there is nothing you or I can do about that. But let me tell you this: As long as she stays this version of Hadley, the one who has her shit together, the one who loves our daughter, and the one who actually shows up and works with me and not against me, then maybe her being a part of Rosalee’s life isn’t so bad. God knows I’d have given anything to have a mom growing up.”

“Oh, okay. Should I call Doug now and tell him to draw up the joint custody papers?”

Pivoting with my entire upper body, I sliced him with a glare. “Say another word, Ian. Swear to God—say one more word.”

“Oh, I have a lot more to say. But I see the way you look at her, so I don’t think any of it matters anymore.”

“Are you…jealous?”

“I’m worried, you asshat. I know you. With her past…” He glanced around before lowering his voice to an almost inaudible level. “When she came back, you were hell-bent on keeping her away from Rosalee. Then she told you she was at that mall and now she spends two days a week hanging out at your house. And then, when you factor in that she’s sweet, and beautiful, and good with Rosalee… It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see where this is headed.”

I smirked. “She’s sweet, and beautiful, and good with Rosalee, huh? God, she sounds terrible.”

He shook his head and faced forward, where a line of kids were filing across the stage. With her red hair in a sea of brown and blond, my girl was easy to spot. She found us almost immediately and giggled as she waved at Ian and me with both hands.

We excitedly waved back, not a cool or dignified bone in either of our bodies.

Still smiling up at Rosalee, he whispered out of the side of his mouth, “Do me a favor and wear a condom this time. The next one might look like you and then we’d have to sell it to the trolls.”

My smile never faltered as I elbowed him in the chest.

He let out a grunt but said no more.

I loved Ian like a brother. And it was completely fair for him to be worried about me. Hell, I was worried about me too.

I didn’t understand the draw I felt to Hadley. When I’d first met her at the bar, it had been purely physical, but since she’d come back, it was something else altogether. That woman got under my skin.

Yes, I felt responsible for her past and the nearly paralyzing need to make it right. But as much as I tried to deny it, ignore it, and fight it, there was something else about her. Something that struck me with the familiarity of déjà vu or a whispered secret I’d once heard as a boy. Deep down, I felt a truth that couldn’t be untold, yet it was blurred to the point that it had become unrecognizable.

But it was always there.

Every time I saw her.

And it was getting stronger every day.





HADLEY


Short of a few evil side glances from Marilyn, the program was relatively boring.

I’d never been so happy to be bored in my entire life. Seeing Rosalee walk across the stage made tears hit my eyes as though she were graduating from high school.

And then tears fell from my eyes when the reality sank in that I’d actually be there to see her graduate high school. And then college.

Those tears turned into rivers when I imagined her coming over to my house to introduce me to the boy who had stolen her heart.

And those rivers became waterfalls when I thought about seeing her in a wedding dress, walking down the aisle, her surprising me with the news that she was expecting, and then her call on her way to the hospital to tell me she was in labor.

They were all the things I’d missed and would continue to miss with my own mother.

But no matter the cost, I’d be there for Rosalee, and that made them the happiest tears of all.

By the time I snuck back to my seat next to Caven, my cheeks had dried.

He still noticed.

“Everything okay?” he whispered.

“Everything is fantastic.”

His eyes twinkled in the dim lighting, our stare lingering for a beat too long. His drifted away first, but not before sweeping over my lips.

We sat in silence for the rest of the program, his arm pressed against mine, our elbows sharing a narrow armrest, both of our loving gazes locked on Rosalee, who was squirming and fidgeting while she was supposed to be paying attention to the teachers.