Written with Regret (The Regret Duet #1)(66)

My stomach rolled as I forced a smile. “Egg rolls don’t count. My dad used to trade the man who owned a Chinese restaurant next door to his bakery every Saturday. A loaf of sourdough and one bear claw got him eight egg rolls—two for each of us. I make the occasional exception for other nostalgic foods too.”

He nodded sheepishly. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

A young waiter in a red-and-white-checkered half apron suddenly appeared at our table. “Hey, guys. What can I get you to drink tonight?”

“Lemonade, please,” Rosie said.

Caven signaled for me to go next.

“Water, please.”

“IPA, whatever you have.”

“Actually, you know what?” I said. “Make that two. I could go for a beer.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the waiter replied. “I’ll just need to see your ID.”

My mouth fell open, and Caven barked a laugh.

“What? Why? You didn’t card him?”

He shrugged. “I have to card anyone who looks under forty.”

“Hey!” Caven objected.

It was my turn to laugh. I dug my ID out of my purse and handed it to the kid.

He gave it a quick glance before handing it back. “Oh, hey! Happy Birthday.”

“Birthday?” Caven said at the same time Rosalee yelled, “Birthday!”

She scrambled around the booth until she was right beside me, pushed up onto her knees. “Today’s your birthday?”

“Yeah, but it’s not a big deal. I don’t really celebrate anymore.”

She completely ignored me. “Dad! Does that mean Hadley gets her dessert first?” She didn’t wait for him to answer before she looked back at me. “What did you have for breakfast?”

“Um…peanut butter toast? Why?”

“Nooooo! It’s your birthday. You get donuts on your birthday.”

“I must have missed that memo.” I flared my eyes at Caven, but he was watching me with quiet contemplation. “What?”

“Why aren’t you doing stuff with your friends tonight?”

I shrugged. “I am. I went and saw my favorite unicorn artist get an award. Now, I’m about to eat pizza with her and her dad.”

He stared at me as he leaned to the side to retrieve his wallet. After pulling out a five-dollar bill, he handed it off. “Rosalee, go play some games for a minute.”

She snatched the money. “Will you call me when it’s time to make our pizzas?”

He turned his head a fraction to the side, where we could see the line of arcade games and three different claw machines across the aisle. “Yeah. Baby. I’ll call you.”

I started to slide out when she suddenly ducked under the table and sprinted to the video games, nearly knocking our waiter over as he returned with our drinks.

Caven didn’t say anything, but I felt his gaze roaming over my face as I watched Rosalee feeding her money like a skilled professional into the change machine.

When the waiter walked away, he laid into me. “Why didn’t you mention that tonight was your birthday?”

I took a sip of my beer. “Because it doesn’t matter.”

“You didn’t have to skip your birthday to go to the school tonight. Now, I feel guilty for even asking you.”

“You should really let some of that guilt go. I didn’t go tonight because you invited me. Well, I guess I did, but I went to see her. I’ve had twenty-seven birthdays… Twenty-eight now. But never once had I seen her walk across a stage to get an award. I’ve missed a lot, Caven. I have no intention of missing anymore.”

Her loud laugh captured our attention. She was sitting on a stool, playing an old Ms. Pac-Man game—and not well.

“I should go help her.” I started to slip out of the booth when his hand came across the table, landing on top of mine.

“Rosalee asked me if we were friends.”

I froze, his touch causing the hum in my veins to sing at deafening levels. “Okay?”

“I didn’t know what to tell her.”

I breathed a deflated, “Oh.”

Using his thumb, he stroked the back of my hand. “Because we both know you’re more than that, and one day, she will too. We’re unconventional, but the one thing I want my daughter to always remember is that she has a family who loves her. And that includes you.”

“Caven,” I whispered, my heart feeling as though it might explode.

Family. It was all I’d ever wanted and why I’d come for Rosalee. That little girl was all I had left. But now, in some strange way, I felt like I had Caven too.

His lips thinned into a tight smile. “Life is short, Hadley. I know I don’t have to remind you of that. So I’ll just say this. Today’s your birthday. And, in my family, we celebrate on birthdays.” He slipped his palm off mine, stopping with just his index finger resting on top of mine the same way he had in that mall all those years earlier.

I sucked in a sharp breath, the onslaught of those memories hitting me at full force.

But not the terrible ones that paralyzed me with fear.

Or the bloody ones that made my stomach revolt.

No, the memories that washed over me were of his blue eyes staring back at me.

A three-count to safety.