I laugh a full belly laugh. I haven’t thought about that night in years. “I remember that. I also remember that we ruined your night. You made Carrie and me stay right next to you the whole time. We pretty much ruined your chance of getting a date with the head cheerleader, if I remember right.”
“You didn’t ruin my night. At least not in that way. The only thing that was bad that night is you were there with a bunch of senior guys that were looking for a good time. I had to keep you by my side or punch out my friends.”
I roll my eyes in disbelief. No one in high school was interested in me. Ever. “I doubt that. Maybe Carrie, but not me.”
“No, it was you, Chrissy. I warned them all to stay away from you.”
I know I shouldn’t, but I have to know. “Why would you do that?”
He shrugs. “I had a thing for you then. I always did.”
I’m nervous, and with the name calling of my ex still fresh in my mind, I give him an out, saying, “That was a long time ago.”
He must be able to tell I’m uncomfortable, because he changes the subject. The rest of the time, he talks about his job and asks me about the gym and Katie. I’m sure he regrets it, because I can talk for hours about Katie. “By the way, you seem to have won Katie over. She’s still trying to figure out that magic trick.”
“Well, I’ll show her when I see her.”
He agrees so easily that I really start to get nervous. Already, Katie seems to be attached to him after meeting him once. I can see me so falling for him again… easily.
I decide right then that it’s time for me to go.
I make the excuse that I need to give my mom a break, and he walks me to my car. “You okay to drive?”
“Yes. I’m fine. Thank you, Bart. For everything.”
“Anytime. And the offer still stands. You need anything, you call me.”
I assure him I will. I go to my mom’s and pick up Katie, who is on a sugar high, but I can’t get mad at my mom for it. She’s always so good to Katie and me.
We get to the house, and as soon as I walk in, I can tell that things in the house are out of place. I walk through each of the rooms and find them all empty, but an eerie feeling settles into my stomach. I help Katie with her bath and then put her to bed before picking up my phone. The urge to call Bart is strong, but I know I can’t do that. Not now. Instead, I call my ex-husband.
“Were you in my house tonight?”
“You mean while you were out on your little date?”
My skin starts to tingle, and a feeling of dread and pure ickiness fills me. “We are not married, David. You have no say on what I do or where I go. And I got the house in the divorce. You aren’t supposed to be here, and you know it.”
“I didn’t say I was there,” he says with anger.
“I know you were.”
“Prove it,” he says, right before I hear a click and the line goes dead.
How could I ever have been in love with such a jerk?
11
Bart
The whole way back to the bed and breakfast, I’m kicking myself for jumping the gun as soon as Carrie gave me the green flag. Chrissy’s obviously not in a good place right now, and I should have told her why I came to town instead of hitting on her.
But just sitting next to her makes every rational thought leave my mind. She’s so beautiful. Even more beautiful than I remember and sitting next to her at the bar was enough to bring all my urges back. The only difference is now there’s nothing holding me back. She’s not too young, she’s not married. Now I just have to convince her that we could have something good together.
Once I’m in my room, I force myself to think about the case. The sooner I get this taken care of with David, the sooner I can move on with Chrissy. Of course, I hope I can convince her that I’m the right man for her, but I’m willing to wait as long as I need to for her to realize it. I’ve given her up once, and I’m not about to do it again.
I check my emails and notice an email from one of my buddies at the precinct. He says that one of David’s criminal buddies is on parole and just got out yesterday. I make a plan to go visit the guy in the morning and see if I can get a lead to the source of David’s money.