Page 6 of Return to Me Always

I was a freaking mess!

Was I just being paranoid? Probably. But I kept going back to something my mom had said before I left—trust your instincts. And for some strange reason, my gut was telling me there was something off about Malcolm, even though he was a police officer, even though he had been really nice to me.

Oh, I didn't know what to do. Maybe just finish up and tell him I was really tired and ready to go back to my hotel, alone, in case he had any other ideas. Taking a deep breath, I left the restroom.

When I came back to the table, Malcolm said, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. All good. Just exhausted and ready to crash."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise, but he said, "Okay," and started to pay the bill.

Still standing, I dug out some money too and put it on the table.

"I got it," he said.

"No, no. That's okay."

I left the money there and started to walk away from the table toward the door since I really didn't want to have a stupid argument over who was paying. Apparently, the message was received as he tossed down a few bills and headed toward me.

"You sure everything's okay?" he asked, frowning. "You're acting kind of strange all the sudden."

I clutched my stomach. "Yeah, yeah. Just kind of don't feel very well either." Which was honestly the truth. Those fish and chips had not gone down well at all and sat like a lead brick in my belly.

"Could be too much fried food," he said, holding the pub door open for me.

Maybe I was being overly suspicious. Maybe I was just imagining things. He had acted like a gentleman in every way. So why did I have this bad feeling about him then?

We walked together down the sidewalk for a bit until he paused at a car.

"Can I offer you a ride back to your hotel?" he said while opening the passenger side door.

"No, I'm good."

"Really, it's no trouble at all."

"No, thank you." I was determinednotto get into the car with him. "A little walk will do me good."

He nodded. "Okay. Well, I hope you feel better soon."

"Thanks." Now I was starting to feel like a total ass. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all. "And thanks for sharing your favorite pub with me."

"Sure. Talk to you soon I hope."

I nodded. "Okay. Good night."

"Good night."

Gripping my ridiculously full stomach and vowing to never eat again, I started to walk away when he said, "Kat, I think you're going the wrong way."

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Isn't your hotel that way?" He pointed in the opposite direction of where I was headed.

"Oh, right."

I turned around and backtracked several steps, leading me right next to his car again. Then it dawned on me.

How the hell did he know where my hotel was?I had never told him.

---