Page 41 of Shattered Dreams

“Will you spend the night?”

Shaking my head, I say, “No. You don’t need me to get to the airport. Zane and Stella are meeting you there, right?”

“Yeah, but just to say a quick goodbye. Zane’s still nervous around planes and he said he doesn’t want to watch me take off.”

“And Mel’s picking you up when you land?”

“Yes. At LAX.”

“Then you’ll be just fine. I’ll come over tonight and let Lucille feed me dessert. I have plenty to keep me busy while you’re gone.”

She’s reluctant to agree. I shouldn’t use her past words and actions against her, but I’m still pissed she dumped me in the first place. I’m not going to jump in head-first and get smacked by concrete like I did last time. I’m still reeling by how shitty that felt, thinking I was never going to see her again.

“Do you want a ride to your truck?”

“No, I’ll hoof it. The fresh air will do me good.”

It’s too cold to walk that far, but I need it to clear my head.

“I’m not going to convince you to go home with me, am I?”

“Remember you like that I’m a sexy PI?” I try to joke. “That title has work to go with it. I’ll see you later and we’ll have a quiet night at the house.”

She sighs and stands on her toes to give me a kiss. I pull her to me and breathe in her scent. It’s just as hard for me to keep distance between us as it is for her, but I can’t cave in. I don’t want her to cancel her trip, and while she’s visiting Mel, I plan to clean a lot off my plate so I don’t feel guilty spending time with her when she comes back.

“Be a good girl.” I pat her on the ass, and Douglas hides a smile as he holds the door open for her. She waves, and I lift ahand. I trust him to drive her home safely, and I only watch for a second as the SUV pulls into traffic and disappears.

Baby bounds to me when I step into the office, and Pop raises his eyebrows. “I thought I lost you.”

“Can’t get rid of me that easily. I sent Zarah home to pack. What’s going on?”

“The divorcée isn’t up to anything. Baby and I listened to half a James Patterson audiobook and then called it a night. You find out any news?”

“Yeah, as a matter of fact. Zane got us in to talk to Dr. Mallory. He said the good doctor wants his watch back.”

“Huh. I would’ve thought that’d make him run like hell.”

“Me too, but maybe he’s innocent.”

“You believe that?”

“He’d have to be stupid to leave evidence like that behind.”

“If you just tortured someone to death, are you thinking about your watch?”

“I’m thinking I don’t want anyone to find out I did it.”

“True enough. Well,” Pop says, sighing and shrugging into his jacket, “I was about to head home. Quiet afternoon. Might as well go find Zarah.”

“Nah. I’ll do the same. I’m still looking through Max’s things. It will be nice to get his apartment taken care of.”

“You could’ve done it when he passed away,” Pop says, quirking his lips.

“I wasn’t in the headspace to do it, and if you hadn’t forced me to see his attorney, I wouldn’t have done what I have.”

Pop smirks. “And you wouldn’t have met Zarah, either. You’re welcome.”

That sits in my craw the whole way home. If I wouldn’t have gone to talk to Max’s attorney, I wouldn’t have seen Zarah outside his office. I wouldn’t have approached her, rescued her from those vultures, and I definitely wouldn’t have invited herto the café. It’s interesting she said that’s when she started to have feelings for me. That afternoon she could barely look at me, much less hold a conversation. She was so shaken up, she didn’t give me any indication she enjoyed my company at all.

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