“You’re not messing anything up,” I said, before adding. “I like having you around.”
She smiled. “I’m tryingincrediblyhard. You have no idea the restraint it takes to not leave so much as a sweatshirt lying around your living room.”
“I can imagine. I’ve seen your place, remember?”
She kept moving down the aisle. “My place must be your nightmare.”
“It wasn’t so bad,” I surprised myself by saying. When I’d first stepped inside her apartment, I’d wanted to bolt. But in hindsight, I could see the charm. Hazel had me loosening up more than I thought possible. If my family could see the items in my cart right now, they’d be convinced I’d lost my mind.
Hazel picked up a butter dish shaped like a potato. “Okay, but you’re getting this. No arguments.”
She put it in the cart and, before she moved on, I took a step back and grabbed the plates she’d liked. I set them carefully in the cart.
She met my eye and grinned.
“We can use these tonight to eat the dinner you make us,” I said.
Her smile turned into a frown. I’d promised to teach her how to cook tonight and for some reason, she was adorably nervous about it.
“What if I accidentally poison you?” she asked.
“Considering I’ll be with you when you buy the ingredients, I highly doubt that will happen.”
“You never know. I wouldn’t doubt my ineptitude if I were you.”
We continued strolling until Hazel stopped at two large, Victorian-looking dolls.
“Please don’t get those,” I begged. “They look haunted.”
She giggled. “I can’t stand dolls. I hate being stared at. They remind me of my neighbor’s place. Her apartment gives me the creeps. Dolls everywhere.”
“Mrs. Edenbury? We really need to look into her more,” I said.
“I’m telling you, there’s no way.”
“But we have to look into every possibility. It’s not like we’re flush with suspects. We can’t put all our eggs into Paul’s basket,” I said gently.
She gazed up at me with her big, round eyes before nodding. “I guess you’re right.”
“And what about that friend. Kiara, was it? The one who lives here and supposedly doesn’t like you. Did she ever text you back?”
“No, but…” Hazel’s face fell, and I regretted bringing her up.
“What?” I asked.
“My friend Zoe wants me to go out for her birthday this Wednesday. Kiara and some other girls from high school will be there, too.”
“That’s perfect,” I said, but retracted my excitement when I noticed her crestfallen face. “Or, maybe not?”
She sighed. “It’s fine. Those girls just always have a way of making me a little insecure.”
The lost look in her eyes pained me. I regretted even bringing it up. I wanted the smiling Hazel from a few minutes ago back. “Zoe is your friend, right?” I asked, trying not to push too hard.
“Right,” she said.
“Then you should go. We can tick Kiara off our list, and you can have fun with your friends. You could use a night out.”
She nodded. “You’re right. I’ll go. I don’t want to disappoint Zoe.”
