Caleb let go of my hand a moment later and returned to his side of the massive sundae we’d ordered to share, as if nothing unusual had happened at all.
I paid the bill despite his protests, and we headed back to the car. As we drove, I crossed my arms, unsure what I was feeling.
“I’m sorry if that upset you,” Caleb said carefully. “I thought it would take a lot longer to explain, especially to a stranger who was only paying us a compliment.”
I held onto my irritation for exactly three seconds. Then a smile slipped through. “I guess it was pretty funny.”
Lucas’s chatter faded until silence filled the car. He’d fallen asleep.
After parking in the visitors’ lot, Caleb picked up the bags and followed me inside the apartment, placing everything quietly in Lucas’s room while I tucked him in. When I came back into the living area, Caleb was standing still, looking around.
“These weren’t here that night we went clubbing,” he said, gesturing to the photos.
“It made me miserable getting up in the morning knowing he wouldn’t be here when I got home,” I admitted. “Even the one at work is still inside my desk drawer.” The only photo I kept and looked at longingly when he was away was the one inside the locket I always wore around my neck, along with the photos on my phone. I stared down at my hands, suddenly exposed.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“For what?”
“For everything I said to you that day. All the horrible and mean things.”
I looked up at him. “I’m sorry too.”
He frowned.
“For thinking you were trying to kick me out of the hotel.”
His smile was gentle. “We’re a sorry pair, aren’t we?”
“Apology accepted.”
“Apology accepted.”
His gaze held mine. If this were a movie, this would have been ‘the moment.’ Instead, he turned toward the door. “I’ll pick you up at six, and we’ll head over to Elle’s place.”
I watched him leave, my heart doing something entirely unhelpful.
The intercom buzzed.
6 p.m.He was on time.
I unlocked the front door and told Larry that if it was Caleb, to send him up. While I finished getting Lucas ready, I heard the door open and close. “We’re in here!” I called out.
A minute passed.
I combed Lucas’s hair, smoothing it carefully, suddenly aware of how quiet the apartment had become.Caleb should have walked in by now.“Wait here, baby,” I said softly. “Be quiet. I’ll be right back, okay?” I locked Lucas’s bedroom door behind me.
The hair at the back of my necklifted all at once. My heartbeat quickened. I went to my bedroom and retrieved the gun. My grip was steady, but my breathing wasn’t. “Caleb?” I called, keeping my voice even.
Nothing.
I moved slowly through the apartment, opening doors one by one, checking corners, scanning for anything out of place. I looked under furniture, behind curtains, and inside the kitchen.
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing was wrong. And that was what frightened me the most.Who opened the door? Did I imagine it?Had fear filled in the blanks where memory failed?
A knock at the front door made me jump.
