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"And tell them what? Someone sent me flowers? My screen came off my window—and is off again, by the way—and there was a mix-up with a party booking? Those aren't exactly criminal offenses."

Jasmine shoves the heating pad aside and gets up to head down the hallway.

"Where are you going?"

"To check your window."

I hurry behind her, entering the room as she yanks on the window. It stays in place, and I practically feel us both breathing a sigh of relief.

"It must be the wind or that shrub outside. It's fine," I say.

She moves the curtains back into place over the window and slides a look at me.

"At least talk to Sully? Tell him?"

"Why? Nothing's going on except my paranoia is rubbing off on you."

Her shoulders tense as she shakes her head at me.

"I thought so too, but now I'm not so sure. That booking thing is really weird. What if Thad is behind Betty breaking down the other morning? Or the fridge being unplugged? He could've been on the bus and seen the booking."

He could have, I muse. And while every part of my body tenses in unease, I refuse to live my life in fear. I can't. I've come too far to go back to that dark, scary state.

And Sully? Given his history and the loss of his sister, how can I add more to what he's been through? Make him relive it all over again? "It's just a coincidence. Maybe a wrong number," I say. "I didn't ask Brooke specifics, only if she knew who had called, you know? They said a guy and thought it was Tim, but maybe whoever called just had the wrong number. Maybe he said he was calling to cancel, and since we were the only thing Brooke had booked, she just assumed it was us?"

Jasmine looks as skeptical as I feel, but she accepts the explanation with a nod.

"I suppose that is possible. And all of the other stuff is pretty random."

"It is." It doesn't explain the man I think I saw the day before getting the call from the prosecutor’s office that reminded me of Thad—or at the grocery store—but it is random. And what's the saying? That everyone has a twin in the world? People resemble each other. It's a fact.

"You've told Sully about Thad, right? That he's out of jail? Sully knows everything? That's why you two were arguing, right?"

I hug my arms around myself and nod again, watching as Jas crosses the room toward me and loops her arms around my neck. I hug her back, closing my eyes against the memories that try to take me down to cellar depths.

"Sorry. Ignore me and my twenty questions. I'm in pain and cranky and need crates of chocolate," Jasmine says before squeezing me tight and releasing me. "I don't mean to freak you out. I just worry about you, you know?"

I tug on her hair. "I know. I worry about you, too. Are you staying in tonight? Will you be here when I get off work?"

"No. My guy's the sweetest when he knows I'm in pain. He's on his way here to pick me up and drive me back to his place after we get dinner just so he can pamper me."

That is sweet of him. My heart tugs because I'm glad Jas has a good man. Had the good sense to wait for someone who appreciates her.

That thought shifts my mind to Sully and how wonderful he's been to me. But I also can't help but compare the beginning of our relationship to the beginning of mine with Thad.

Thad was sweet in the beginning, too. He was kind and caring. He wrote me love notes and brought flowers. He did everything right. And then…nothing I did was ever right.

I press a hand to my stomach and take a deep breath.

Sully isn't Thad. And Thad isn't here.

It's time to put the past behind me. I just have to figure out how.

Chapter 25

Sully

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