Page 192 of One Bad Idea
He smiled.
Chapter 72
Almost in a trance, I walked slowly forward, never taking my eyes off him. He was dressed casually in jeans, a dark T-shirt, and a red hoodie. Unless I was mistaken, it was the same hoodie that he'd been wearing when I'd first shown up on his doorstep all those months ago.
Unlikethattime, he strode forward, meeting me more than halfway in the bustling parking garage. We practically collided into each other's arms, and he cradled me tight against him.
Into my hair, he whispered two words that caught me totally off-guard. "I'm sorry."
With a laugh, I pulled back to look into his eyes. "Really?"
His gaze was warm and wonderful. "Is that such a surprise?"
"Yeah," I said.
He gave a tight shrug. "Eh, just goes to show…"
When he didn't finish, I said, "It goes to show what?"
His eyes filled with humor. "Whatyouknow."
I tried to glare, but failed miserably. The truth was, I was so insanely glad to see him that I couldn't even pretend to be angry.
But Iwasconfused. "What about Hawaii?"
"What about it?"
"You were there."
"Yeah. And now I’m not."
I was still soaking up the sight of him. "But why'd you come back?"
His gaze met mine. "You've gotta ask?"
Suddenly, I felt like crying, but they weren't tears of sadness, not this time. They were the other kind, thebetterkind.
In a softer voice, he said, "You should’ve told me."
"Told you what?"
"That people were giving you grief."
"But they weren't," I said.
His eyebrows lifted. "Is that so?"
"Okay, well maybe Darla and I had a few spats, but honestly, nobody was giving me grief. They were just…" I tried to laugh. "…pretending I didn't exist."
"Say the word, and I'll fire them all."
Now, I laughed for real. "Oh stop it. You wouldn’t."
"Wanna bet?"
From the look on his face, this was a bet I'd surely lose. The thought was more than a little unsettling.
I looked down and murmured, "You know I'd never want that." And it was true. I didn't, especially when most of them probably thought they had good reasons to hate me.
