Page 56 of Let Me
TWENTY-FIVE
Present
DINNER WITH MORGAN is paid for courtesy of Benji.
I gave the rest of the money to the receptionist, telling her I found it in the hallway. There are probably cameras all over this hotel, and she might see our interaction, but I don’t care.
Morgan tips back her glass of wine—fourth already—in the snazzy little restaurant of The Villa and tells me about this dude she’s seeing named Francis. She owns this place outright and Francis sounds like a druggie with no future, but who the fuck am I to judge?
I throw back my rum and Diet Coke—second—and nod in all the right places, laugh in the others. I used to be afraid of Diet Coke. Now, I relish in it. Conquering the thing that conquered you and all that. I glance down at my salmon, fork off another bite and savor it. I can’t remember the last time I ate.
Finally, Morgan runs out of Francis stories and she tucks a strand of short red hair behind her ear and nods toward me. “What about you?” she asks, fingering her wine glass. “What brings you here to Haven? Are you still living in the States?”
I smile, swallow the salmon, finish my drink and finally speak. “Yeah, I am. Almost done with university.”
She wrinkles up her nose as if the word personally offends her. Someone with her money, it probably does. “I’m glad I didn’t waste my time with it,” she says, waving a hand dismissively.
I remind myself she’s letting me stay in her hotel for free, for as long as I want.
“Yeah, it blows going to school.”
She giggles as if I’ve just told a particularly funny joke. She adjusts the strap of her white dress on her tan shoulder and takes a bite of her steak. It’s a tiny bite, and I imagine she won’t touch the mashed potatoes at all. I’m small myself, but Morgan is as wide as my pinky finger.
“Meet any hot guys out there, in the South?”
She doesn’t know about Adam. We started datingafterhigh school, after Jack. Caden. Not that she knows anything about Caden. Only Tyler knows that. And Benji, apparently. And fucking Rolland.
I stab my salmon, glare at the approaching waitress, who backs off, and keep my tone light. “Not really,” I say, shaking my head. “I mean, there are. But I’m too busy for a relationship.”
Or friends. I don’t bother to tell her this is the first meal out I’ve had with someone in a long, long time.
She nods, as if she knows what I’m talking about. But I don’t know if Morgan has ever been busy in her life. She has people running this place for her, and from all the vacations she spilled to me about, I’m not sure she’s in Haven long enough to do much work.
But again, she’s being generous. I repeat this to myself over and over in my mind like a mantra as she opens her mouth again.
“You know,” she leans forward, hands clasped together, “I always thought you might find comfort with Caden…after…Jack.” She has the decency to say his name quietly, but even still, I stiffen, drop my fork with a clatter, and hold up my empty drink to a waitress at Morgan’s back. As she goes to get my drink, I force myself to meet Morgan’s dark brown eyes.
“Why would you think that?”
I found nothing with Caden after Jack. We didn’t speak after we saw his body. And that note, covered in blood.
You took her.
The last time we saw each other was the funeral, and we didn’t speak then either.
I have to squeeze my eyes shut, for half a second, to stop imagining Caden’s guilt. Benji’s threats scared me, but part of me also welcomed them. I like pain. And I deserve whatever is coming.
Morgan shrugs. “When we used to go to the Viranis, he was always, you know, watching you. When he was home from law school.”
The waitress sets down another rum and Diet, and I nod my thanks and drain it.
“Really?” I ask, because Morgan is expecting me to speak.
She nods quickly. “You never thought about…”
I shake my head. “Never,” I lie.
She frowns. “Oh. That’s too bad. You always did seem like you’d make a good couple. He works in Haven, you know? He’s a hotshot lawyer, owns some kind of company, which, of course, is no surprise.” She lets out a little giggle and cuts off another minuscule bite of steak. “You should see him before you leave.”
