TO DIE FOR (Eva Rae Thomas Mystery Book 8) - Willow Rose Page 0,54

would have liked to do differently now, looking back.”

“I think most people feel that way,” I said. “Life is messy. But at the end of it, I do like to believe we look back at it and say that we made the most of what we had been dealt.”

He nodded. “I sure hope so. I hate to think I wasted it.”

I looked out the window while driving, wondering about him. I couldn’t stop thinking about Sarah and the way she had looked at him when we faced her in Winter Park. It was strange. She really didn’t want him. What had happened between them? Had Scott hurt her? Was that why he was stalking that girl too? Because he was some creep that hurt women?

If so, then why was I helping him again? Just because he had no one else? Or was I deeper in than I thought? After what happened in Winter Park, I had promised myself I never wanted to see him again, yet I came running as soon as Annie called.

Was he just a creep? Was Matt right, and I was completely blind?

I drove up in front of his townhouse and parked. He turned to look at me, then smiled.

“Listen, I know I haven’t exactly shown myself from my best side lately. But I want to thank you for believing in me when no one else did. And for helping me out tonight, again.”

“The girl is getting a restraining order on you, so you better stay clear of her from now on,” I said. “And Chief Annie told you to stay out of her town, so you should probably listen to that too. If she catches you speeding, she’ll take you back in, and this time, she won’t be as merciful.”

He scoffed. “Wow. I can’t believe it has come to this. Unwanted in my old hometown. Well, if it can’t be any different, then I guess so be it.”

“That’s the deal, Scott; you better honor it.”

He grabbed the door handle and was about to leave when he paused. “I meant you and me. You know that, right?”

“What?”

“When I talked about regrets. I was talking about us. Don’t you wonder what it would have been like if we had become a couple instead of just sneaking around? If we had stayed together?”

I stared at him, speechless. I had wondered that so many times lately, but I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to think about how deeply I had been in love with him, even though we just fooled around. I had wanted him so badly back then, wanted him to choose me over Hannah, and hoped he would break up with her because he realized his great love for me was more profound than what he had with her. But when it did happen, when she broke up with him, he didn’t choose me after all. He didn’t even call me or come looking for me. He just left town after graduation, and we never saw one another again. It was the biggest heartbreak of my life, and he didn’t even know it. Now, he was seriously looking at me and telling me he regretted it too?

“Did you want to?” I asked, not sure I wanted to hear the answer.

“Heck, yeah,” he said. “I was nuts about you. I used to come to see you run track all the time, just to see you.”

“But you were with Hannah,” I said. “You were homecoming queen and king. You were the perfect couple.”

“I know,” he said. “It was all an image thing. We felt we belonged together because we belonged to the same group. You know how things were back then. It didn’t matter if you liked her or not. It was just how it was supposed to be, right? And then she broke up with me, and I was so excited, I could have burst.”

I tilted my head. “Really? Why did she say you tried to run her over?”

He scoffed. “I told her I was relieved when she broke up with me, and I think she was just upset about that. She wanted me to be heartbroken. She knew I wasn’t really into her and us. She could feel it, and I think she wanted to punish me. She made up this rumor that I had tried to hurt her because I didn’t want her to leave me. I never touched her. All I could think about was the fact that I was now a free man and