all the time.
She made a noise of discontent. Even that was a dangerous thought. She shouldn’t have positive ideas about Kai at all. Not even seemingly innocuous ones.
Scrubbing her hands across her tired face, she left the bathroom and met Kai in the hallway.
“I don’t have anything after all,” he said. “And I’m out of ginger tea, too.”
“It’s okay. Really.” She wrapped her arms around herself. It was hard to even look straight at him. Luckily, the dark apartment meant he couldn’t see her very well, either.
He set his hands on her shoulders. “I’ll run down to the corner store.”
“It’s the middle of the night.”
“They’re open, and we’re up.” His hands slowly slipped away from her. They left an aching in their wake, and Diane hated herself a little bit more.
“But—”
“You go lay down,” he said, “and I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
She twisted her lips. He seemed to take no response as an affirmative, because he went into his bedroom and pulled on some jeans.
“Back soon.”
Diane sat on the edge of the bed, the lump in her throat making it hard to respond. She felt trapped by her own poor decisions, frozen to the spot by fear of losing control and getting in way over her head.
The front door closed with a snap, leaving her alone in the quiet apartment. The smell of Kai lingered in the bed, invading her senses and encouraging her to forget all about her worries, lay down, and wait for him to return and take care of her.
Her and the baby.
Diane jumped to standing. As quick as she could, she yanked on her clothes, grabbed her things, and rushed for the door.
How many times did she have to ride this merry-go-round before she grew tired of it? Kai was a losing battle.
She’d come to his place meaning to give him an impassioned earful that would finally set things right, and she’d ended up betraying herself again.
Holding back a sob, she punched the button for the elevator and prayed she wouldn’t run into Kai coming back into the building. The elevator and lobby were empty, though, and the doorman out front was one she didn’t recognize.
Any city in the middle of the night wasn’t the best place to be. She jogged across the street, headed in what she hoped was the direction opposite of where Kai had gone. Hailing the first cab she saw, she jumped into its backseat.
“Sunset Park, please,” she told the driver.
The man groaned. “Really?”
“Yes,” she snapped, harsher than she normally would.
The man sighed but turned the taxi in that direction. They hadn’t been driving more than a few minutes when Diane’s phone started ringing.
She barely glanced at the screen before silencing it. But once wasn’t enough. Kai called again, and then a third time.
He gave up after that. She should have been relieved, but that didn’t stop her heart from cracking in two.
Chapter 16
Kai
It was official. Kai had hit rock bottom.
And it was all his own damn fault.
He’d seen the discomfort in Diane’s gestures when they woke in the middle of the night. Telling himself there was nothing he could to about it then, he did the one thing he could and went to get her some medicine.
Unfortunately, when he returned home ten minutes later, she was nowhere to be seen. Her purse and clothes were gone, and there was no note or text.
He called a few times, each time she didn’t answer another twist of the knife that had been buried in his heart. Eventually, he gave up.
He worried about whether she’d made it home safe, but he reminded himself that she was an adult. Diane could take care of herself. Plus, she clearly didn’t want him concerning himself with her.
After unsuccessfully trying to get in touch, he went back to his bedroom but couldn’t stand to be in there. The memories of her were everywhere.
Grabbing a blanket and pillow from the hall closet, he set up on the couch. Even being in one of the guest bedrooms hurt. Right then, being near any bed hurt.
At dawn, after barely a wink of sleep, he trudged into the kitchen and downed half a pot of coffee. There was still no response from Diane.
So last night had been a glitch. A mistake? A momentary lapse in judgment?
He could call it anything he wanted. Clearly, it had meant nothing to her.
Putting down his third cup of coffee, he turned for the shower. That’s when he saw the roses in the middle of