Page 73 of Written with Regret (The Regret Duet 1)
And those rivers became waterfalls when I thought about seeing her in a wedding dress, walking down the aisle, her surprising me with the news that she was expecting, and then her call on her way to the hospital to tell me she was in labor.
They were all the things I’d missed and would continue to miss with my own mother.
But no matter the cost, I’d be there for Rosalee, and that made them the happiest tears of all.
By the time I snuck back to my seat next to Caven, my cheeks had dried.
He still noticed.
“Everything okay?” he whispered.
“Everything is fantastic.”
His eyes twinkled in the dim lighting, our stare lingering for a beat too long. His drifted away first, but not before sweeping over my lips.
We sat in silence for the rest of the program, his arm pressed against mine, our elbows sharing a narrow armrest, both of our loving gazes locked on Rosalee, who was squirming and fidgeting while she was supposed to be paying attention to the teachers.
Not surprisingly, when it ended, Rosalee was the first one charging off the stage.
“Daddy, look!” Rosalee shouted, a paper certificate stretched out in front of her.
Caven scooped her off her feet as all the other parents hurried to wrangle their own children.
“What’s it say?” she asked, handing it to me as he settled her on his hip.
I was in awe of how fluidly he handled her. “It says exactly what your teacher read when she handed it to you.”
“Read it again!”
“To Rosalee Hunt, Best Unicorn Artist of the Year.”
She squealed and put her hands on either side of Caven’s face, squishing his cheeks. “I’m the best unicorn artist!”
“I heard,” Caven mumbled through duck lips.
“Does this mean we can go to Mo’s? Please, Daddy. Please. Please. Please.”
“Are you going to let go of my face?”
“Are you going to say yes?”
“Yes. Fine. We can go to Mo’s.”
I laughed when she threw both hands in the air.
“Hadley, you want to come to Mo’s?”
Yes. Yes. God, yes. I didn’t even know what Mo’s was, but I wanted to go wherever she was.
Unfortunately, sweet progress, warm hugs, and sharing an armrest didn’t equal an open invitation. I looked to Caven. “Oh, I don’t know.” But I watched in fascination as his lips split into a breathtaking smile.
“Come on, Hadley. It’s a pizza place just around the corner. They have the most incredible pies you can find in Jersey.”
“Pies are pizza,” Rosalee added.
I bit my bottom lip to keep from grinning like The Joker. “Well, what do you know? I love pizza.”
Rosalee’s hands shot right back up in the air. “What about you, Uncle Ian? Are you coming?”
His dark gaze flicked between Caven and me, his disapproval tangible. “Nah. I’m going to have to pass tonight.” He rubbed her back as she sat in Caven’s arms. “But listen, maybe you and I can go grab lunch again next week?”
“Can I have another Coke?”
“No!” Caven growled.
Ian winked. “Maybe.”
The four of us braved our way through the crowd together.
Thankfully, Caven missed it when Rosalee sneakily pointed out Jacob to me. He was a cute kid, though I noted to give her another talk when he blew her a kiss as we passed by. Something I was also thankful Caven missed.
Ian left without so much as acknowledging me again, and I did my best to pretend like it didn’t sting. After all, Beth wasn’t sold on Caven, either. It was his job to be skeptical of me. Maybe with less glaring, but whatever. I could handle Ian.
I followed Caven and Rosalee to the restaurant. He wasn’t kidding; it really was just around the corner. It was also a glorified shack that I swear the roof was going to cave in any moment. I couldn’t imagine successful businessman/multimillionaire Caven Hunt walking into that place voluntarily. He was far from a snob, but even I was hesitant about this place. I decided to check the food inspector’s score before ordering anything.
They were waiting for me at the entrance by the time I’d convinced myself that this wasn’t a practical joke and climbed out of my car.
“Your face is priceless,” Caven said as I walked up.
“I’m just a little shocked, that’s all.”
“It’s good. I promise. They bring out all the ingredients and you get to make your own pizza. Well, you won’t get to make anything. Rosalee does it all, but it keeps her busy.”
“And it has…” She grunted, pushing at the chipped wooden door with both hands, her feet slipping on the gravel as she fought to get it open. Caven put a hand to the top and sent her stumbling inside, where she finished with, “Video games too.”
“Video games,” I gasped, clutching my heart. “Why didn’t you say so?”
Surprisingly, the place was busy, but after a whispered request and a handshake that I’m almost positive contained cash, the hostess seated us at a round booth in the corner near the arcade. Rosalee went in first, settling at the curve. Then Caven and I slid in on either side of her.
