She gave a little frown. "So, where'd you go?"
I pointed to the mini bar, with its assortment of glasses and bottled beverages. "I went for ice."
"Yeah, so did I." She bit her lip. "Around midnight, remember?"
No. I didn't.That was three hours ago, but it made sense. When I'd grabbed the ice bucket, ithadn'tbeen empty. Sure, I'd topped it off, but apparently, I was getting sloppy.
Not a good sign.
She added, "I filled it when you were on the phone with Flynn." As she spoke, her gaze strayed once again to the bucket. "Are you sure we needed any?"
"Hey, we can always use more, right?"
She chewed on her bottom lip for a long, silent moment before saying, "Yeah. I mean, ice is good." She looked back to me, and her frown deepened.
I wasn't dressed for bed. But hey, it's not like I'd go out for ice in my boxers, so I figured I was okay.
But then she asked a second time, "So where'd you go?"
"I just told you."
She gave me a long, careful look. "So, it was raining in the hallway?"
Fuck.
I resisted the urge to reach up and check my hair. I didn't need to. It wasn't soaked, but itwasdamp. I'd noticed that in the bathroom mirror.
I wasdefinitelygetting sloppy. It wasn't like me. But the truth was, Becka was one hell of a distraction – far more than I'd apparently realized.
With an easy smile, I replied, "Hey, I took the long way."
She didn't smile back. "Right."
I tried again. "And I got some fresh air."
So far, I hadn't lied to her. Ihadgotten ice. And Ihadgotten fresh air. But I'd also gotten a list of phone calls and some very interesting documents.
After a long pause, she said, "You do that a lot, you know."
"I do what?"
"Disappear in the middle of the night."
Her words hit like a hammer. Until now, she hadn't said a thing. And because of this, I'd had every reason to think I was okay. The truth was, more times than not, I remained with Becka all through the night. And on the nights Ididleave, I might be gone for only an hour, maybe two.
Every time I'd left, she'd been asleep. And she'd never said a word.
Until now.
I was still processing this when she added, "The first time I noticed was in Seattle."
Seattle?
What the hell?
That was what, months ago?
Now I wasn't sure how to play it. In the back of my mind, I'd always figured that I'd have some warning. Like maybe she'd notice one time and ask me about it on the spot – at which point I'd go to Plan B.
