Finding Abigail (14 page)

That’s how
Brenda found me. When I didn’t answer her knock at the door she let herself in
with her key. She stood in the doorway with a concerned expression on her face.
“Debbie called, she said you haven’t heard from him in three days.”

“Nope, and I
don’t care. He accused me of cheating on him and when he realized I didn’t, did
he apologize?” My mouth was half full of ice cream, and I was waving my spoon
in the air.

“Um...well,
from your tone of voice, I’m going to guess, no.”

“No, he didn’t.
Then he said I shouldn’t have had dinner with Jason at all because I used to
date him. Only that’s not the words he used. Even though I told him where I was
and who I was with. Did he care? No. So guess what? I don’t care.” I scooped
another spoonful up and shoved it in my mouth. The spoon scraped my teeth,
making a sound that used to irritate Brenda when we were kids. She winced but
chose to hold her tongue. I felt like making the sound again, just to annoy
her. I wasn’t happy, why should anyone else be?

She moved
slowly until she hovered in front of me, her hands in the air. “Okay, sweetie,
maybe you should put the ice cream down, and we’ll talk about this.” Her voice
was soft, like she was talking a person down from a ledge.

I gaped up at
her, wondering why she was speaking to me like I was a crazy person. “Why? I’m
fine.”

Her arm shot
out. She grabbed hold of the ice cream container and pulled. I wasn’t expecting
her quick movement, and the carton almost slipped from my fingers. I gripped
the lip just as it was about to be ripped out of my hands. I probably didn’t
need any more ice cream, but I was holding on more for the principle of it. I
wasn’t a child she could boss around. I pulled back and added a cool glare. She
blinked at me and matched me glare for glare, yanking harder, finally pulling
it out of my grip. Then she smiled and disappeared into the kitchen with it. I
heard the freezer door open and then quickly close. My fingers were sticky from
the container, and I had the urge to lick them clean. Of course if I did, it
would prove her right—I was acting like a child. Instead, I wiped them on the
navy-blue boxers I was wearing.

She came back
in wearing a satisfied grin, and took a seat in an armchair. She crossed her
legs and spread her arms out on the soft chair. Her honey-colored hair was
down, falling against the back of the plush chair. She was wearing a soft blue
summer dress. “I think we have to do something to get your mind off things. So
you don’t dwell on your fight. Have you seen Mom lately?”

I leaned back
on the couch, covering myself with a velvet throw blanket, more for comfort
than warmth. “Yes, Nick and I were at her place for dinner last week.”

She frowned,
creating a wrinkle in between her eyes. “Okay, so much for getting him off your
mind.” Her foot bounced up and down on her knee as she tried to think of
something else to talk about. Before she could, there was a knock at the door,
which startled both of us. She turned to me, with a brow raised, waiting for me
to answer it. When I made no move, she shook her head, stood up, and walked
over to look through the peep hole. She spun around, her hair fanning out
behind her. “It’s him,” she hissed.

“Nick?” I
whispered back, and she nodded.

“Who is it?” I
yelled cheerfully as if I didn’t have a care in the world.

“Abby, it’s
Nick, can I come in?” I stood up, looked at myself in the mirror, and saw that
my hair was half in, half out of the ponytail I had put up this morning.
Quickly I took it out and combed through the hair with my fingers. “No,” I
shouted as I glanced down at my white tank top that was stained with chocolate
ice cream.

Panicked at the
thought of him seeing me like this, I rushed to my room and whipped the tank
off, yanking on a cute tight-fitting black top. A pair of faded jeans lay
sprawled on the floor. I grabbed them and yanked them on, covering the boxers.

“I know I don’t
deserve a second chance, but please let me in,” Nick was saying from the other
side of the door, when I reappeared. Brenda was standing against it listening.
I approached her and gestured for her to sit down.

“What do you
want?” I asked coldly after throwing the door open. His short hair was brushed
perfectly. He wore a burgundy button down shirt and dark jeans. He looked good,
and that just pissed me off. A quick glance at Brenda had him flushing with
embarrassment—
good
. “Um…I was wondering if I could talk to you alone, if
that’s okay.”

I squared my
shoulders, preparing to make him beg. “I’m going to have to say no. When I
tried to explain things to you, you wouldn’t listen, and you didn’t trust me.
So no, I don’t want to hear what you have to say.” I started to push the door
shut, but he stopped it with his hand, making a smacking sound against the
wood.

Brenda stood
up, her face a mix of weariness and curiosity. “Maybe I should go.”

I whirled on
her. “No, you stay, he’s leaving.” I jerked my thumb in his direction.

Nick touched my
arm. When I looked at him about to yank his hand away, I saw how miserable he
looked. “Please,” he said softly. His eyes were tortured and pathetic. My
resolve crumbled in a pile at my feet.

I sighed,
giving up. “Okay. Brenda, I’ll call you later. Nick, you can come in.”

I shut the door
behind Brenda and stood leaning against it with my arms folded in front of me,
feeling anxious, angry, and unsure. “I’m waiting. You’ve got five minutes.”

“Do you want to
sit?” he asked, sounding nervous.

“No, I’m fine
here.”

He glanced
around, not sure if he should sit or stand. With a shrug he stood in front of
me and cleared his throat. “I didn’t understand what Jason was to you. I have
never been friends with an ex-girlfriend so I had no idea it could be done,
that’s stupid of me, I know.” He ran a hand roughly over his short hair “I
thought that you must be sleeping with him since I believed nobody stayed
friends after they dated. I’m sorry I put that on you. But Debbie told Brian
what your friendship with Jason meant to you. I’m so sorry I jumped to the
wrong conclusions.” He paused to gaze at me with sad eyes, started to reach his
hand out to touch me, hesitated, and then dropped it. He was unsure of my
reaction and almost looked vulnerable. It made my anger fade. “Can you forgive
me? I’ve missed you so much. I’ve been crazy without you, and it’s only been
three days. Please put me out of my misery, take pity on me.” With that, he
took a box out of the pocket of his jeans and opened it. Two shiny diamond
earrings sat in pale blue velvet.

Without
thinking, I leaned over them. “They’re beautiful,” I said dreamily. Then I
remembered I was mad at him and stepped back. “You hurt me.” My tone wasn’t as
sharp as I had intended.

“I know, and
I’m sorry.” It helped that he looked miserable. It made my lips twitch.

“Is that a
smile?”

“Maybe.”

He
smiled, and took the earrings out of the box. “Here, why don’t you
try them on?”

Oh well,
trying them on couldn’t hurt,
I thought. Once I
did, and looked in the mirror, I couldn’t remember what I was mad about.

Celebration

Over the next
couple of months Nick was attentive, sweet, and romantic. He told me that the
three days without me had scared him, and he would never do anything to hurt me
again. So far, he had kept his promise. On our-six month anniversary, he took
me back to Marco’s, where we went for our first date. The restaurant was
packed, as it usually was on Saturday nights, so I was surprised that we were
escorted to the same table we sat at on our first date as soon as we arrived.
“You must have called ahead,” I guessed, gesturing to the line of people
waiting to get a table.

His smile was
cocky as he sat down across from me. “It helps to know the owner. Besides it’s
a special occasion. I wanted to treat you to a nice dinner, and I had a little
help.” He gestured to Marco, who was making his way over, dressed in a slick
gray suit, holding a single red rose.

“Good evening,
Abby. You look gorgeous. That color is great on you.”

Instead of
answering, I blushed, glancing down at the dress I bought yesterday after Nick
told me of his plans. The dress was raw silk and the color of rust. It fell off
my shoulders and hugged my body nicely. My hair was down, and curled. I felt
fabulous.

Marco slid the
rose into the clear crystal empty vase that sat in the center of the table.
“Compliments of your date,” he announced with a nod toward Nick.

“Thank you,” I
said softly, glancing at both of them, feeling suddenly shy for no reason that
I could explain.

Marco grinned at
me. “Well, enjoy your meal. Let me know if there’s anything you need.” He
walked away, leaning down to a couple at a table to the left of us. He said
something to the woman, who laughed as he walked away. He was good at his job
and you could see he loved it.

“Thank you for
the rose,” I said, glancing back at my date.

Nick shrugged
as he reached out to pick up a menu, handed it to me, and then grabbed another
one for himself. “I just called Marco and asked him to put a rose on the table,
that’s all.” He opened the menu and started to read. “So, what do you think
you’ll order?” Nick asked just as the waiter brought over a bottle of
champagne.

I raised an
eyebrow at Nick; he just smiled in answer. After the waiter poured each of us a
glass, he left discreetly. “Champagne? Hoping to get lucky tonight?” I asked,
taking a sip, savoring the bubbles as they bounced on my tongue.

“I’m hoping,”
he replied, wiggling his eyebrows.

I laughed as
the waiter returned to take our order. Once again, Nick ordered for me, like he
had done since we met, but that was him. He was used to taking charge at work
and at home.

“So how was
work today? Catch any bad guys?”

He swallowed
his sip and set his glass down with a nod. “I did, in fact. Brian and I got a
lead this morning, which led to a chop shop and we found about twenty stolen
cars. So yes, we arrested the bad guys. It was a good day.” He beamed at me,
his face showing his good mood. I loved it when he was happy, it made me happy.

Pleased that he
was sharing, I held up my glass. “To putting away the bad guys.” Our glasses
chimed as they touched.

“What did you
do with your day?” he asked, the smile fading.

I leaned my
elbow on the table, resting my head on it. “The usual. I finished a chapter and
cleaned the apartment, went for a run.”

He was staring
at the rose, not really listening to my answer. “That’s good. Does that rose
smell funny to you?” he asked scrunching up his face.

Puzzled by his
sudden change in conversation, I took the rose between my fingers and pushed it
to my nose. “No, It smells fine to—” I stopped speaking when I noticed
something sparkle inside the bud. “What’s this?” I asked, pulling out something
hard. I gasped when I saw what was now in the palm of my hand. It was a ring,
and it sparkled in the candle’s glow.

“I saw this
ring and it looked so much like your locket, I knew it was meant for you. I
know this won’t be the most important piece of jewelry you own, but I hope you
will treasure it as much as your locket.” He stood up and got down on one knee.
I was frozen in my seat; I couldn’t move. The ring still sat in my hand. He
took it and held it out. “I love you, Abby. More than I knew was possible. Will
you marry me?” I was only slightly aware of the whispers and gasps of the
people around us. I was focused on the man in front of me.

Dazed by the
ring, and the romance of the moment, there could only be one answer. “Yes,” I
whispered. He smiled, took my hand, and slid the ring on my finger; it was a
perfect fit. I gazed down at my hand, admiring the ring. The band was white
gold with a lace design, weaving its way up to a cluster of diamonds. He was
right; it seemed to match my locket. Tears fell down my cheeks as I absorbed
what was happening.

He framed my
face with his hands and leaned in, pressing his lips to mine. I wrapped my arms
around his neck and held on, taking the kiss deeper. It was an amazing moment
and I wanted to show him how much I loved him. Just as his hands moved slowly
down my back, creating a shimmer of warmth spreading through my body, an
explosion of applause erupted around us, and I remembered we weren’t alone.

We pulled apart
with embarrassed smirks on both of our faces. Marco rushed over and gave me a
hug. “Congratulations,” he whispered into my ear. When he pulled away he shook
Nick’s hand. “You did good, buddy. You’re lucky you found her first.”

The night was
so magical, I couldn’t stop smiling.

Back at my
apartment we celebrated in my bedroom. Afterward, lying in his arms, I mumbled,
“I don’t want you to go home.”

He laughed, a
deep throaty sound that rumbled in his chest. “I won’t, I’m not going
anywhere.”