Choosing the Right Man (NICE GIRL TO LOVE Book Three) (8 page)

Shoot, Skylar. Normally, Abby was so much better about arranging for Skylar to be at Becky’s on St. Patrick’s Day each year, at least for dinner if it fell on a weekday.

“Actually, that would be great, Connor. Do you think you could take Skylar out to the movies? And maybe get some frozen yogurt or something afterward?”

“Sounds like fun. I’ll text her right now.” He pulled out his phone and started typing out a quick message.

Before Abby even got a chance to ring the doorbell, Skylar yanked open the door with a bright smile. “Oh hey, Abby! I thought it was just going to be Uncle Connor.”

Connor grinned. “Gee, thanks for the ‘just,’ cutie.”

Skylar giggled. “You know what I meant.” Turning back toward the living room she called out, “Hey dad, Abby’s here too. Are you sure you don’t want to come to the movies with us?”

“Actually,” Abby interrupted, “I need your dad’s help with some business writing logistics for an article I’m working on,” she fibbed.

“Okay,” shrugged Skylar. “We’ll bring you guys back some dessert later.”

“Have fun.” Abby went into the living room and plopped onto the couch beside Brian.

He gave her a look. “I’m fine. You didn’t have to cut short your date with my brother,” he made a bit-into-a-pickle face, “just to come babysit me.”

“I know.” She grabbed the remote and began flipping through the channels. Dealing with Brian was a little like dealing with a wild animal at times. You had to let him come to you.

“It’s not a big deal anymore,” he maintained mulishly, stealing back the remote from her and flipping over to ESPN.

“Of course it isn’t,” replied Abby quietly as they sat in silence and did what they always did every March 17th. While most folks their age were out drinking green beer and partying the night away, she and Brian actively did nothing.

Together.

Ironically, they had a similar celebration on
Cinco De Mayo
as well.

Only that one was for her.

It was actually how this whole tradition was born, in fact. For that one day each year, Abby allowed herself to grieve…for her failings and her losses, for the tears she’d forced herself to stop shedding. For that one day each year, she took a day of mourning even though no one else in the world was mourning with her. For that one day each year, she reminded herself that just as it had the year prior, the next day would come.

Where once this was a solo tradition she’d never told anyone about, after a few years, Brian caught on. He never pried, he never prodded. He’d simply taken it upon himself to make it a non-solo tradition. He just plain began showing up to actively do nothing with her.

Apparently butting in without asking was also a tradition for them.

On her part, she was glad to have him share her May 5ths with her. Even though Brian had no idea what it was she was actively ‘not celebrating,’ every year, without fail, he’d show up for their annual tradition of not celebrating together.

As only her best friend could.

“I really am fine, you know.” He nudged her shoulder with his. “But thanks for coming. I didn’t think you’d remember this year.”

“Why would you think that?” she frowned.

They watched TV in silence for another minute before he eventually answered softly, “I feel like you’re slipping away from me, Abby.”

The words were a knife wound in her chest. And the only way she could chase it away was by turning to give him her best, ‘you’re crazy’ look and reassuring him with every confidence in the world, “Well, I’m not. I’m right here. Nothing has changed between us.”

It wasn’t until after she’d finished saying it that she realized she’d just said her second fib of the night.

And it was a big one.

S
HE COULDN’T BELIEVE
she was doing this.

She felt like she was going to hurl.

“Relax, Abby. You have nothing to be nervous about.”

Easy for him to say. “Are you sure this dress is formal enough?” She checked her reflection in the mirrored walls of the elevator once again while Connor pushed the button for the top floor. Though she’d searched high and low, her favorite thrift store did not have a section for ‘corporate mixer cocktail dresses.’ So, she’d gotten the dressiest thing she could find that didn’t look like it belonged at a music award banquet.

“I should have gotten fancier heels.”

He came up behind her, his rock solid frame nearly molding against her as he leaned in to whisper, “For the hundredth time, you look beautiful.” He met her eyes in the mirror and raked his heated gaze slowly over every curve of her body. “But, if you need me to convince you in other ways…” Splaying his hands on her hips, he pulled her back against him. Close, but not nearly close enough. “Does that tell you how gorgeous I think you are?” His voice was hoarse, tortured, and the brush of hard evidence outlining his ‘thoughts’ were tempting her to reach over and pull the stop key to bring the elevator to a halt.

And it had nothing to do with the fact that she was afraid of getting out on the top floor.

When he caught her eyes flickering over to that red button on the electronic panel, he groaned.

“You’re killing me here, Abby. At this rate, I’m going to stop this elevator right now, if not for every last reason you have in mind, at least to avoid walking out of here with the granddaddy of all erections in front of everyone I work with.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him to do it.

Until the elevator chimed and the doors slid open on the ballroom floor.

Saved by the bell.

He backed up a step and shoved a hand in his pocket uncomfortably. “You’re hell on all my good intentions, woman.” Drilling her with one more sizzling hot look, he slid a hand on the small of her back and led her out of the elevator. “And if you don’t stop biting your lip, I’m going to pull you in the nearest bathroom and pretend we’re back in that elevator. Twice.” His hand slipped an inch lower, daring her to rise an inch higher and prove that a bad boy with good intentions…

Was still a bad boy.

She swiped her tongue over the teeth marks on her lower lip in response to her own thoughts.

And a low, sexy growl rumbled out of his chest.

“Connor! There you are. We’ve been looking for you.”

Abby finally let out the breath she’d been holding.

Connor’s assistant came running up and flashed a warm, contagious smile at her. “Hello, you must be Abby. It’s so nice to finally meet you.”

“Likewise.” Abby smiled back at the chic older woman, liking her instantly. “Thank you for the two flower arrangements you’ve ordered for me in the past, by the way. They were beautiful.”

Laura looked both charmed and surprised. “Why, you’re quite welcome. But I only ordered one set of flowers for you.” She glanced over at Connor with a raised eyebrow. “He must have ordered the second one himself. Although to my knowledge he’s never once stepped foot in a flower shop before.”

Abby turned back to Connor and found him avoiding her questioning gaze, focusing instead on fiddling with his watch rather intently.

Adorable man.

A chirp from Laura’s phone had her jumping and grabbing Connor by the elbow. “I hate to do this to you, Abby, but I have to steal Connor away for about five minutes. I was hoping one of the other assistants would be free to keep you company but it appears you’ll have to mingle on your own for a bit.”

“Not a problem. I’ll be fine.”
Yeah, big talk.
She flashed them both a bright white smile.

Connor cast her a worried glance.

“Go, before you give Laura an aneurysm.”

As the two quickly made their way to the other end of the room, Abby contemplated finding a quiet table in the corner and pulling out her ereader. But she remembered her purpose for coming here tonight and stuck to the plan.

If she was going to seriously consider being with Connor, she needed to be able to exist in his world.

Eyeing the different groups of people around the room, she had no idea how to even strike up a conversation with any of these strangers.

“Hi, are you here with Connor Sullivan?”

Okay, well that was easy.

Abby turned around and did her best to keep her smile on her face when she saw who was speaking to her. It was the vampire-like woman who’d warned her away from Connor at his house party last summer. Great. Following up with a similarly cheerful voice, Abby replied, “I’m his date for the evening, yes. So nice to meet you.”

“You look so familiar—” The woman tapped one extravagantly manicured nail against her lower lip. “Oh I know! We met at one of Connor’s parties, didn’t we?”

Wow, if the woman wasn’t an actress by trade, she was seriously missing her calling.

“Yes, I believe we did. I’m afraid I don’t remember your name, however.”

“I’m Cassandra, and these ladies here—talk about standing in the woman’s shadow—are Janelle, Deborah, Elizabeth, and Clarissa.”

Abby nodded politely at each of the ladies, who were in turn, each looking at her like she was a mutant they wanted to dissect and run experiments on.

They descended on her like a circle of vultures.

“So you’re the one who’s taken Connor off the market,” sniffed the Deborah woman, looking down her sharp pointy nose at her.

Ah
, so it was going to be one of
those
conversations. Well, here goes nothing. “Off the market? You make him sound like real estate for sale.” Abby tipped her head back and did a terrific imitation of Cassandra’s laugh.

Cassandra did not look amused.

“Oh, it’s a compliment,” reassured the one with the eye-blinding overabundance of jewelry draped on her like a vault had just exploded. “No one has been able to tame him yet.”

Abby resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Instead, she tossed out without a thought, “Well then all his other women are simply doing it wrong.” She cupped a theatric hand to her mouth for a stage whisper, “It helps if you take turns at it.” Impressively, she kept her laughter at bay.

When she looked up, she saw Connor nearing their group, a grin curving one corner of his mouth up.

Darn the man and his bat-like ears.

“Abby’s right, it’s way more fun that way,” he broke in. “Though I have to say, I much prefer Abby
undomesticated
.” Sliding his arm around her waist, he pulled her away from the group. “Ladies. Always a pleasure.”

A silent giggle attacked her middle as they made their way across the dance floor.

He whispered quietly. “Very nice. You effectively shut those women up. I’ve never seen anything like it.” Skimming a kiss over her cheek, he asked, eyes laughing, “So I take it you’re not so nervous anymore?”

No, she wasn’t.

She knew now that she could hold her own with this crowd and survive these parties.

The only question was if that’s really the life she wanted to live.

“Did you see that woman Connor brought tonight?”

Abby froze and silently sat back down in the ballroom restroom stall; Connor would just have to think she’d had some bad shrimp because she’d had just about all the snippy conversational warfare she could take tonight. These women were vicious.

“Was it that bitchy lawyer he brings sometimes?

“No, this one has this whole
adorable
wide-eyed, gollie-gee-whiz thing going.”

Ouch. How the woman managed to make
that
into a biting insult was precisely why she was keeping her butt in the stall.

“Seriously? Connor? Are we talking about the same man who wore out the Hanley twins? Because from what I hear, he’s into some kinky stuff.”

“Really? I thought he was pretty vanilla. We only had sex a few times because of that stupid one-month rule of his but…meh, it was alright. I tried to get him to go to a bondage club with me but like I said, he wasn’t into it.”

Abby felt bile rising up in her throat.

“Well, he must be doing something right because he’s slept with half of the women out there tonight and most of them are still fawning all over him.” A syrupy sweet giggle. “Maybe he’s into the innocent virginal type now. A lot of these high powered guys like doing the whole role playing thing. Maybe corrupting the really pure ones gets the kinky side to come out.”

A toilet flush effectively drowned out their voices for a few precious seconds before the clacking of stiletto heels brought with it a voice she vaguely recognized. “Oh god, I’d let him dress me in braids and a schoolgirl outfit if that’s what it would take.”

Janelle.
One of the women she’d been talking to earlier. Wasn’t she married?

“Well if he’s into threesomes, why don’t you just ask his date to let you join in? She probably lets Connor do whatever he wants.”