It All Started With a Lima Bean (39 page)

They talked for hours afterward until neither one could keep their eyes open. He still couldn’t believe how blessed he was to have this woman in his life. She surprised him when she suggested that Julianne come live in Abby’s bungalow after the wedding so she could be close to them. He loved the idea of having her near so when they decided to have more kids, Julianne could help care for them.

Abby dozed off first, so he took advantage and stared at her until he couldn’t stay awake himself. He kissed her on the forehead then turned the light off. He thought about going back to his room until she sleepily scooted over to him, wrapped her arm around his stomach and laid her head on his chest. 

“I love you Caleb, and can’t wait to be your wife.”

“I love you too, more than you can ever know.” They were home in each other’s arms, and soon would be like this for the rest of their lives. He smiled at that thought and then drifted off to sleep.

A loud ringing overtook Caleb’s subconscious.
What was that?
He was dreaming about holding Abby in his arms but that insistent sound just wouldn’t go away. Caleb unwillingly departed his sleepy visions back to consciousness when he realized that Abby’s arms and legs were actually wrapped around his body. Not wanting to leave his bride-to-be’s warmth, Caleb grumpily reached for his phone on the nightstand.

“Hello.” Half asleep, he didn’t try to hide his irritation.

“Hey dude. Did you forget about us?” Stefen was on the other line.

“What time is it?” Confused, he tried looking for a clock in the room not even thinking to look at the phone screen.

“11:00.”

“Are you serious?” His quick movement to a sitting position alarmed Abby.

The blankets followed Caleb when he jolted up, revealing Abby’s tank top and shorts sleepwear. In a panic, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

He placed his hand on top of her warm exposed thigh. “Everything is fine; we just overslept. It’s 11:00 already.”

His cousin interjected. “Yeah, looks like we are going to have to do lunch instead of breakfast. It’s totally fine. Don’t worry about it. I’m SURE you are exhausted.” Abby sat up on her knees then kissed Caleb’s cheek before stumbling toward the bathroom.

“You know me better and it’s not like that.” Caleb felt proud protecting Abby’s honor even though it wasn’t anyone else’s business what they had or had not done.

“I do know. How about you guys meet us at my place in about an hour?” Madison could be heard giggling in the background

“Sounds good. How is my princess?” He wanted to talk to her but really needed to get off the phone to get ready.

“You tell me. She’s with you.”
Smartass
.

“I mean my little princess. My queen is with me.” Snaking his head around to see if Abby heard that, he noticed the bathroom door was closed.

“Dude, seriously? Totally cheesy.”

“I know, but you started it.” He was a total sap but couldn’t help himself.

“She is fine. We are just hanging out talking about how much she loves her new mommy.”

Caleb’s heart filled with joy. Madison talked about Abby all the time. He still couldn’t believe how blessed he was to have Abby in his and Madison’s lives.

“Give her a kiss for me and tell her I’ll see her in an hour.”

“Okay, see you then.” Caleb hadn’t noticed that the shower was on until he got off the phone. Approaching the bathroom door, he attempted to yell through it. “We missed breakfast, so we’re meeting at Stefen’s for lunch instead.”

“What? I can’t understand you. Open the door.” He heard Abby’s muffled voice shout back.

He took a moment then slowly opened it, relaxing when he got a glimpse of the white shower curtain covering what he knew to be a very naked Abby. Peeking her head out while keeping her body covered by the curtain, she inquired, “What did you say?”

“Um.” He was lost for words, which made her giggle. “Oh yeah, we missed breakfast so we’re meeting at Stefen’s for lunch in about an hour. I’ll go get ready and come back with some coffee for you, just the way you like it.” His confidence was back, so he winked at her. Granting him a seductive stare, she gestured for him to approach for a goodbye kiss. As quick as he could, without losing his cool, he gave her a peck on the lips and proceeded to leave the steamy room that smelled of her body wash. He was really going to enjoy this side of her once they were finally married. That day couldn’t come quick enough.

Abby couldn’t believe how forward she had been with Caleb. Although there was no way she could ever get enough of him, flirting didn’t normally come natural to her. However, she kind of liked this new side of herself. It was fun to be flirty. Sensing complete security with Caleb, Abby was confident she could do and say anything to him. Overwhelmed with the way he made her feel, she couldn’t wait to spend her days AND nights with him soon.

A knock on the door echoed in the room once she was dressed in her warmest outfit and her small bag was packed with additional clothes for their evening at the hockey game, Caleb stood in the entryway with two cups of coffee. Without a doubt, she was totally head over heels in love with this man that was holding liquid happiness, just for her.

Stefen opened his front door with a goofy smile and teeny, tiny pigtails at the top of his normally well groomed head. Caleb busted out laughing; he’d been there too many times to count. Abby’s eyes caught what was so hilarious and stepped behind Caleb so Stefen couldn’t see her snickering.

“What’s so funny?” Scowling, Stefen looked like he really didn’t know why they were doubled over.

“Nice hairdo.”

“Crap.” He reached up and pulled the rubber bands from his hair, taking some strands with them. “I forgot she put those in.”

“Believe me, you don’t need to explain. I live with her and play beauty shop far too often.”

Caleb patted Stefen on the back before Abby greeted him. “I think that’s adorable. Most guys wouldn’t let a little girl beautify them.”

She grinned as Stefen reached out for a hug. “Well lucky me, I got the full treatment.”

The hairdresser herself ran down the hallway before coming to a full halt in front of them. “Daddy, Ma…I mean Abby. You’re here. Did you forget breakfast time?” She placed her little hands on her waist but couldn’t hide her happiness that they were all together.

“We just overslept, that’s all. Come here.” Surrounding her with his arms, Caleb squeezed Madison before giving her a butterfly kiss.

He watched as his little girl cheerfully left his arms to be embraced by Abby’s. Witnessing his girls together did something to his heart. There was little he wouldn’t do for either of them. “Abby, I helped Uncle Stefen put some vegetable food on the table for you.” Caleb chuckled knowing she was referring to vegetarian fare. “Come in the dining room; Uncle Stefen said we put on a good spread. Do you know what that means?”

Abby carried Madison in her arms to the adjoining room. “Yes, it means that you have a great meal waiting for us.”

“Oh, that makes senses now.” Madison smiled before being deposited into the leather high back chair that was perfectly balanced by the contemporary metal base. She peered through the glass tabletop at the unusual base, artistically designed into the shape of an X. “This is a weird table, Abby.” She whispered with her tiny hand curved around her mouth as if she was telling a big secret. Caleb and Stefen both overheard of course, but tried to pretend they hadn’t.

The entire surface of the table was covered with different deli dishes as well as several vegetarian ones. Knowing his cousin well, Caleb imagined this fare was from the deli down the street that delivered to his building. It didn’t matter though, it all looked delicious, and he was thankful Stefen kept Abby’s dietary restrictions in mind when ordering the food.

Stefen clapped his hands then rubbed them together. “Dig in.”

They’d had a fantastic afternoon relaxing in his cousin’s apartment, and it appeared as though Stefen and Abby were getting along. Admittedly, Caleb had worried a little that Stefen might be a bit too much for Abby to cope with. Naturally though, she opened herself up and accepted him with all his faults. That woman had a heart of gold.

After changing into warmer clothes, they headed out for their evening at the hockey arena. Caleb was beyond excited to share his favorite sport with his favorite girls. He just prayed the game’s fast paced, sometimes aggressive players, didn’t scare the crap out of Abby.

“So tell me again, how can you be from Chicago and be a Flyers fan? Your team should be the Blackhawks.” Stefen smirked at his cousin while running his hand down the steering wheel of his Porsche SUV as they drove to the stadium.

“No, that’s YOUR team Stefen. Just because I’m from Chicago doesn’t mean I can’t be a Flyers fan.” They could go back and forth with this argument, but Caleb didn’t want to bore Abby who was already anxious about attending her first hockey game. He glanced at his fiancé who was sitting close to a sleeping Madison in the backseat of the SUV. Abby was adorable engulfed in one of his favorite hockey jerseys with the sleeves rolled up. Madison wore her own jersey.

“Why are you a Flyers fan anyway?” Abby tilted her head trying to see his face in the dark car.

He took a deep breath before sharing his reasons. “You’ve met my father now and I’m sure you noticed that he’d rather be anywhere else than with his family. Well, when I was about ten, he landed a big case in Buffalo and his client was a huge Flyers fan.” Stefen gave him a knowing look because he too had an absentee father. “This client would take his son with him to all of the games, so my dad thought it would be a good move to take me to a couple with them too. Looking back, I know he only did it for business relations, but I’ll tell you, at the time I felt like the luckiest kid around. I thought my dad wanted to be with me.” Starting to choke up a little, he tilted his eyes to Stefen who was staring straight ahead, expressionless. “Anyway, I fell in love with hockey and have been loyal to the Flyers ever since. Going to those games were the only childhood memories I have that included my father.” He forced a smile for Abby’s sake. She looked a little gloomy. Stretching for her hand, he brought it to his lips and assured her, “It’s okay Babe. Don’t look so sad.” Figuring it was as good of a time as any to point out how he thought the night would turn out, he added, “You are about to witness the Flyers kick some ass.” He chuckled and let her hand go turning toward the front with a lump in his throat. Madison must have woken up when Abby’s body was pulled forward for the hand kiss because the next thing Caleb heard was “Daddy, you said ass.”
Damn.