There were so many things he’d been saving up to say to her, and now he couldn’t think of a single thing—except for how much he was going to miss her.
They’d gone out to dinner both nights.One night had been fancy, and the other had been laid-back.He wanted to show her how versatile city living could be.He’d wanted to convince her that she could be happy in Chicago with him.
They’d visited the Art Institute and the Botanic Garden.One evening they’d taken in a movie, and her last evening in town, they’d gone back to his place and talked about their pasts.They’d laughed and he’d shared more with her than he’d ever shared with Reed.She was now the keeper of his secrets.
He looked deep into her eyes.“I don’t want you to go.”
“I know.And I’m sorry.I have to.I have the coffeeshop to get back to.”
He nodded.“I know.But it doesn’t mean I won’t miss you.”
“Please don’t make this harder...”She lowered her head.
“Abby?”
When she raised her chin, he lowered his head.He caught her mouth with his own.It was something that he’d wanted to do all weekend, but he hadn’t acted on the desire, because he was afraid of...Well, he wasn’t quite sure if he was afraid of her reaction or perhaps his own.Because he’d never fallen for someone like he was falling for her.
Her kiss was sweet like the syrup she’d had that morning when they’d shared breakfast before heading to the airport.She was hesitant at first.He thought she was going to pull away, but then she kissed him back.
He knew he would replay this moment later that evening when he was lying in bed, unable to sleep.He would recall the way she fit perfectly in his arms, the light gentle floral scent of her shampoo, and the way her arms wrapped around his neck as her fingertips teased their way through his hair.
He didn’t want this kiss to end, because he knew when it did that she’d move to the security line.He’d stand right where he was, like some sort of besotted lover, until she gave him one last wave and disappeared from sight.
He instinctually pulled her closer, as though to keep her from getting away.Life was just so much better with her in it.
Someone bumped into them.They jerked apart.When he glanced over, he saw an older woman smiling at them.“I used to have a love like that.Treasure it.It’s fleeting.”
In a blink, the woman got lost in the crowd.When he looked back at Abby, her cheeks were rosy.He couldn’t help but wonder if that was from his kiss or a reaction to the woman’s words.
“I have to go,” Abby said.“I don’t want to miss my flight.”
“Do you have everything?”He didn’t know why he’d asked that.All she had was the one carry-on.But it was better than what he really wanted to say.He wanted to tell her it was the best weekend of his life and that he didn’t want her to go.But it was better to keep that stuff to himself.After all, there was no way this long-distance relationship was going to last.Right?
She gave him a quick hug.To his utter disappointment there was no kiss this time.And as he predicted, she waved a couple of times while she processed through the security line.With one last smile and wave, she was gone.
As he made his way out of the airport, he’d never felt so alone.It was so bad he actually contemplated if he had enough time to buy a ticket and catch her flight.A glance at the departures listing told him he didn’t have the time.
Thankfully, the wedding shower was only a couple weeks away.Although at that particular moment, it felt as though it were a lifetime away.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Wedding Shower
Itwasofficiallyspringtimein Bayberry.
The forecast said that both Saturday and Sunday were supposed to be beautiful.Abby was glad for the warm temperature.She knew the weather could be fickle at this time of the year, but on that particular day, the sun was shining and the high was in the fifties.She took it as a good omen for the wedding shower.
The bride wanted the groom there for the shower, so instead of a bridal shower, they were having a combined wedding shower.For Abby, it meant a lot more guests and the necessity for a lot more food.That was never a problem in Bayberry.People loved to cook.And they were having a covered dish luncheon.
She had been working on the games.For a crowd of fifty of Sadie and Reed’s nearest and dearest, it took a lot of effort to put together a games list with the necessary items to play the games, not to mention some cute prizes.
She’d planned to shop for some of the items while she’d been in Chicago.She figured she could have shipped them back to Bayberry, but Brad had filled every available moment with something interesting to do.And quite honestly, she’d totally forgotten about the shopping.
The truth of the matter was that she’d really enjoyed her time in Chicago.In fact, she wouldn’t mind going back.Come to think of it, Brad had put so much on her airline gift card that it would almost pay for another roundtrip ticket.She just had to save up some more points on her credit card to pay for the hotel room.
The wedding shower was due to start in little more than an hour.She was surprised Brad wasn’t there yet, since he was the co-host of this event—not that he’d been a lot of help.He claimed he knew nothing about bridal showers.She kept correcting him that it was a wedding shower.He stated it was the same difference.
So, she made it easy for him.She would give him either or choices—the things that weren’t that important.He did okay with those things.And he insisted on paying for the decorations.She let him, since she was still doing everything she could to pay him back for the espresso machine.
