It was at that point that Brad finally found his voice again.He walked over to his mother.“Mom, Abby has some stuff to do before the party.We need to let her do those things.Come on.”
Linda nodded.Then she looked directly at Abby.“We’ll talk later.”
“I look forward to it.”
She had totally read him wrong.He was obviously just into this thing with her for a good time—some flirting and nothing more.She felt like such a fool.
That had not gone according to plan.
Not even close.
Later that afternoon, Brad inwardly groaned as he thought of his reaction to being busted by his mother while he was kissing Abby.He raked his fingers through his hair.There had to be a way to fix things with Abby.
Now that the party was over, Brad knew he had some damage control to do.He couldn’t believe his mother had walked in on them at that particular moment.He’d suddenly felt like he was that awkward teenager with a chip on his shoulder.
But now his mother had more questions than she’d ever had before.She was curious about Bayberry.It appeared she liked the place.She was curious about Reed’s fiancée.She said she wanted to know more about his friends.But most of all, she wanted to know more about Abby.
When Abby’s name had slipped during his phone conversations with his mother, he’d let his mother assume that she was a business associate.But now that his mother knew that Abby wasn’t a business associate, she wanted to know everything about her.
First, his mother wanted to know if Abby was his girlfriend?He didn’t know the answer.He’d like to think that she was, but they’d never defined their relationship.It always felt fluid to him like it was continuously evolving.Or maybe that was him trying to avoid making a commitment because a long-distance relationship was a fool’s errand.
The guests were gone.The tables were cleared.And Abby was doing her best to give him the cold shoulder.In fact, he was starting to wish that he’d brought his winter coat.If this kept up, he was going to have frostbite.
He’d helped carry the gifts out to Sadie’s car.He’d helped clean up in the kitchen.And he’d helped mop the floor.
Now it was time to go.Because while he’d been helping with the cleanup, his mother had been back at the B&B, all alone, waiting for him.
“Abby,” he said to her back as she stood in the kitchen, busy transferring some leftover cookies to a to-go box.“Won’t you even look at me?”
He noticed how her shoulders went rigid just before she turned to face him.When her gaze met his, there was a hard glint in her eyes.
He hadn’t seen her this mad since the first time he’d met her at the coffeeshop.He remembered how she’d gotten under his skin right from the start.Some things hadn’t changed.
“Abby.I’m sorry.I freaked out when my mother walked in on us.I, uh...”He searched for words to explain this without making Abby even more upset with him.
“Why didn’t you tell her about us?”She stared directly into his eyes.
He lowered his head and gave it a shake.“I don’t know.”
“So, you never once mentioned me?”
“I might have a couple of times.”
“Obviously you didn’t tell her we were involved.What did you lead her to believe?That I was a neighbor?An employee?”
His gaze rose to meet hers.“A business associate.”When he saw fresh sparks of anger in her eyes, he rushed on to say, “What was I supposed to do?My mother is more traditional.If I had told her that we were seeing each other, she would have had expectations—”
“What about my expectations?”Abby tilted her chin upward ever so slightly.Her gaze was unwavering.
His mouth went dry.He wanted to ask what her expectations were, but another part sensed a trap.Not that it mattered because at that moment there was a distinct disconnect between his mind and his mouth.
“Abby?”The sound of her mother’s voice came from the back door.“Do you have the last of the leftovers?I need to get going.”
Abby looked past him, as though he were now nothing more than a ghost.“Yes, Mom.I’ll be right out.”
Without another word, Abby stepped around him.He had been dismissed, but her anger radiated off her in waves.
He tried to tell himself it was for the best.He’d known all along that their long-distance relationship could never go the distance.It was why he never wanted to talk about labeling their relationship.He felt like their sphere of happiness had been irretrievably shattered.
