Chapter Twenty-Six
Itwasover.
It was for the best.
But if that was the case, why did it bother her so much?
Later Saturday evening, Abby ran the soapy rag over the wall behind the sink.She’d spent most of the morning in the kitchen of the Steaming Brew.She was avoiding the sympathetic looks and the probing questions.
Gossip about her and Brad was running hot and heavy around town.Some were saying that Brad dumped her.Others were saying she’d ended things with him.
She just wanted to avoid the prying eyes of gossips and the pity looks from her well-meaning friends.She rinsed the rag and then went over the wall again.The kitchen hadn’t been this clean since she’d opened the place.When she was upset, she cleaned.In fact, when the coffeeshop closed in a little bit, she might even deep clean the seating area.
While she worked, she thought of her latest trip to Chicago.She’d thought that things between them had changed.They’d confided in each other.There had been looks and touches.And the kisses.
She rinsed out the cloth and started scrubbing the counter.She stopped to move all of the items on the counter to the prep table in the middle of the room.
How could she have been so foolish?She let herself fall for him.After she’d promised herself that she would never do another long-distance relationship, she’d still fallen head over heels for him.
“Abby?”
She froze.Abby recognized the female voice.When she turned, Sadie stood in the doorway leading to the front of the coffeeshop.
Abby didn’t say anything and instead went back to work.She could hear Sadie approaching her.
“I came to thank you for the amazing wedding shower.”
Abby guessed that she also stopped by for another reason because Sadie had already thanked her about a dozen times at the shower.“You’re welcome.But I’m a little busy now.”
There was an awkward pause.“What’s going on with you and Brad?”
“Nothing.”It was the truth.“Absolutely nothing.”She leaned in and scrubbed harder at the non-existent dirt.
“I heard you met his mother.”
Abby nodded because she knew if she opened her mouth that her frustration, disappointment, and hurt would come spewing out.And that wouldn’t be good for either of them.
“What happened?”Sadie gently pushed.“Did you not hit it off with his mother?”
“No.I mean, yes, we got along after a bumpy start.”
Sadie leaned against the countertop that Abby was trying to clean and crossed her arms.Her gaze narrowed in on Abby.“What bumpy start?”
Abby sighed as she threw the cloth into the sink full of soapy water.While she rinsed her hands, she thought about Sadie being a trained reporter.She wasn’t going to give up until she had the full story.
After drying her hands, she pulled a couple of stools over to the prep table.Then, realizing that this conversation would be better with something to drink and stir, she got them two cups of coffee.
Once they were both seated, Sadie said, “Tell me what has you so worked up.”
Abby’s thoughts rewound to the first moment she’d seen Brad walk through the door of Wright’s Eatery.She remembered how her heart had pounded—how she’d resisted the urge to run into his arms.She’d tried to play it cool and not let him know that she had missed him terribly.
But Sadie didn’t know about that part of the story.So, she skipped to the heart of the tale.“We were kissing when his mother walked in on us.”
“Oh no!”A smile lifted the corners of Sadie’s glossy lips.“Surely his mother couldn’t have been offended about that.”
Abby shook her head.“She took it okay.She was shocked at first.I was utterly mortified.It was not how I envisioned meeting the woman.But it was Brad that ruined everything.”
The smile fell from Sadie’s face as her brows drew together, and concern shone in her eyes.“What exactly did he do?”
