She reaches up and pats my face. “Abby loves you,” she says, catching me off-guard. “Abby has always loved you. Even when Abby was mad at you and hated you and wanted to punch you in the face.”
“I know,” I say softly, running my thumb across her hip.
The doorbell rings, and we all freeze, then Levi sits up straight in his recliner.
“Are you expecting someone?” I ask him.
Levi shakes his head. “Not me.”
I help Abby move slowly toward the living room, though she makes it difficult by trying to do a little shimmy as she walks.
Finally, we get there, and I pull open the door to find Tate standing on the doorstep. Before I can say anything, Abby’s entire face lights up like a Christmas tree.
“TATE!” she screams, launching herself toward him with zero coordination.
I catch her before she face-plants into the doorframe, wrapping an arm around her waist to keep her upright. “Abby is SO happy Tate is here! Abby has been thinking about Tate all day!”
Tate’s eyes go wide as he takes in the scene: Abby in her underwear and socks, swaying in my arms, clearly intoxicated.
“Hi, Abby,” Tate says, trying not to laugh at her current state. “Should I... come back later?”
“No!” Abby protests, struggling against my hold. “Abby wants Tate to stay! Abby has wine! No, Abby doesn’t have wine anymore because Abby drank all the wine. But Abby can get more wine!”
“Let’s get you some water instead,” I say, guiding her toward the kitchen with one arm wrapped around the small of her back.
“Abby doesn’t want water,” Abby argues, but she doesn’t resist as I move her. “Abby wants Tate to know that Abby loves wine. Abby loves Tate. And Abby really, really loves being naked.”
Levi, who followed us to the kitchen and is watching on, laughs so hard he has to sit down.
“I can see that,” Tate says, his lips twitching as he struggles to maintain his composure.
I pour Abby a glass of water and hand it to her. She takes a few sips, grimacing the entire time as if it tastes like poison.
“Abby hates water,” she announces. “Abby thinks water is boring and has no flavor. Abby is going to switch to wine as soon as Landon stops looking at her like that.”
“Like what?” I ask.
“Like you want to tie Abby up and fuck her senseless.”
“Abby, maybe we should get you to bed,” I suggest.
“Abby’s not tired,” she insists, then turns to Tate, pointing at him with a slightly uncoordinated finger. “Tate, why did you come here? Abby told you to come here, didn’t Abby?”
I look at Tate, my eyebrow raised in question, and he clears his throat.
“Actually, yes,” Tate says, as he shifts uncomfortably on his feet. “I came here because I’ve been thinking about what happened. And I think I want to try this, if that’s still something you both want.” Abby’s high-pitched squeal has Levi covering his ears, and Tate smiles. “But maybe now isn’t a great time,” he offers.
“Abby issooohappy Tate is here.”
“Abby needs water and a bed,” I say. “But Tate, we should talk about this—when she’s not drunk and half naked.”
“Abby thinks Abby is perfectly fine being drunk and half naked,” she adds, but she’s leaning into me, her eyes now looking like if she does one long blink she will be asleep. “Abby thinks this is the best time to make important decisions.”
“No,” I say firmly, taking the water glass from her hand and setting it on the nearest surface before I guide her toward the stairs. “Abby is going to sleep.”
As I lead her up to her room, I can hear Levi talking to Tate. I finally feel like everything is falling into place.
Abby mumbles something incoherent as I lay her down on her bed, then tuck her under the covers. Her eyes are already closed, and I can’t help but smile at how peaceful she looks.
