Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 69096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69096 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Holden orders another round of shots from the bartender before he turns his attention to me. “Did seeing the new baby make you want one?”
“A baby?” I laugh. “Can you picture me with a baby?”
He leans back slightly to look me over. “Sure. Why not?”
I shake my head. “I’ll leave the parenting to Sean and Rook. I’m not even close to being ready for daddy duty. I’m happy being Uncle Decky for now.”
His gaze drifts over my shoulder. “Well, hello there. Have we met?”
I feel a light tap on my back. “No, but I know this guy.”
And I know that angelic voice, so I turn to glance at the woman behind me, knowing that my heart will start racing the second I see her face.
It does just that, and I can’t control the smile that glides over my lips. “Abigail. You came.”
She offers me a slight grin before her hand snakes past me toward Holden. “I’m Abby Duvall.”
Holden stands and gives her hand a soft shake. “Holden Sheppard. I’m an old friend of Declan’s.”
“I’m working with him temporarily,” she explains, and then stops.
Nothing else leaves her lips — absolutely nothing about how our relationship reaches beyond the office.
“I can’t stay,” she explains. “I wanted to stop in on my way to a meeting to congratulate you.”
I glance at the watch on my wrist. “A meeting now?”
She nods but stays silent.
“I’m glad we had a chance to meet,” Holden says. “I heard you work for Rook, so please accept my condolences.”
A weak smile glides over her mouth. “Thank you. I hope you both enjoy the rest of your night.”
I push off the stool, so I’m on my feet too, but a sudden rush of dizziness hits me. I reach a hand out to the bar to steady myself.
Holden reinforces that by grabbing hold of my forearm. “Looks like someone needs to be cut off. Right, Uncle Decky?”
I shake off his words and his hand. “I’m good.”
“You had a lot of shots and no food,” Holden says. “I’m taking you home.”
“I’ll leave you to that.” Abby’s voice comes at me from behind. “Goodnight.”
By the time I’ve glanced over my shoulder again, all I catch is her back and the sway of the red skirt of her dress as she rushes toward the exit.
“What the hell just happened?” I mutter.
“Your girlfriend has a meeting to get to,” Holden reminds me. “You need to sleep off the shots, so let’s get you home.”
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
Abby
I flinch when I feel something brush against my bare shoulder.
Convinced it’s a wayward housefly, I swat my shoulder to stop it dead.
“Ouch!” Carrie exclaims with a giggle. “Remind me never to surprise you again, Abs.”
I glance back to see a smile on her face.
“Have you been crying?” she asks in a trembling voice. “Why do you look like you’re crying?”
I swipe a hand over my right cheek before I chase away nothing but air from my left cheek. “No crying. I’m just tired.”
Her hand moves to my shoulder again, but this time it curls around the strap of my tote bag. “Why don’t you put this heavy thing down?”
I grip my tote so tightly that my knuckles ache. “That’s okay. I’ve got this.”
Perplexed by that, her brow furrows. “Did you bring work home with you again? Are you hiding some big legal secret in there?”
“Something like that,” I lie.
She steps in place beside me. “When did you get home?”
I add another lie to the first. “Just a few minutes ago.”
The truth is that I’ve been staring out this window for more than an hour. I kicked off my shoes and headed straight for my bedroom, hoping that the skyline of Brooklyn would offer me answers to all the questions bouncing around inside my head.
“I guess you noticed that I’m late getting home.” Her voice takes on a higher tone. “I went out with some co-workers for a drink.”
That pulls me out of my selfish trance. I didn’t hear her come home. In fact, I assumed she was in her room when I got home since her bedroom door was closed.
I turn to glance at her face. “You went out for a drink with people?”
She tilts her chin. “You say it like you can’t believe it.”
Still gripping tightly to my tote, I manage a smile. “I believe it. What did you order?”
“Champagne, of course.”
My smile widens with the knowledge that after spending the weekend at the Bishop Hotel, my sister has acquired a taste for the finer things in life. “You can’t go wrong with champagne.”
“I agree.” Her gaze drops to the phone in her hand. “It’s getting kind of late, Abs. You had dinner, didn’t you?”
Lie number three pops out of me with ease. “I did.”
I haven’t been able to stomach the thought of food since I left Kalina’s apartment hours ago.