Page 8 of Until I Have You

“Abigail?Who’s…” I remember there was a redheaded woman next to Bonnie.

Wait.

No.No, it couldn’t be.

I lift my eyes away from Bonnie, as hard as it is, to see the redheaded woman standing a foot or two away from us, her green eyes wide in a state of shock that must mirror mine.

She opens her mouth, trying to discover the right thing to say.“Um, hello, Theo.”

I’m at a loss for words.Because of the coincidence, of course.It’s not every day your daughter gets lost in an aquarium, and your best friend’s daughter happens to be the one who finds her.

But there’s another reason.

A reason I really wouldn’t like to name.

“Abigail Lyons.”I use her full name because I apparently love sounding like an idiot.“What a pleasant surprise!”

“Yes, it is a surprise.”

It doesn’t escape me she’s leaving out the “pleasant.”

Abigail’s expression is cool to me and has been for years now.When she was a girl, she always seemed to be grinning, her freckled cheeks full and blushing.Now, whenever she sees me, she has become distant.

She’s grown up.Must be at least twenty-five.

And she’s beautiful.Exquisitely so.

I noticed it when I attended her father’s wedding two years ago.How she’d morphed from being a child in my eyes to a young woman.

There is an objective way to consider the beauty of your best friend’s daughter.The way a personshouldlook at their best friend’s daughter.

Unfortunately, that is not the way I see Abigail Lyons.

I’ve tried to tame it, tried not to look at her in recent photos of the Lyons family, tried to acknowledge that it’s only natural to sometimes be attracted to people you shouldn’t be.

But it is more than an attraction.It is…

I think she might be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

And that is bad.Wrong.

“I didn’t know you were in town.”Abigail’s voice pulls me out of the spiral.

Apparently, I’ve been standing here with my mouth hung open for…a while.Hope she didn’t see right through me.

“Yes, we’ve just moved here, actually.Starting up a new…erm, business.”

Abigail lifts one eyebrow.Not sure if it’s curiosity or judgment there.

Bonnie interjects, not one to be left out.“You know each other?”

I look between Abigail and Bonnie before saying, “Yes, you know Uncle Edwin?”

“No.”Bonnie shakes her little head.

“Well, you’ve never met Uncle Edwin.But he sends you presents for every holiday.You always say, ‘What kind of name isEdwin?’”I flash a smile at Abigail who does not smile back.

I clear my throat.“But you’ll meet him soon because he lives in New York.And Abigail is Uncle Edwin’s daughter which makes this all quite a surprise.”

---