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She purses her lips again, clearly angry with me. “Well, I would have much rather you wake me to tell me you’re leaving, than to wake up and find you had disappeared.”

“I really am sorry,” I tell her, sliding my hand across the table. “I needed to talk to Logan.” I grab her hand, squeezing it.

She twists her mouth in thought, her perfectly sculpted eyebrows still dipped in anger. I hold her hand, hoping she can forgive me. The last thing I want is to push her away when I need her the most. I’d repaired the damage done between me and Logan, now I needed to mend the damage between me and Abby.

“Fine.” She rolls her eyes, finally giving me a reluctant smile. She pulls her hand out from mine and slaps the table. “You can start making it up to me by ordering me a drink and some Irish nachos.”

I laugh. “Irish nachos?”

“Yeah,” she scoffs. “You’ve never had them before?”

“No. I’ve never been here.”

“Really?” she asks, dropping her jaw. “Tons of pubs have them but this place has the best. I guess there’s a first time for everything, right?”

“Sure,” I answer, my stomach grumbling in agreement.

After the server comes over to take Abby’s order, she rests her arms on the table, clasping her hands under her chin. Her expression has now softened, anger replaced with concern. “So, how was it when you went home? Was Logan upset when you told him you were leaving him?”

I’m in the middle of sipping my watered-down drink when I stare at Abby with widened eyes. Slowly, I lower my drink, placing it back down onto the cardboard coaster. My back lands against the wooden bars of my barstool. “I didn’t leave Logan.”

“What?” Her back shoots up, straightening in her seat. Our server returns and places the basket of cheddar covered potato chips in front of us, setting Abby’s Bloody Mary down in front of her. He walks away, leaving us to continue our conversation.

Leaning forward, I rest my arm on the edge of the table. “I never said I was leaving him, Abby. I just needed some time to sort everything out.”

“You only needed one night to sort it out? He cheated on you, Lena,” she insists. “What about the pictures? You saw them. I saw them.”

I shrug, knowing in the deepest part of me that Logan wasn’t having an affair with Natalie. Deep down, I think I always knew. For a time, my own inner turmoil was clouding the rational part of me, the part of me that knew Logan would never cheat on me.

We were being followed. Watched. Someone was trying to set him up. If it wasn’t Julian, it was most likely someone he hired. “The thing is, I don’t think Logan’s having an affair.”

She stabs her finger against the table, the tip bending and causing her flesh to turn from a pale pink to white. I sit back, stunned by her shift in mood.

“The pictures were pretty obvious, Lena. What makes you think he isn’t?”

“There’s more to this story than I realized, Abby,” I answer, darting my eyes away from her angered gaze. “Actually, that leads me to what I wanted to talk to you about.”

Lifting her glass to her lips, she gulps nearly half her drink, red liquid draining from the top, her fingers rigid around the fragile glass. She sets it back down, swallowing. “What is it?”

I sigh, hoping my news won’t scare her. Like Logan and I had done, Abby’s moved on with her life, leaving the past behind. I knew that what I had to tell her would only drudge up old memories for her. “We think Julian found us.”

Her eyebrows shoot across her forehead and her neck dips as she swallows again.

I’m quick to calm her, knowing she’s probably freaking out on the inside. “We haven’t actually seen him yet, but he’s definitely made himself known.”

She falls back against her seat again, absentmindedly picking at the corner of the paper lining our basket of chips. “Are you sure? How do you know it’s him if you haven’t seen him?”

“I’ve been receiving emails.” My eyes meet hers. “That’s how I got those pictures. I know it sounds crazy, but the emails said things only he would know. Things that he said to me when we were together.”

“How long have you been getting them?”

“A few months.”

She arches one eyebrow. “And you’re just now telling me this? Shit, Lena.”

“I’m sorry, Abby.” I’m quick to apologize.. “I should have told you sooner and I know that. I own my mistake. I was standing in my own way, battling with what Julian had done to me in the past versus telling the truth.”

“Does Logan know?”

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