Page 302 of The Christmas Wife

"Abigail. My friends call me Abby... But you guys are not my friends… Yet… But I’d like you to be. You’re Cade’s sister, after all." She looks at me with big doe eyes that carry more than a touch of hero-worship in them. Oh, god, she has a crush on my brother, and it seems, by transference, on me.

"Umm, Abigail?—"

"Call me Abby, please." She locks her fingers together in front of her in a gesture that hints at her nervousness.

"Abby, please do sit down." I nod toward the sofa.

"Of course." She heads for the sofa, sinks into it, then glances between the two of us again.

"So, you’re Zara’s brother’s girlfriend?" Solene asks from the phone.

Abby presses a hand to her chest. "Oh, no, no, no, not his girlfriend.” Her cheeks pink. “I’m, uh, his friend’s sister."

"And you came with him to the ball," Isla murmurs before taking her seat again.

"Yes, and I saw what happened." Abby turns to me. "That was some fight, huh? They both held their own."

"Is Cade okay?" I ask.

"He has a shiner, but that only makes him look even more dashing." She bites the inside of her lip.

Isla and I exchange another glance.

"So, about what you heard when you walked in?—"

"Oh, you don’t have to worry." Abby waves her hand in the air. "It’s been forgotten. I promise. In one ear, out the other.Nothing to it. Also, I know how to keep secrets." She mimes zipping her lips.

"Hmph." I look closely at her. Her gaze is open. Her expression indicates she has nothing to hide.

"No, really. I know when a person says that, you think the next thing they’ll do is turn around and blab out the secret to everyone. But I understand how difficult it must be to conduct a relationship when all the media attention is on you. So, you can count on my discretion."

I press a finger to my cheek. Can I believe her? Should I believe her? More to the point, when did I become so cynical that I couldn’t take a person at face value? Oh, wait, that’s because I work in a cut-throat profession, where I’m trained to disbelieve the words of people, and normally, they deliver on my suspicions. Still, my instinct says Abby made an honest mistake, and she means it when she says she’s not going to tell a soul. Doesn’t mean I’m not going to find a way to ensure she sticks to her word. "So, Abby, what is it you said you do?"

"Uh, I work at a communications agency."

"Oh?" I tilt my head. "And are you looking for a career change?”

44

Zara

"Smart thinking, offering her a job," Isla says after Abby has left.

Solene, too, signs off—after asking me to keep her posted on the results of the pregnancy test I promised I’m going to take as soon as I fire-fight the fall-out from the impromptu sparring session that my brother and my boss—who’s also my lover—indulged in.

"That old adage about keeping your enemies where you can see them? It’s a technique I’ve used more than once." Not that Abby is my enemy. Far from it. The girl almost fainted when I offered her a job as an executive in my agency. A step up from the unpaid intern position she’s held for the past six months. She thanked me profusely and promised to do her best. I took her up on the offer by telling her to research all media mentions—if any—from the earlier incident. I lean back in my seat and place my hands over my stomach, which hasn’t felt very steady over the past ten seconds.

Isla levels me with another look of concern. "Do you think you really are?—"

"Pregnant?" I force myself to say the word. "I haven’t taken the test yet, but my instincts are screaming that I am. Considering I’m already a week late."

"It might just be all the stress you’re under."

"I thrive on stress. I’ve never had a day that hasn’t brought with it new stress, and I’ve never been late."

"Hmm." She taps her fingers on the armrest. "Will you tell him?"

"I don’t know," I say honestly.

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