Page 75 of Coming Up Roses

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FLYNN

My relationship—forlack of a better word—with Abi settles into a sort-of rhythm quickly.

We work, we hang out like we always have, and occasionally, when time and circumstances permit, we get each other off.

Unfortunately even when circumstances allow it, the timing isn’t usually great, so our orgasms have been quick handies and blowjobs and I haven’t had the chance to curl around her and sleep next to her again.

Or have actual sex, even though I really, really want to.

Mind you, I’m not complaining about any time I get with her either.

Even if we aren’t getting time to get naked with each other, Abi is a heap of fun to hang out with. Now that she’s settling in and realising the people here are on her side, not against her, she’s proving to be a lot of fun.

Especially when she nags me to take her riding. We’ve spent several evenings down at the beach, Abi in control of the bike, orperched on behind me, an arm stretched out to embrace the wind while she whoops and hollers in my ear.

Watching her let go in those moments is my favourite thing to do.

Abi’s relationship with Sadie has evolved in leaps and bounds too, from Katie leaving Sadie with her that day, to Abi collecting Sadie from school the next afternoon.

I’m not sure how keen Dallas was with Katie’s meddling in the situation, but those two seem as rock solid as ever, so he can’t have been too put out by it. Or if he was, she managed to bring him around. I don’t want to know how she did it.

There are some things I don’t need to know about my best friend.

Since that day, Abi has spent more and more time with Sadie, including having her at her house for a couple of hours. When Sadie came home she was fizzing with excitement about the afternoon they spent together and while Abi watched on I could swear I saw tears in her eyes.

I’m so glad I was around when she dropped Sadie back out to the farm.

Abi’s anxiety around being with Sadie is lessening as Sadie’s level of excitement of having her mum back in her life grows.

I slow my bike to a stop and kick down the stand, already looking forward to the afternoon Abi and I have planned. First port of call is a quick dinner at Violet’s, then I’m finally giving her a decent tour of the farm from the back of my bike. I know it’s likely that at least one of the others will want to join us, and despite me constantly wanting time alone with Abi, I don’t mind if our friends want to hang out with us either.

I stride into the function centre and stop dead. It’s like déjà vu of the day of the roses.

Flowers everywhere and in the middle of it all, Abi, looking like she’s going to burst into tears.

“I’m so sorry,” she says the moment she sees me. Her voice wobbles and she clamps her teeth down on her lower lip. “I obviously can’t go anywhere tonight.”

“Hey.” I stride across the room towards her. As soon as I’m within reach I stroke my thumb across her mouth, gently tugging her lip free of her teeth. “Take a breath, Rosie. What happened?”

“Same florist, didn’t follow the order again. Now I have all these flowers to arrange. I’m going to be here for hours.”

“What else do you need to do tonight?”

“Nothing, thankfully. Pretty much everything else is taken care of.”

“Okay.” I slide my phone out of my pocket and check the time. “First things first, dinner.”

She opens her mouth to argue but I grasp her chin gently.

“You’ve got to eat, Rosie. Then we’ll deal with the rest.”

She exhales a heavy breath and I feel it wash over my skin. “Okay,” she whispers and the next argument I had on my lips dies. I wasn’t expecting her to give in that easily.

She follows me outside and climbs onto the bike, automatically sliding her body close to mine and wrapping her arms around my waist.

Her lack of hesitation hits me right in the chest as I release the clutch and twist the throttle, heading for the main house.

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