Page 59 of Don't You Dare Marry Me

Pursing her lips, Nicola’s heart thumped wildly. But she nodded. She had agreed to that with Abagail, at least to anextent. “Yeah. I’ll be fine. I just need a few minutes to collect myself.”

But Abagail didn’t let go. She held onto Nicola’s hand and kept her close. “Talk to me, Nic.”

Nicola couldn’t. Even if she wanted to, which she wasn’t sure she did, she couldn’t make words leave her throat and form on her tongue. Instead, she moved in, wrapping her arms around Abagail’s back and pulling her into a hug. She buried her face in Abagail’s shoulder and neck, breathing in her scent and molding herself into the heat of Abagail’s skin.

She stayed there in the cradle of Abagail’s arms far longer than she’d anticipated. And when she stepped back, she steadied herself and plastered on the smile that she knew the world expected of her. “I’m going to go take a shower.”

“Are you sure?” Abagail asked.

“Yeah.” Nicola gave her a saucy wink. “Feel free to join me if you want.”

Sex would be such a welcome distraction, but something in the back of her mind told her that Abagail was going to give her the space that she was truly craving.

“Talk to me, when you’re ready.” Abagail squeezed her hand tightly. “I’ll be here.”

Saying nothing else, Nicola headed up the stairs to the bathroom. She craved the white noise that the shower would create, the heat that would ease the tension in her muscles, and the time that it would give her to think. If she actually wanted to do that. Until then, at least she knew that Abagail wasn’t going to let Warren railroad her. If she stayed in Abagail’s presence, she’d be protected from him at least.

The rest of the world still remained a danger.

twenty-two

“Hello?” Abagail frowned as she lifted the phone to her ear.

What the hell was Estelle calling her for? She’d spent the last fifteen hours trying to erase Warren and Chaya from her memory and she’d completely failed to do so.

“Abagail.” Estelle’s marginally warm tones reached her ears, but they also carried with them a fake tonality that set Abagail on the edge of her seat.

Instead of tensing, she purposely relaxed herself into the couch and crossed an ankle over her knee. She wasn’t going to let whatever was coming bother her, and she was pretty damn sure that it was going to be a whole lot coming at her.

“What can I do for you, Estelle?” Abagail already knew what was happening. Warren had called his mother, and she was now calling Abagail to check out everything that Warren had told her. And then there was going to be a fight. Either that or Warren had actually kept his mouth shut for once and Abagail was going to be asked for money.

“Warren said you were at the Cape this week.”

Check one for the former. Abagail clenched her jaw and had to work hard to keep from tightening her grip around the cell phone. She didn’t want to accidentally break it with herfrustration. “I am. He showed up uninvited to my home here. I told him he wasn’t welcome this week.”And I’ll be changing the locks as soon as possible, Abagail added in her head. She wasn’t about to tell Estelle that. She really needed to make sure that only the right people had the keys to the locks on her property.

“I’m so sorry about that. He thought he’d take Chaya there to get away. All the wedding planning is stressing her out.”

Abagail pressed her lips together tightly at that one. She had zero comment on the matter. Well, that was a lie. She had a whole lot to say, but she didn’t want to actually say it. Not to Estelle anyway.

“He said you were with… Nicola?”

Oh there was the question that Abagail knew was coming. And she’d already started to work on a way to answer it. One that wouldn’t implicate anything between them. The look in Nicola’s gaze last night when Warren had finally left was one of fear and trembling. As much as she’d wanted Warren to know in the beginning that this was entirely based out of revenge, it was absolutely clear that she didn’t want that now.

“Nicola is here, yes.” Abagail brushed her fingers over her knee, as if there was lint there that she needed to get rid of it. When the energy was too much, she stood up and paced the den back and forth and then stopped at the window.

Nicola was outside, standing on the beach with her back to the house. The curls of her hair moved in the breeze as she stared out at the sea. What was she thinking about? Was she worried? Pained? Abagail froze on the spot, wondering and worrying all at the same time.

“What’s she doing there? The engagement is off.”

Abagail hummed. She wished she could see Estelle’s face. It’d be easier to detect the nuances of what wasn’t being said, but the tone of her voice and the slight waver under her words lent quite a bit to the understanding Abagail needed.

Estelle hadn’t fully wanted to make this phone call.

But there wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for Warren.

Which was his biggest downfall.

“The engagement is off, yes. And now Warren is engaged to Chaya and planning a wedding with a woman he’s been officially in a relationship with for no more than a few weeks.” Abagail bit the inside of her cheek. She was straying very close to what she didn’t want to say.

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