Page 62 of Hidden Vows
“Not yet, but it should be soon. Dr. Winters said after eight weeks if there’s no change, he’d be better served in a long-term facility.”
Sarah’s gaze shifts back to me and offers a small smile. “Speaking of, Dr. Winters rounds just started. She should be in soon to give you an update.
“Thanks, Sarah.” Abbey smiles as she takes a seat in one of the vacant chairs next to my father’s bed.
“Of course. Someone will be at the desk if you need anything.”
I step further into the room, giving Sarah space to step past me. She smiles once more before sliding the door closed behind her.
“You gonna stand over there the whole time, or are you gonna come sit down?” Abbey glances over her shoulder, a teasing glint in her eye. She’s been in a good mood all morning, and I can’t help but smile knowing I’m partly the cause.
After our steamy shower—for more than one reason—I rushed over to my apartment to change and grab my computer before meeting Abbey back in the hallway. Maybe one day I won’t be stunned every time she walks into a room, but today isn’t that day. With her hair still damp from our shower hanging over one shoulder and her focus entirely on making sure she had everything she needed in her purse, I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.
She stepped out of her apartment in what’s probably one of the simplest summer dresses I’ve seen. It’s long with short, flowy sleeves, a neckline that dips just enough to tease at her cleavage,and a slit that goes all the way up her leg but was only noticeable as she stepped toward me. Even though I’d been with her four times in the last twelve hours, I couldn’t stop myself from pulling her into me. And the fact she moved into me the second my hand touched her hip made me the happiest man around.
“I have to run my errands. If you’re going to continue to distract me I’m going to take back my permission for you to join me,” she whispered against my lips, a smile forming with the words.
“I’ll be good, I promise.” I pressed one more kiss to her lips before taking her hand in mine and leading her down the stairs.
While she stepped into the bookstore to check on things with George, I went into the bar to make sure everything was closed up properly. I’d been surprised to find Jane behind the bar, but it was evidence I made the right decision in hiring her to manage the bar in my absence. Hopefully Dad will agree once he’s recovered and working behind the bar again.
“You’re in early.”
“Not really.” Her brows pinched when she glanced at me but quickly focused back on the open drawer in front of her. “You gave me the night off and I know you weren’t here last night, so I wanted to make sure we were in good shape before we open in a bit.”
I glanced down at my watch and saw she wasn’t wrong—just after ten thirty. “Well, clearly I’ve left the bar in good hands.” I chuckled, realizing I’d been coming in to do the same thing.
Jane didn’t acknowledge me before she closed the drawer and moved on to her next task. It didn’t bother me; her straightforwardness is one of the reasons I hired her. Without waiting for a response I knew wouldn’t be coming, I tapped the bar twice before turning to leave the way I came. “Call me if youneed me,” I called over my shoulder and returned to Abbey.
I stood near the door to the bookstore and watched Abbey move around the space talking with George about the remaining items on her list. They’d made a lot of progress in the two weeks they’ve been working at the bookstore and were estimating they’d be done in another two weeks max.
It was officially time for Abbey to start planning for her grand re-opening and I knew how excited she was the second she turned her beaming smile to me when she heard the news.
“Babe.” Abbey’s voice brings me back to the present, and I don’t waste another second standing on the other side of the room.
“Yeah, love. I’m with you.” I cup her cheek and lean down to press a kiss to her forehead, lingering there before I finally take my seat next to her.
There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.
twenty-eight
JUDE
I shouldn’t be surprisedthat the words are suddenly flowing for me. My writing has always been connected to my mood, and I’ve never been able to write when my mind was more focused on Abbey than anything else going on in my life.
Everything I wrote around our birthdays or wedding anniversary was always trashed when I finally came out of my emotions enough to truly pay attention to what I was writing.
There was only one time I kept what I wrote on Abbey’s birthday—and according to her, it was the worst thing I’ve ever written. Not that she knows they’re my words yet.
Four days surrounded by all that’s Abbey Selbey and I haven’t figured out how to tell her my biggest secret. I’ve told her so much about our time apart, but for some reason I can’t bring myself to tell her about that.
She knows I lived a truly nomadic life, never staying anywhere long enough to make a true connection. I told her all about the Hawthornes—the family from Stonebridge Hollow that gave me my first job when I left Ashford Falls—and how they’re some of the few people I stay in contact with. She knows all about Willie and Mae and how they’re the ones who truly saved me after thatfirst year on the road. She knows about the most memorable places I stayed and why I wouldn’t let myself fall in love with any of them.
She even knows about the journals I’ve kept and how it was writing in them that made me come to terms with where my life took me. She knows everything there is to know about the last seventeen years, except that.
And yet…even with the weight of needing to tell her the truth, I can’t stop the words from pouring from my fingertips.
There might be guilt for holding this last secret so close, but the joy of going to sleep next to her every night and waking up next to her every morning far surpasses any other negative emotion.
