39. Rex
THIRTY-NINE
REX
“Hey.”
I knew it was her before I even looked up. Abigail stood over me, dressed in one of her smart suits with her oversized purse and high heels. My heart rattled. As far as I knew, she still wasn’t speaking to Gabe. I hadn’t expected her to show up here.
“Hey,” I answered, my eyes roaming over her face. She was so beautiful it hurt to look at her, especially when I knew that I’d caused her pain.
But her gaze narrowed and flicked over to my phone screen. “What’s that?”
I cleared my throat. “Oh. I was just, um, looking up fire bowls.”
“Fire bowls?”
“Yeah, like for a backyard.”
Her eyes were little slits now. “Your backyard?” she asked.
“No,” I said.
Her expression softened and she sat down across from me. “That wouldn’t happen to be for my backyard, would it?”
I locked my phone and shrugged. “Maybe. Would you mind?”
She hardly looked at me when she replied, “I guess not. I didn’t mind coming home to my standing order with Lotus Flower. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”
I shrugged again. “You mentioned you needed to re-up on the order, so I figured I’d take it off your plate. I’m sure your business is about to get even busier with that billboard on the highway.” My ribs had winched so tight it felt like my heart would explode. She was staring at me like she didn’t know what to think, like she might be furious but kind of appreciated it too.
“So you’re the one who put my face up there,” she said, and I nodded. Guilty as charged. Abigail’s fingertips touched the edge of the table. In a low voice, she asked, “Why would you do that?”
“Because if you turned me down again, I’d at least be able to see your big, beautiful smile on the freeway,” I answered, grinning. She shot me a big, beautiful, wry smile. “But seriously, Abigail, people should know how amazing you are. You’re more than the reckless woman they think you are.”
“You can’t buy my affection, Rex Montgomery.”
I couldn’t help the widening of my smile. Always ready to fight back. That was my girl. “I’m not trying to. I’m trying to make your life a little easier for a while, considering I brought nothing but chaos your way since we started this whole thing.”
She gulped. Conflict raged in her gaze, but then her shoulders dropped. “Well…thank you. ”
I reached for her hand, catching her palm in mine. The touch blazed through me, innocent and intimate and thrilling at once. “I’m glad you’re here. I’ve missed you.”
She hadn’t torn her hand away, and her gaze met mine. “Well, you’re not the only one. Winston’s missed you too.” She chewed her lip.
“Oh, he has?” I grinned. “Poor cat.”
She nodded. “He keeps wandering from room to room, sniffing around and saying, Rex’s shoes. I need to poop in Rex’s shoes .”
I laughed. “Maybe I should pay him a visit. I’ve got some old sneakers he might like.”
She giggled in a defenseless way. I wasn’t sure she’d completely forgiven me, but I felt hopeful that the walls she’d built to keep me out were beginning to crumble. She held my gaze for what felt like an eternity, then said, “How about dinner tomorrow night? My place.”
Dinner? With Abigail? Tomorrow? It was like a dream come true.
“I’ll be there.”