Chapter Five
ABBIE
I can’t stop drumming my fingers against my thighs.
Gazing out the car window, I nibble my lip and wonder if Lilah is okay.
I’ve never left her like this before. Never spent the night somewhere apart from her, other than the occasional night shifts at the hospital.
My anxiety is through the roof as Sophie drives us to our hotel, the snowy Connecticut countryside flashing by.
“Hey, it’s going to be okay.” Sophie’s voice is soft and gentle.
I glance up at her, and she’s giving me a sympathetic smile over the top of the thick white scarf she’s wearing.
“I get it. The first time I spent the night away from Chase, I was a mess. Don’t worry, though.
Viv and your dad are taking great care of the kids. ”
“I know,” I sigh, forcing a grin, though I’m afraid I look manic rather than calm. “You’re right. I just need to relax.”
She reaches one hand over and pats my leg.
“I got you, mommy. We’ll call once we get settled in at the hotel and check in on the little ones. Okay? We’re almost there.”
I release a breath. “Okay, that sounds good.”
About ten minutes later, we pull up to the hotel where everyone is staying. Golden light streams out from the lobby windows. Sophie parks close to the entrance, and we get our bags out to quickly head inside and out of the cold.
“Okay, so you go get checked in,” she begins as we walk past the sliding glass doors. “Get settled, and we’ll head to the game a little later with Carter, Tom, and Jordan. All sound good?”
“Okay, okay,” I say, and despite my stress, I do feel the first glimmers of excitement sparkling in me. This could be a lot of fun.
“Hey, Aunt Fee! You’re here!”
We turn to find a tall teenage boy with sandy brown hair and bright blue eyes hurrying across the hotel lobby toward us. I assume he’s talking to someone else at first, until it clicks. Oh, no way.
“Holy shit,” I gasp. “Is that Jordan?”
Sophie chuckles and nods. “Yep, can you believe it? Thirteen, and he shot up like a weed. Kid’s gonna be taller than his dad at this rate.”
I gasp in shock. Speaking of his dad, Tom and Carter are coming up behind him.
Tom’s as handsome as ever with his curly auburn hair, blue eyes, and strong, straight nose.
In high school he was beefier than he is now, but this lean and cut look suits him.
He’s also not limping quite as badly as the last time I saw him.
Hopefully that means his knee is paining him less than it used to.
Carter is a bit taller, with broader shoulders and black hair with lighter blue eyes.
Carter’s eyes go wide with surprise at the sight of us.
It feels so good to see them all. I had no idea until now how much I missed everybody.
“Sophie? Abbie?” He blinks and shakes his head. “What are you doing here?”
Sophie hurries to him and throws her arms around his neck, giving him a big, smacking kiss.
“Surprise! I wanted to come spend the weekend with you for your birthday, and Abbie agreed to come with me!”
Carter smiles down at her, cupping her cheeks in both hands. “I thought you weren’t going to travel because of the baby?”
She raises a finger and boops his nose. “Yet another great reason for me to bring Abbie along, huh?”
He chuckles and shakes his head before looking up at me. “It’s so good to see you, Abbs! I didn’t know you were visiting Ivy Glen.”
I start to agree, and then stop myself. Time to stop hiding things. Well, some things, at least. “Not visiting, actually,” I say. “I’ve moved back.”
“Holy shit, really?” He sounds genuinely excited, which makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. “That’s so awesome!”
He comes in for a hug, lifting me off my feet and swinging me around in a circle as I shriek with laughter. As soon as he sets me down, Tom swoops in for a hug of his own.
“It’s great to see you,” he declares, squeezing me tight. “Finally got sick of Harrisburg, huh?”
I chuckle. “Something like that.” Looking around, I continue, “I should check in real quick. Be right back.”
I cross to the concierge desk, and the lady standing behind it gives me a smile as I approach.
“Checking in?” she asks.
I nod. “Yep. There should be a room under Williams.”
The concierge looks down and taps away on her computer for a few seconds. “Yes, we have you on the third floor.”
She grabs a keycard and hands it to me.
“Thank you.” I take the card and turn back toward everyone.
I realize, while walking, that I have the biggest smile.
I really can’t believe how much I needed this, and how all of my stresses are just melting away.
“Ready!” I cry out, practically skipping toward my people…
but something looks odd about Sophie’s expression.
She seems bothered in a way she wasn’t, only moments ago.
And right as I’m about to reach them, the glass doors slide open and I’m hit by a blast of cold air. A tall, imposing figure steps through.
Oh, no.
No, no, no, no.
Dark blue eyes that I’d recognize anywhere lock with mine. He stops in his tracks.
Jake.
What the hell is he doing here?
He stares at me, looking as shocked as I feel.
The world comes to a screeching halt as we gaze at each other.
God, he’s just as handsome as ever. Messy brown hair, broad shoulders, and a toned, muscular body dressed in jeans and a black coat…
I gulp and try my best not to ogle him. I don’t know what to do or say.
Part of me is screaming to just ignore him.
Play it cool and calm and just walk away from him.
Another part of me just wants to keep looking at him, while my feet are frozen in place.
“Abbie?” His lips curl into a bright smile and he runs his gaze up and down my body, making me shiver as heat unfurls in my belly and pulses through me. “What the hell? What are you doing here?”
I open my mouth, but no words come out. I just stare at him for several long moments like a fish.
Suddenly, Carter appears at Jake’s side.
Throwing his arm over Jake’s shoulders, he exclaims, “Jake! You’re here! I’m so glad you made it. Isn’t it great that Abbie’s here too? She’s moved back to Ivy Glen!”
Jake raises his brows in surprise. “Is that so?”
Clearing my throat, I murmur, “Yep, it is.” I can barely hear my own words over the furious pounding of my heart. No no no no!
He regards me for a moment before giving me a small smile. “That’s great to hear. I’m sure everyone’s happy to have you back.”
Carter exclaims, “Hell yeah we are! Come on, man, let’s get you checked in.”
Shaking myself out of my stupor, I quickly move to get out of the way. Sophie reaches my side and slips her arm through mine.
“I had no idea he was going to be here,” she whispers.
“Carter just told me he invited him right while you were checking in. It’s been a while since they’ve seen each other, and I’m sure Jake agreed to come since it’s Carter’s birthday.
” She squeezes my hand and stares into my eyes with sadness written all over her face. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I assure her, even though my twisted stomach says otherwise. “Really, it’s not a big deal.”
Jake and Carter stop in front of the concierge desk, and Carter turns to speak to the attendant: “Checking in. The room should be under Williams.”
The concierge frowns, looking confused, before pointing to me. “She’s already checked in, sir. Would you like a second key?”
“What?” Carter turns wide eyes toward Sophie and me, then looks back at the concierge. “I think there’s some mistake. I reserved the last available room…”
“Hold on,” Sophie jumps in. “ I reserved the room for Williams.”
Carter and Sophie stare at each other, and I see the dawning realization cross their expressions.
“Oh shit,” Carter murmurs.
“We booked the same room, didn’t we?” Sophie groans.
Jake arches a brow as he looks between them, amusement dancing across his features.
Carter turns to the concierge. “Do you have another room available? There was a miscommunication between my wife and I…”
“I’m sorry, sir. That was the last available room. We’re all booked up for the night.”
“Shit,” Carter murmurs.
“It’s okay,” Sophie quickly cuts in, putting a hand on Carter’s arm. “I can bunk with Abbie…”
“Hey, it’s no big deal,” Jake shrugs. “Abbie and I can share. Right, Abbie?”
I stare at him, speechless. Seriously? What’s he doing? He’s acting like he didn’t totally ghost me three years ago. Like nothing’s happened at all.
Before I can say a word of protest, the concierge prepares a card for Jake, who thanks her and turns to me with a grin.
“We’re good to go, roomie.” He winks. “Wanna go up and drop our stuff off?”
Oh, fuck no. I’m not going to put myself in any potentially compromising position with him. Not again.
Clearing my throat, I say, “Why don’t you go up first? I’ll go with Sophie to help drop her stuff off.”
Jake looks almost disappointed but then shrugs, shifting to nonchalance.
“Sure,” he replies. “No problem. I’ll see you in a bit.”
He turns and saunters off and once he’s out of sight, Sophie grabs my hand. “Come on.”
She waves Carter off, telling him to go hang with Tom when he tries to say something to her and drags me through the lobby.
We get into an empty elevator and ride it up to her floor.
On the outside, I try my hardest to appear unaffected by what just happened, but internally, I’m having a full-blown panic attack.
I didn’t expect to see him so soon after moving back to Ivy Glen… especially not this weekend when we’re not even in town! Hell, he hasn’t spoken to me for three years, but we suddenly run into each other just a few days after I move back! That would be just my luck, honestly.
Shit, what if he finds out about Lilah? Sophie won’t say anything, I know, but he’s going to find out eventually. I can’t expect everyone to keep this secret for me forever.