Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Wedding Shower
It was officially springtime in Bayberry.
The forecast said that both Saturday and Sunday were supposed to be beautiful.
Abby was glad for the warm temperature. She knew the weather could be fickle at this time of the year, but on that particular day, the sun was shining and the high was in the fifties.
She took it as a good omen for the wedding shower.
The bride wanted the groom there for the shower, so instead of a bridal shower, they were having a combined wedding shower.
For Abby, it meant a lot more guests and the necessity for a lot more food.
That was never a problem in Bayberry. People loved to cook.
And they were having a covered dish luncheon.
She had been working on the games. For a crowd of fifty of Sadie and Reed’s nearest and dearest, it took a lot of effort to put together a games list with the necessary items to play the games, not to mention some cute prizes.
She’d planned to shop for some of the items while she’d been in Chicago. She figured she could have shipped them back to Bayberry, but Brad had filled every available moment with something interesting to do. And quite honestly, she’d totally forgotten about the shopping.
The truth of the matter was that she’d really enjoyed her time in Chicago.
In fact, she wouldn’t mind going back. Come to think of it, Brad had put so much on her airline gift card that it would almost pay for another roundtrip ticket.
She just had to save up some more points on her credit card to pay for the hotel room.
The wedding shower was due to start in little more than an hour.
She was surprised Brad wasn’t there yet, since he was the co-host of this event—not that he’d been a lot of help.
He claimed he knew nothing about bridal showers.
She kept correcting him that it was a wedding shower. He stated it was the same difference.
So, she made it easy for him. She would give him either or choices—the things that weren’t that important. He did okay with those things. And he insisted on paying for the decorations. She let him, since she was still doing everything she could to pay him back for the espresso machine.
Wright’s Eatery was the setting for the party. She’d spent the morning with Kate and Carrie, decorating the café. The tables were set up. The games were sorted. So, then why was she so nervous?
The door opened and in walked Carrie. “We did a really good job. The place looks amazing. Sadie is going to love it.”
“Thank you for the help with setting things up. Without you and Kate, I would still be rushing around to get things done.”
“Glad we could help.”
Every time she heard some sort of noise, she’d glance at the door.
“What has you so distracted?” Carrie arched a brow.
“I’m not.” Liar-liar. “It’s, uh, just that Brad is supposed to co-host with me, and he still isn’t here.”
“Oh, he’s at the B&B with his mother.”
“His mother? She really came with him.”
Carrie looked puzzled as she nodded. “Why do you seem so surprised?”
“Because he wasn’t sure she would make it because she has a cruise with her friends on Monday.” It wasn’t until she saw the surprised look on her friend’s face that she realized she’d said too much.
She hadn’t told her friends that she messaged with him every day, and since her trip to Chicago, they’d started talking each evening. Sometimes those conversations would go on for hours, and other times, when they were both utterly exhausted from work, they’d just talk a few minutes.
Of course, Sadie knew about her talking with Brad because he’d mentioned it to Reed. She wasn’t sure what to make of him talking about her to Reed.
But she didn’t have time to worry about that. She was about to meet his mother. She glanced down at her dress. Was it nice enough?
It was an A-line midi dress with short sleeves, a solid black bodice with a high waist and a black and pink flowered skirt that ended mid-calf. She didn’t buy dresses very often. It was the newest one in her closet.
And her hair, well, there wasn’t much she could do about it. It was a pixie cut so it pretty much did whatever it wanted. She’d put on makeup, including eyeshadow. She also took the time to put on some jewelry that she didn’t normally bother with at the coffeeshop.
She turned to Carrie. “How do you think I look? Is this dress nice enough?”
“Your dress is pretty, and you are beautiful as always. What’s up with you?” And then Carrie’s eyes widened, as though she’d put the last puzzle piece into place. “You’re nervous about meeting Brad’s mother, aren’t you?”
Guilty as charged. Abby nodded her head. “I don’t know what I’ll do if she hates me.”
“She isn’t going to hate you.”
“How do you know?”
“Because no one hates you. It’s impossible. You are sweet, generous, and thoughtful.” Carrie gestured to the decorated room. “All you have to do is look around this place to know that your heart is as big as Bayberry.”
At last, Abby smiled. “What would I ever do without friends like you?”
“You’ll never have to find out.” Carrie glanced past her. “I’ll, um, just go check the kitchen.”
Before she could ask why Carrie was making a quick exit, she heard the door open behind her. She turned to see Brad enter. Her heart started to thump in her chest. He was here. At last.
She did a quick glance around to see if his mother was with him. When she realized the coast was clear, and they were alone, she took quick strides toward him.
“I was starting to worry you were going to miss the party.” She smiled at him. She was so happy to see him. He’d never looked more handsome in his black leather coat, a light-blue collared shirt, dark jeans, and dark laced navy-blue shoes.
“I would never miss this.” He swept her into his very capable arms. The next thing she knew, his lips were claiming hers.
The breath caught in her lungs. She hadn’t forgotten what a good kisser he was. And if there wasn’t a party...
As the kiss deepened, she lost track of her thoughts. He held her close as her arms wrapped around his neck. She didn’t know it was possible to miss someone this much.
But Brad had broken through her defenses. He’d gotten her to confide in him and care about him. Even though her better judgement told her to hold back—not to let her heart take the lead—she found herself falling in love with him.
And she’d made the decision to tell him how she felt about him. The thought of making the decision scared her, but it also scared her to think she might lose him because she didn’t have the courage to tell him the truth about her feelings.
“Brad?” The female voice had a disapproving tone.
Abby jerked out of his embrace. She turned around to find an older woman with a frown on her face.
The woman was short with gray hair that was trimmed short. Every strand was in place, as though it wouldn’t dare curl in the wrong direction like Abby’s did from time to time. Her ivory face was powered with a minimal amount of makeup.
But it was her eyes that caught and held Abby’s attention. They were the exact same shade of blue as Brad’s.
Abby stood there, silently. Her stomach knotted up, and her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth.
She certainly didn’t want to meet his mother this way.
Heat rushed to her already warm cheeks as she thought about the way Brad had been kissing her—like they hadn’t seen each other in a year.
And she’d been kissing him back the same way.
“Mom, I told you that I’d come back for you.” Brad stepped around Abby to go to his mother.
“And I told you not to worry. I can take care of myself.” Her frown was replaced with a tentative smile as she patted his arm.
“But how did you find this place?” Brad asked.
“The really nice lady at the B&B gave me good instructions.”
“Oh.” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “The party doesn’t start for another hour. Why don’t we go get a cup of coffee or tea?”
Wait. He was leaving with his mother without introducing them? Then it dawned on her. He didn’t want to introduce her to his mother. The acknowledgment hurt—a lot. With her pride and her heart hurting in equal portions, she turned and headed toward the kitchen.
“Wait.” It was his mother’s voice.
Abby assumed the woman was speaking to her son, so she kept walking. She couldn’t wait to get out of there. The sooner, the better.
“Young woman?” His mother’s voice called out to her. “Please wait.”
Abby stopped. She kept her back to the two of them while she pulled herself together. After all, she was upset with Brad, not his mother.
She straightened her shoulders and turned. She plastered a smile on her face. After retracing her steps, she came to a stop in front of Brad and his mother.
Brad cleared his throat. His gaze didn’t meet either of theirs. “Mom, this is Abby. Abby, this is my mother.”
Ignoring Brad’s strange reaction, Abby briefly smiled at his mother. “Hello, Mrs. Pearson. Welcome to Bayberry.”
His mother held out her hand to Abby. “Please, call me Linda.”
Abby was surprised. After their initial meeting, she was expecting his mother to dislike her.
Abby shook his mother’s hand. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
“Finally?” The woman’s brows rose. “It appears my son has mentioned me to you, but he hasn’t spoken of you.”
He hasn’t? Her gaze moved past his mother to Brad, who was busy studying the pattern on the floor.
Abby’s gaze returned to his mother. A change of subject was in order. “I know Reed is going to be so excited to have you here for the shower.”
“In my day, the men didn’t go to the bridal shower.”
Abby nodded. “I understand. Things are always changing.”
Linda leaned toward her, as though to confide in her, but she failed to lower her voice. “I wonder why my son hasn’t told me about you.”
Once more Abby’s gaze moved to him. He was still focused on the floor. When she turned back to his mother, she forced another smile to her lips. “I… I don’t know.”
It was at that point that Brad finally found his voice again. He walked over to his mother. “Mom, Abby has some stuff to do before the party. We need to let her do those things. Come on.”
Linda nodded. Then she looked directly at Abby. “We’ll talk later.”
“I look forward to it.”
She had totally read him wrong. He was obviously just into this thing with her for a good time—some flirting and nothing more. She felt like such a fool.
That had not gone according to plan.
Not even close.
Later that afternoon, Brad inwardly groaned as he thought of his reaction to being busted by his mother while he was kissing Abby. He raked his fingers through his hair. There had to be a way to fix things with Abby.
Now that the party was over, Brad knew he had some damage control to do. He couldn’t believe his mother had walked in on them at that particular moment. He’d suddenly felt like he was that awkward teenager with a chip on his shoulder.
But now his mother had more questions than she’d ever had before. She was curious about Bayberry. It appeared she liked the place. She was curious about Reed’s fiancée. She said she wanted to know more about his friends. But most of all, she wanted to know more about Abby.
When Abby’s name had slipped during his phone conversations with his mother, he’d let his mother assume that she was a business associate. But now that his mother knew that Abby wasn’t a business associate, she wanted to know everything about her.
First, his mother wanted to know if Abby was his girlfriend?
He didn’t know the answer. He’d like to think that she was, but they’d never defined their relationship.
It always felt fluid to him like it was continuously evolving.
Or maybe that was him trying to avoid making a commitment because a long-distance relationship was a fool’s errand.
The guests were gone. The tables were cleared. And Abby was doing her best to give him the cold shoulder. In fact, he was starting to wish that he’d brought his winter coat. If this kept up, he was going to have frostbite.
He’d helped carry the gifts out to Sadie’s car. He’d helped clean up in the kitchen. And he’d helped mop the floor.
Now it was time to go. Because while he’d been helping with the cleanup, his mother had been back at the B&B, all alone, waiting for him.
“Abby,” he said to her back as she stood in the kitchen, busy transferring some leftover cookies to a to-go box. “Won’t you even look at me?”
He noticed how her shoulders went rigid just before she turned to face him. When her gaze met his, there was a hard glint in her eyes.
He hadn’t seen her this mad since the first time he’d met her at the coffeeshop. He remembered how she’d gotten under his skin right from the start. Some things hadn’t changed.
“Abby. I’m sorry. I freaked out when my mother walked in on us. I, uh...” He searched for words to explain this without making Abby even more upset with him.
“Why didn’t you tell her about us?” She stared directly into his eyes.
He lowered his head and gave it a shake. “I don’t know.”
“So, you never once mentioned me?”
“I might have a couple of times.”
“Obviously you didn’t tell her we were involved. What did you lead her to believe? That I was a neighbor? An employee?”
His gaze rose to meet hers. “A business associate.” When he saw fresh sparks of anger in her eyes, he rushed on to say, “What was I supposed to do? My mother is more traditional. If I had told her that we were seeing each other, she would have had expectations—”
“What about my expectations?” Abby tilted her chin upward ever so slightly. Her gaze was unwavering.
His mouth went dry. He wanted to ask what her expectations were, but another part sensed a trap. Not that it mattered because at that moment there was a distinct disconnect between his mind and his mouth.
“Abby?” The sound of her mother’s voice came from the back door. “Do you have the last of the leftovers? I need to get going.”
Abby looked past him, as though he were now nothing more than a ghost. “Yes, Mom. I’ll be right out.”
Without another word, Abby stepped around him. He had been dismissed, but her anger radiated off her in waves.
He tried to tell himself it was for the best. He’d known all along that their long-distance relationship could never go the distance. It was why he never wanted to talk about labeling their relationship. He felt like their sphere of happiness had been irretrievably shattered.