Chapter 28
Abigail woke to a silent house, and her heart fell. Had she missed Simeon?
She turned her head to check the time. It was only 7:30. He didn’t usually leave for the office until almost eight on days she didn’t work. But maybe he’d wanted to escape early this morning, after the way she’d run away from him last night.
She sighed and flopped onto her back to stare up at the ceiling.
The whole evening had been . . . perfect. Dinner. Holding hands. Lying side by side on the blanket. Watching the stars. Listening to him talk.
And the way he’d looked at her—like he wanted to kiss her.
In that moment, she had wanted nothing more.
But then the stupid bugs had interrupted.
When she’d gotten inside, she’d stood in the dining room, watching him through the patio door, the desire to kiss him so overpowering that it felt like it came from somewhere outside herself. Like it was some sort of memory stored in her heart that her head didn’t share.
And that had made her wonder—when he looked at her like that, was it her he was seeing, her he wanted to kiss? Or was it past her?
She didn’t know why it mattered so much. After all, he was obviously right when he said she was the same person as Past Abigail. Even if she couldn’t remember.
But somehow the idea that he might want to kiss a memory more than he wanted to kiss her had gotten in her head, and she’d freaked out and retreated to bed.
Still, the way he’d looked at her when he said goodnight—it hadn’t felt like he was looking at a memory. And she believed he’d been sincere when he said their date was the most special he’d been on.
So take that, Past Abigail.
She rolled her eyes at herself and pulled the blanket up over her head.
A sound from downstairs made her bolt upright and bounce out of bed. Maybe she hadn’t missed him after all.
She was halfway to the stairs when she realized she was still in her pajamas and her hair was probably a tangled mess. Not to mention she hadn’t even brushed her teeth yet. But somehow the need to see him outweighed all of that.
She ran lightly down the steps.
Simeon sat at the dining room table, reading his Bible and sipping a mug of coffee. Abigail hesitated, letting herself enjoy the play of concentration on his face, the way he ran a finger over his temple as if he were thinking.
After a minute, he closed the Bible and slid his chair back. He startled but smiled as his eyes lifted to her. “I was trying to be quiet so I wouldn’t wake you up on your day off. Guess I didn’t succeed.”
“That’s okay. I have plenty to do today.”
“Oh yeah?” Simeon raised an eyebrow. “What do you have planned?”
“That’s for me to know.” She gave him what she hoped was a mysterious—and maybe slightly flirtatious—smile. “And you to find out.”
“Hmm.” He raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure if I should be curious or alarmed.” But he looked pleased. “Maybe I should stay home to find out.”
Abigail shook her head. “Nope. It’s a surprise.”
“Just please tell me you’re not going to attempt to cook again.” He gazed at the new range hood Liam had helped him put in last week.
Abigail laughed. “I think I’ve learned my lesson.”
“Good.” Simeon moved closer to set his empty coffee cup on the counter. It would only take a step or two for Abigail to tuck herself into his arms.
Remembering her unbrushed teeth, she took a step backwards.
Simeon’s smile faltered a little. “I guess I should get to work then. Have a good day.” He touched his hand to hers on his way past, the tingle he left behind cementing her desire to kiss him.
Tonight. She’d definitely kiss him tonight.
The moment she heard the front door close, Abigail pulled out her phone and texted Benjamin. Are we still on for today?
She held her breath as she waited for his reply, hoping he hadn’t changed his mind about giving her a cooking lesson. She’d lain awake in bed last night, trying to figure out what she could do to show Simeon how she felt, when the idea had come to her. She’d felt strange texting Benjamin to ask if he’d help, but fortunately, his response had been an instant and enthusiastic yes.
I’ll be there at 1:00, his text came through now. Do you want me to stop at the store on the way, or should we go together?
Let’s go together, she texted back. If she was going to do this for Simeon, she wanted to do all of it.
She ran upstairs to brush her teeth and shower, letting her mind play through the various scenarios for her first kiss with Simeon later.
She barely managed to keep herself busy with a book and her knitting until one o’clock. When Benjamin arrived, she was more than ready to go.
She opened the door before he could knock, and he stepped back with a surprised laugh. “Well, hello.”
“You have to tell me. Is this weird?” It wasn’t the greeting she intended, but it was what came out.
“Is what weird?” Benjamin snorted. “You accosting me at the door? A little, but—”
Abigail couldn’t help joining in his easy laughter. “I meant me asking you to help with this.”
“Of course not.” Though he couldn’t be much older than his early twenties, Benjamin’s eyes crinkled with his smile, just like Simeon’s did. “This is what family’s for, right?”
Abigail nodded slowly. From what she’d seen of the Calvanos, she had to believe that was true.
“Come on. Let’s go to the store.” He gestured toward his little Gremlin in the driveway, and Abigail wanted to ask how they were going to fit groceries in it. But she remembered Simeon’s warning about making fun of Benjamin’s car, so she kept her mouth shut. If worse came to worst, she supposed she could always pile the bags on her lap.
“So how’s the new job?” she asked as Benjamin steered the car out of the driveway. It was a good thing that she apparently wasn’t claustrophobic, since the car was somehow even smaller on the inside than it looked on the outside.
“It’s good. Really good, actually.”
They spent the drive talking about his new position as head chef at Ireland’s brother’s restaurant, The Depot. It fascinated Abigail that someone so young could know so much about cooking when her first foray—at least that she remembered—had almost burned down the house.
“So what do you want to make?” Benjamin asked as they walked across the parking lot at the store.
Abigail bit her lip. She’d been thinking about that. As far as she could tell, Simeon wasn’t terribly picky, but she wanted to make something he would really love.
“Do you have any suggestions?” she asked Benjamin.
“Let’s see.” Benjamin looked thoughtful. “Simeon’s always been a meat and potatoes guy. How about bacon-wrapped pesto pork tenderloin with twice baked potatoes?”
“Whoa.” Abigail rubbed her head. “I don’t even know what half of those words mean.”
Benjamin chuckled. “Don’t worry. It’s not as complicated as it sounds. You can handle it.”
“If you say so,” Abigail murmured.
Inside the store, Benjamin grabbed a cart and led her up and down the aisles, picking out groceries with a practiced hand.
They were standing in the produce section, Benjamin explaining to her how to pick out fresh basil, when he suddenly stiffened and fell silent.
“What’s wrong?” Abigail looked over her shoulder, but all she saw was people browsing a grocery store.
She turned back to Benjamin, who was still gaping at something—or maybe someone.
She followed the line of his gaze again.
Oh.
A young woman who looked close to his age had just started unloading her cart at the checkout.
“Who’s that?” Abigail grinned at him.
“What?” Benjamin shook his head and dragged his eyes back to the basil. “No one. So anyway, you don’t want the stuff with wilty leaves.” He shuffled through bunches of basil, finally holding one up. “You want ones that are crisp, like this.”
“Crisp. Got it.” Abigail nodded as he stuffed the bunch into a plastic bag. “What’s her name?”
“Whose name?” Benjamin’s eyes darted to the checkouts again.
Abigail rolled her eyes. “You’re not really going to play dumb, are you?”
“Summer,” Benjamin said, his eyes coming back to Abigail. “Her name is Summer.”
“And you like her.”
“What?” Benjamin shook his head as if Abigail were crazy. “No. I just— I mean, we used to . . . But . . .”
Abigail studied him. “But you still have feelings for her.” She was proud of her deduction, even if it had been pretty obvious.
“No,” Benjamin said firmly, turning his back to the checkout. “She’s not . . . Come on, we need some scallions.” He moved farther into the produce section, and Abigail followed, deciding to let the topic drop for now, though she had to bite her tongue every time she spotted Benjamin glancing up from the scallions toward the checkouts.
He was stalling, she could tell.
Finally, he seemed satisfied, and they went to pay for their purchases, Summer nowhere in sight.
With everything bagged and loaded into the cart, they headed for the parking lot, where Benjamin miraculously fit it all into the Gremlin’s miniscule backseat.
“Abigail, hi,” a woman called just as Benjamin was about to return the cart to the store.
“Who is that?” Abigail murmured out the side of her mouth, trying not to move her lips.
Benjamin shrugged. “No idea,” he murmured back.
Abigail pushed a smile to her lips. Obviously she’d met this woman before, even if she didn’t remember. She had no idea how the woman hadn’t heard that she had amnesia. One thing Abigail had learned very quickly about River Falls—word traveled quickly in a small town.
“I’m sorry.” She used her politest voice as the woman reached them. “You’ll have to remind me of your name. I had an accident and—”
“Oh yes, I know all about your amnesia,” the woman said. “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t expect you to remember my name. You and I have only met once. But I know Simeon well. I’m Wendy.” The woman held out a hand, which Abigail dutifully shook.
“Oh. Okay.” She wasn’t really sure how else to respond to that.
“And you’re Simeon’s brother.” Wendy tapped her lip. “Let me see. Benjamin, right?”
Benjamin raised an eyebrow at Abigail but nodded and also shook Wendy’s outstretched hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“Oh, you too. You too. Anyway—” Wendy gestured toward the store. “Better get to my shopping. Are y’all done with the cart?”
Abigail nodded, and Wendy took it. “Perfect timing then. See y’all later.”
She headed toward the store, and Benjamin shook his head. “That was weird.”
“Yeah.” Abigail spent most of the drive wondering how Simeon knew Wendy, but the moment they got home, Benjamin dove into her cooking lesson, and she was too busy to give Wendy another thought.
He taught her how to make the pesto, how to prepare the meat, how to bake and then scoop out the potatoes.
They talked as they worked—about Benjamin’s job, Lydia and Liam’s upcoming wedding, the rest of the Calvanos—but every time Abigail tried to turn the conversation back to Summer, her talkative brother-in-law grew silent—which only confirmed Abigail’s suspicions.
By the time everything was prepared, Abigail was pretty sure her brain was going to explode, but the scents wafting around the kitchen made it all worth it.
“I have to get to work.” Benjamin cast a satisfied eye over the messy kitchen. “Make sure you put the pork in the oven about thirty minutes before you want to eat. The potatoes can go in one more time for about twenty minutes.
Abigail nodded. “I think I’ve got it.”
“I think you do too.” Benjamin headed toward the door. “We should do this again sometime. It was fun.”
“It was. Thanks again.”
“You’re welcome.” He stepped forward and hugged her.
Abigail grunted at the slight pang in her ribs but squeezed him back.
And then he was gone.
She checked the time. She had one hour until Simeon got home. Just enough time to change and get everything on the table. And to decide whether she should kiss him right when he walked in the door—or wait until after dinner.