Chapter Six
Abby slept through the night with the help of two margaritas. Thanks to her internal clock, she’d woken without aid from an alarm a little past six a.m. Stretching in bed, she wished for the days when she could sleep as late as she wanted.
Rolling onto her side, she thought about last night. Dinner at Emma and Jason’s had been surprising. Abby hadn’t expected to fit in, but after her initial awkwardness, she realized there was no reason to worry.
The house had been full of noise and laughter. Dylan chased poor Sandy around the yard until they both dropped from exhaustion. After a round of flashlight tag with the guys, Tyler carried the sleeping toddler upstairs to bed, while the puppy passed out in a dog bed in the kitchen.
Abby was no stranger to a busy household, having grown up sharing a bedroom with two sisters and her nephew…at least until they moved to Pelican Bay.
The adults continued to hang out late into the evening, with Jason turning on the gas firepit for warmth in the cooler night air. String lights along the outside of the porch plus an assortment of lighted mason jars bathed the backyard in soft, romantic light.
Connor sat next to her in an Adirondack chair, sometimes touching her hand to get her attention and leaning close to give her insight to an inside joke. She expected—or perhaps hoped—he would make a move when he dropped her off, but he walked her upstairs, made sure she got in safely, and left.
Which left Abby restless, despite the two cocktails, and confused by her feelings for the man she’d convinced herself she was over.
Watching Connor with Dylan stirred thoughts Abby had long ago pushed aside. She stretched onto her back and covered her stomach with her hands, yearning for what had never been. She’d seen what her sister went through as a single mom. So, when Abby found herself pregnant at twenty, it was no surprise she had freaked out. Based on her calculation, it had happened around the night of Hurricane Samantha. By the time she missed her period and had taken the pregnancy test, Connor and his family had moved to Florida.
Although they had promised to stay in touch, they had made no long-term plans or commitment to each other.
Why would they when they were practically kids themselves, partying and not taking life seriously?
Seeing the blue lines on the stick had been a wake-up call to Abby. Not long after she had the results and had broken the news to her mom and sisters, she called Connor to let him know. She hadn’t expected him to do anything, but it was the right thing to do.
He took it well, considering, and after the initial shock, promised to work hard and earn enough money to get back to New Jersey so they could be together when the baby was born.
A month later, Abby miscarried.
Now, all the feelings she’d worked hard to push aside were resurfacing. Would she have made a good mom? Would Connor have returned to Pelican Bay like he’d promised? Had the baby been a boy or a girl? Would they have still been together?
All questions without answers.
Rising from the bed, she went into the bathroom to shower. As usual, Abby did the only thing she could do. She pushed the feelings way down and got ready for a hard day of work.
Thirty minutes later, she sat on a stool at the worktable in the back of the shop, drinking a cup of coffee. Setting it down, she rummaged in a box of supplies. She’d been thinking a lot about what she and Nat talked about yesterday regarding giving out free soap samples. Emma and Maddy had encouraged her to do it, even promising to meet up with her and Natalie tonight to talk about the opening.
It took two trips of hunting through boxes to find what she needed to make the soap. She worked an hour straight, melting, mixing, and pouring the molds. She left them out on the counter to solidify and was cleaning up her tools when Natalie entered.
“Morning, sis,” Natalie said. “Wow, you’ve been busy.”
“The pros and cons of living above your business.”
“This is for the samples, right?”
“Yes. I think we should do it,” Abby said.
“Yay. I’ve warned Liam that if he doesn’t get his ass together and show up to Harrison’s for work, I’ll put him to work here.”
“Glad to know your parenting skill involves threatening your son and using our business as a type of community service.”
“I’m at my wit’s end with what to do with him. The kids he’s hanging with are hellbent on finding trouble.” Natalie poured herself a cup of coffee.
“Have you talked with his dad about it?”
“A little. Jake offered to have Liam move to Philly and live with him part time.”
“Seriously? You said you’d never do that because Jake could barely take care of himself,” Abby reminded her.
“He’s met someone. Told me she’s expecting, and they’re getting married in September. He got a steady job and everything.”
“Wouldn’t a new wife and kid make Jake even less likely to pay attention to his son?”
“I guess…I don’t know. You see how desperate I am?” Natalie exhaled a frustrated sigh.
Abby grabbed a towel and started drying her tools. “I think it’s time to talk to Mom. She raised us, right? And we were no picnic.”
“And look where it got her. One daughter pregnant at eighteen. Another wild and partying. No wonder Liam’s a mess with us as role models.”
“At least Livvie turned out okay,” Abby said.
Their youngest sister had recently received her degree in physical therapy and gotten her first job. Hopefully, she’d learned from her two older sisters’ mistakes.
Natalie jumped off the stool. “Enough of this depressing crap. Should we get back to painting?”
“Don’t need to. It’s done.”
“How’d you manage that?”
Abby twirled the end of her ponytail. “Connor came by yesterday afternoon and helped me finish it.”
Natalie headed to the front room and turned on the lights. “Wow, it turned out great. Maybe he can do the rest.”
“I’m sure he has better things to do than help us.”
“Maybe not, Abs. You should get out here.”
Abby set down her towel and joined her sister in the front room. Natalie opened the front door, letting Connor, Jason, and Evan in carrying toolboxes and dressed in Mbr shirts with work boots.
“What are you all doing here?” Abby asked, her eyes panning to Connor.
He gave her an easy smile that never failed to make her knees weak. “We’re here to install your new floor.”
While part of her wanted to jump at his offer, she was worried about becoming too accustomed to being around him and leaning on him for help.
Something she’d promised herself never to do again.
“Can I talk to you for a moment?” she asked him.
Without waiting for an answer, she led the way to the back room. Even though it hurt her ankle, she paced in long, angry strides.
He strolled in, sans the toolbox. “Let’s not fight about this, Abby.”
She stopped in front of him and crossed her arms over her chest. “You had intentions of coming here today all along and never once thought to ask me last night.”
“Because I didn’t want you to do what you’re doing right now.” He stepped forward, and the clean smell of him was enough to make her want to forget their past and pull him close.
“Natalie and I can handle this.”
“Really?” He nodded at the piles of long boxes stacked on the floor. “You’ve installed a laminate floor before?”
“I’ve watched YouTube videos. How hard can it be?”
“Do you own a jigsaw?”
Unless it was a puzzle, she had no clue what a jigsaw was or whether she needed it, but refused to respond.
“Or a level, or the molding and trim work to finish it nice?” He continued to come closer until Abby found her ass pressed against the worktable.
“I have a level,” she replied, trying to ignore the warmth of his body, dangerously close to hers.
He captured her hands in his. “We have all the tools we need right here with us now. Give us a couple of days, and we can have your space functional. Then you can focus on stocking and getting ready for the opening.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but he glanced over her shoulder to where the freshly poured soap molds sat. “You made these?”
“This morning. Nat and I talked about setting up a table and giving out samples.”
“It’s a good idea. While Jace, Ev, and I are out there working, you can be in here making more products and samples. It’s a win-win, Abs.”
“How’s it a win for you?”
“Because I get to spend time with you.” He tilted up her chin, forcing her to meet those glorious green eyes.
Their mouths were close, and the warmth of his breath brushed against her face. She wanted those lips on hers. All she had to do was reach her arms up and let it happen.
“Is that a yes, Abby?”
She should continue to fight, but her resolve had checked out. His points were valid, and who was she fooling? She and Nat could barely paint. If they tried to install flooring, who knew what damage they’d do?
“Yes, dammit. Next time, ask first.” She pushed at his chest. “Now get to work.”
He laughed and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “You won’t regret this, Abs.”
When he reached the laminate flooring in a stack against the wall, he bent over, giving her a fine view of his perfect ass, grabbed a couple of boxes, and disappeared into the main room.
Abby raised a hand to touch her cheek, which tingled from where he’d kissed her. She might live to regret his help, but one thing was for sure…things were heating up between them.
And she was powerless to stop it.
Worse, she was no longer sure she wanted to.
Tonino’s Pizza and Pasta had been a popular hangout on Pelican Bay for as long as Connor could remember. As soon as he was old enough to get working papers, Connor had applied for a job and started delivering food, either on foot or using one of the bicycles to carry pizza boxes and takeout bags. It was the perfect job because Mr. Tonino would give all the staff a free meal per shift and leftovers for them to take home.
Which often meant the difference between eating the next day or not.
Now the place was run by Mr. Tonino’s sons, Mick and Steve. Mick was Connor’s age and had been someone he used to party with. Steve was in Jason’s grade. They had a younger sister, Nikki, who was closer to Tyler’s age, and Kylie, who was somewhere in her early twenties.
From what Connor had observed the past few months, the changes Mick and Steve had made were paying off. They’d leased the lot next to them, doubling their space, and added a second story with a deck, providing an oceanfront view. Plus, they had a bar, jukebox, and stage area. Each day they rotated events, such as trivia and game night. With a stage, they brought in local bands and even had karaoke once a week. Now, the place was packed both with Pelican Bay natives and tourists—a sign that business was picking up.
Connor, Jason, Evan, and Tyler were regulars on Tuesday nights, since it was game night. They shot pool, threw darts, and even played poker when the mood struck.
Connor lined up his shot, pulled the stick back, and hit the cue ball into the stack of balls he’d racked up. The colored solid and striped balls scattered across the pool table, two of the striped balls sinking into pockets.
“He does it every time, man,” Evan said before taking a swig of beer. “Takes the lead on the break.”
“And cleans our asses up,” Jason finished. “Tell me about it. I’ve had to deal with him my entire life.”
Connor ignored them, lining up his next shot and pocketing two more before missing.
“You’re jealous because it always got me the girls,” Connor said.
“True dat,” Jason said, and clinked beer bottles with him.
“Maybe you can share your tips,” Evan said, lining up his own shot. “Jace is taken, and the well’s been dry for me.”
“You and me both,” Connor said.
“Make that three of us,” Tyler added, joining them.
Evan took his shot and missed. “In fact, your overall cheerfulness since you’ve been getting laid is downright annoying.”
Connor and Tyler murmured their agreement.
Jason laughed. “Regular sex has definitely improved my quality of life.”
Tyler winced. “Let’s not talk about how you’re sleeping with my sister. I live in the same house and don’t need to think about what you two do down the hall from my bedroom.”
“There’s another pretty lady living in the same house,” Jason said.
Tyler took the pool stick from Evan. “Dylan’s a little young for my taste. Besides, I prefer someone who doesn’t wear half her food on her face and doesn’t smell like apple juice.”
“What about Dylan’s mommy?” Evan said. “She’s a fairly neat eater, unless spaghetti is involved, and she looks and smells a lot better.”
Connor smirked at the subtle-not-subtle way Evan was attempting to pump Tyler for information. It was impossible not to notice the sexual tension between them, but neither would admit to being into each other.
“Then why haven’t you ever gone after her?” Tyler said, and lined up his shot.
“I made a move in high school,” Evan said.
Tyler had just started to shoot but missed the cue ball completely. He tried to laugh it off, but Connor caught the flash of jealousy in his eyes before proceeding with his shot, which sank the cue ball.
He swore and turned the stick over to Jason.
“And?” he said to Evan. “What of it?”
Evan shrugged. “Was like kissing a sister. We swore to never speak of or do it again.”
Tyler nodded in relief. “It didn’t affect your friendship?”
“Nah. We joked about it for a while, but it’s in the past,” Evan said. “Besides, she’s into you, man.”
Tyler considered before shaking his head. “She’s been staying at the house. I would know.”
“It’s true, bro,” Jason added. “I’ve seen her watch you when you’re not looking.”
“Emma would kill me. She’s her best friend.”
Connor noticed Tyler hadn’t denied having any interest.
“She wouldn’t. Trust me,” Jason said.
The loud rise of laughter came from the front near the bar as a group of girls came in, including Emma, Maddy, Jenna, Natalie, and Abby. The five of them took a large, round table and spread papers across it.
Connor noticed Ty’s expression of yearning when he caught sight of Maddy. Yeah, there was definitely interest on his side, too.
“You should go for it,” Connor added. “At least test the waters.”
Tyler grabbed the empty bottles off the ledge. “I’ll get this round,” he said, and headed to the bar.
“A soda for me,” Connor called after him. “That’s an interesting group.” He nodded at the table with the ladies.
“Emma said something about her and Maddy brainstorming ideas with Abby and Natalie for their business,” Jason said.
“And you didn’t stop them?” Connor said.
Jason snorted. “I just started getting some after my own dry spell. I’m no fool.”
Poor Abby was going to be overwhelmed by Emma, who was known for her detailed planning and lists. During the renovation of Erickson Pier, she’d driven them all crazy with her lists, texting, and checking in with Jason and Connor two or three times a day.
“Hell, Emma took a laptop out of her bag,” Connor said.
“Let’s give them thirty minutes,” Evan said with a smirk.
Connor had once prided himself on being the king of fun, but ever since getting unknowingly filmed while having sex with a former assistant on Beach House Flippers, he’d been walking the straight and narrow.
Maybe it was time for some fun.
“What do you have in mind?” he asked.
“We send them a round of shots,” Evan said.
“That’s all you’ve got?” Connor said. “No wonder you don’t have a lady.”
“You’re one to talk.” Evan gave him a light shove. “Sexily named shots we hand-deliver, and we pick the recipient.”
Jason raised an eyebrow. “What, are you still in college?”
“Oh, come on. It will be fun,” Evan returned.
Connor shrugged. “Go for it, man.”
While the ladies worked, the guys finished their game of pool, and, as predicted, Connor cleaned house. When they were done, Evan headed to the bar to place the shot order.
Connor didn’t know how Ev’s plan would go over—and didn’t care, if it meant more time with Abby. After spending the past two days at her shop, he realized that while they’d both changed, his feelings for her hadn’t.
Maybe it was time to see if those feelings were reciprocated.