Cabin Fire: A New Adult and College Romance (The Billionaire Romance Redemption Series Book 4) by Bella Love-Wins Page B

understanding, Paul.”
    “We’ve all been there. It’s no problem.”
    “Thanks. Well, duty calls inside. Enjoy your time off.”
    “Later, Abby.”
    Abby turned and headed inside. Moving on. She had to do it sometime sooner or later. Before Andrew, she had not been in a relationship for well over a year. Yet she was happy. She would try to get back to feeling like herself again before going out with Paul, or anyone else for that matter. Right now, she could barely work up an appetite to eat, and she loved food. Her heart still had a gaping hole in the middle. Trying to feel something for someone new, it would be just that—trying. The effort sounded heavy, ominous and worrisome.
    Maybe what she needed to do was send a goodbye text to Andrew. Maybe closure would help close the wound that sank to her gut whenever she thought about him. She could cry again, but she was at work. She had to put on a brave face and a good show. People needed her here, unlike Andrew. She resolved to send him a message when she got home after her shift.
    As usual, the day flew by, and that night, when she settled into bed, she started crafting a short ‘it was great while it lasted’ message to Andrew. She felt good about it. It was short enough, honest enough, and not at all hateful. After all, she and her friends owed Andrew their lives. He was still the man who carried her through the blizzard, opened up his home to them, saved John, and even helped them get back to Reno.
    He was the only man who had looked at her the way every woman wants to be looked at. She couldn’t turn him into some jerk that mistreated her, not even if she tried. That was probably why it hurt so much. Andrew had cut off all communication, with no explanation. He hadn’t actually done anything to her. All the confusion surfaced again at the thought. It would be so much easier if he had just been an asshole.
    As she was about to hit the send button, her phone rang. The timing couldn’t be worse.
    “Becky?” She answered. “I didn’t expect you to call.”
    “Hi Abby. How are you feeling?”
    “I’m alright. You?” she said politely.
    “Good…how did things go?”
    “With what?”
    “You know what I’m talking about, Abbs. Andrew Carrington.”
    “I’m not in the mood to talk about it.”
    “Come on. You sound down. I’m your best friend, remember?”
    “A convenient best friend, maybe.”
    “What do you mean by that?”
    “Seriously, Becky? I’ve heard from you three times in the last year. We may have been best friends a long time ago. And I won’t ever forget how close we were, but we’re barely friends now.”
    “Are you mad because of those articles I sent you?”
    “You aren’t listening. You were out of line for sending those articles, but this conversation is not about Andrew. It’s about us. You and me.”
    “How can you say I was out of line? I sent them to you to help.”
    “It doesn’t matter, Becky. I haven’t read them. And they didn’t help. But can we get back to talking about you and me?”
    “So what are you saying?” Rebecca persisted. “You prefer to be ignorant about the man you’re seeing?”
    “Look, I’m not talking about Andrew with you right now, okay? I’m not seeing him, and that isn’t relevant to this conversation.”
    “I’m glad you came to your senses. A man like that couldn’t be good for you.”
    Abby pulled the phone from her ear for a moment, and looked at it to see if it was broken or had some kind of Andrew-only filter on it. “Rebecca. Are you even listening to me? What happened to our friendship? Was it the distance? Did school just get too busy? Or did I do something to upset you?”
    The other end of the line became eerily silent. She waited. Rebecca did not answer.
    “It’s not you, Abby. I’ve had some…there are some things I’ve been dealing with here in Washington.”
    “Want to talk about it?”
    “I’m not sure where to start.”
    “Wherever you feel comfortable,