pregnant. Me and Nathan…we’re having a baby. I need you. I need my sister. Please. I know we did wrong. Me. Nathan…Mom…but we were only—”
Abby yanked the answering machine out from the wall and stormed outside to dump it in the trash. Hard enough to break it. Now they were having a baby? For a moment, Abby’s heart contracted painfully as a shot of panic clinched her chest tight. Didn’t Nicky realize Nathan would do to her what he’d done to Abby? How could she bring a baby into a relationship like that?
Then the sound of her sister trying to rationalize their behavior crept back into her subconscious. Along with her anger. It was always the same. ‘We didn’t mean to. We were only…we’re in love.’ It made Abby sick. Love wasn’t a good enough reason to stab your sister in the back then hand the knife to your mother to plunge it into her heart.
Fuck them all. Abby didn’t need any of them. Her life was better now and last night with Marcus had proved it. Best. Sex. Ever.
Knowing she’d never find sleep, Abby grabbed her keys and headed to work. At least there was one person in the world she could still trust.
Chapter Five
“No way. No fucking way!” Abby stared in disbelief at her best friend and business partner, the one person she’d believed would never cause her grief.
“Damn it, Abby. Why not?”
Stacy rolled her wheelchair out from behind her desk and pulled to a stop on the other side of the meeting table Abby used. Abby wasn’t in the office enough to warrant her own furniture. That was how she liked it.
Ignoring her scowl, Stacy continued as if Abby wasn’t doing her best bulldog impersonation. “Mr. Brookhein specifically asked for you to consult for him, Abby. You must have made quite an impression. He said your performance in the boardroom was, and I quote ‘the best he’d ever seen’.” She paused, her eyes glued to Abby. “Which is interesting when we both know delivering reports isn’t your forte.”
Abby’s face heated, even as she bit back an unwelcome smile. At least Marcus hadn’t stooped to mentioning their creative juices flowing.
But Stacy got it anyway. Her expression turned to one of horror. “Oh my God. You fucked him, didn’t you? In the boardroom?” Horror twisted to admiration, then morphed quickly into excitement. “And he wants to hire you? Yay, Abby. Go you!”
“No. Not go me.” Abby gripped the edge of the desk. “This is bad, Stace. Really bad.”
But there was no stopping her friend. Stacy burbled on about how fantastic it all was, her voice carrying higher and higher while Abby rested her forehead on the table and let out a groan. Why the hell had Marcus asked her to consult for him? He should know the damn rules. After all, she’d thrown them in his face enough times.
“He’s not Nathan.” Stacy spoke the words lightly, as if trying to draw attention away from the fact she’d said his name out loud. The air went quiet between them.
Abby closed her eyes and her jaw clenched tight as the old feelings of anger and helplessness resurfaced. It didn’t matter. Not anymore. The dead limbs on her rotting family tree had been lopped off the day her mother and sister made their choice not to tell her.
Stacy scooted her chair up to Abby’s side and her friend’s hand fell on her shoulder. “It’s all right, Abby. I’ll do it.”
Abby smiled and shook her head. “You can’t. You know you can’t.”
“Why not?” Amusement lit Stacy’s voice as she tried to bring Abby back to the light. “It’s because I’m in a wheelchair, isn’t it?” she pseudo-whispered.
This did make Abby chuckle. “You’re six months pregnant,” she snorted, attempting to poke at her friend’s stomach. She couldn’t do it, not even in jest. Instead, Abby laid her hand flat across the middle of Stacy’s round belly, hoping for a prenatal high five. “And you have two kids. Steve would kill me if I took you away for a day, let alone a few
Abby yanked the answering machine out from the wall and stormed outside to dump it in the trash. Hard enough to break it. Now they were having a baby? For a moment, Abby’s heart contracted painfully as a shot of panic clinched her chest tight. Didn’t Nicky realize Nathan would do to her what he’d done to Abby? How could she bring a baby into a relationship like that?
Then the sound of her sister trying to rationalize their behavior crept back into her subconscious. Along with her anger. It was always the same. ‘We didn’t mean to. We were only…we’re in love.’ It made Abby sick. Love wasn’t a good enough reason to stab your sister in the back then hand the knife to your mother to plunge it into her heart.
Fuck them all. Abby didn’t need any of them. Her life was better now and last night with Marcus had proved it. Best. Sex. Ever.
Knowing she’d never find sleep, Abby grabbed her keys and headed to work. At least there was one person in the world she could still trust.
Chapter Five
“No way. No fucking way!” Abby stared in disbelief at her best friend and business partner, the one person she’d believed would never cause her grief.
“Damn it, Abby. Why not?”
Stacy rolled her wheelchair out from behind her desk and pulled to a stop on the other side of the meeting table Abby used. Abby wasn’t in the office enough to warrant her own furniture. That was how she liked it.
Ignoring her scowl, Stacy continued as if Abby wasn’t doing her best bulldog impersonation. “Mr. Brookhein specifically asked for you to consult for him, Abby. You must have made quite an impression. He said your performance in the boardroom was, and I quote ‘the best he’d ever seen’.” She paused, her eyes glued to Abby. “Which is interesting when we both know delivering reports isn’t your forte.”
Abby’s face heated, even as she bit back an unwelcome smile. At least Marcus hadn’t stooped to mentioning their creative juices flowing.
But Stacy got it anyway. Her expression turned to one of horror. “Oh my God. You fucked him, didn’t you? In the boardroom?” Horror twisted to admiration, then morphed quickly into excitement. “And he wants to hire you? Yay, Abby. Go you!”
“No. Not go me.” Abby gripped the edge of the desk. “This is bad, Stace. Really bad.”
But there was no stopping her friend. Stacy burbled on about how fantastic it all was, her voice carrying higher and higher while Abby rested her forehead on the table and let out a groan. Why the hell had Marcus asked her to consult for him? He should know the damn rules. After all, she’d thrown them in his face enough times.
“He’s not Nathan.” Stacy spoke the words lightly, as if trying to draw attention away from the fact she’d said his name out loud. The air went quiet between them.
Abby closed her eyes and her jaw clenched tight as the old feelings of anger and helplessness resurfaced. It didn’t matter. Not anymore. The dead limbs on her rotting family tree had been lopped off the day her mother and sister made their choice not to tell her.
Stacy scooted her chair up to Abby’s side and her friend’s hand fell on her shoulder. “It’s all right, Abby. I’ll do it.”
Abby smiled and shook her head. “You can’t. You know you can’t.”
“Why not?” Amusement lit Stacy’s voice as she tried to bring Abby back to the light. “It’s because I’m in a wheelchair, isn’t it?” she pseudo-whispered.
This did make Abby chuckle. “You’re six months pregnant,” she snorted, attempting to poke at her friend’s stomach. She couldn’t do it, not even in jest. Instead, Abby laid her hand flat across the middle of Stacy’s round belly, hoping for a prenatal high five. “And you have two kids. Steve would kill me if I took you away for a day, let alone a few
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