Danielle looked as if she was ready to propose an idea to me when I jumped up. “We can’t let our hostess do this on her own.” I stacked several of the plates and headed to the kitchen. Wilhelmina needed a good talking to. I wasn’t interested in Danielle, and this matchmaking had to stop.
Once I was in the kitchen, I opened my mouth to say something when Danielle came up behind me.
“Colin, what are you doing Saturday night?”
“He has plans,” Abby said, walking into the kitchen. She linked her arm through mine in a possessive gesture that surprised me. “We’re going to a baseball game.”
“Oh,” Danielle said, giving us a scrutinizing glance. “Are the two of you…?”
No one said a word, and I loosened my collar because the air in the room felt stifling all of a sudden. When Wilhelmina and Abby didn’t speak up, I cleared my throat. “We’re just friends.” Just friends. Why had it been so hard to say those words?
The tension in the room expanded as everyone exchanged glances, and Abby moved closer to me, tightening her grip on my arm. I liked it, but I didn’t understand why she did it. Perhaps she understood how uncomfortable this was for me, and she was trying to show her support.
“We can discuss this later,” Wilhelmina said. “Right now, we’re going to play a game.”
Danielle glanced at me and smiled. “I know of someone who would love to join you for dinner sometime.”
“If we talk all night, we’ll never get to the game,” Wilhelmina said as she strolled out of the kitchen.
Danielle narrowed her eyes and pointed a finger at me. “You and I need to talk…but later. I don’t want to tick off our hostess.” She joined Wilhelmina in the dining room.
Abby tightened her hold on my arm even more, and I looked at her with concern. “Are you okay?”
Both eyebrows lifted as she let go of me and stepped back. “Oh. Yeah. I’m perfectly fine.”
“You’re acting…different tonight.”
“What?” She pulled her hair over one shoulder and blushed. “No, I’m not.”
“Guys,” Danielle said. “Quit talking and get in here.”
It sounded like a directive, and that irritated me. We weren’t children for her to order around, so I ignored her—didn’t even glance her way. Abby clutched my hand. “Colin.” She looked at me with her big, beautiful eyes. Hopeful eyes. Like she wanted to say something but wasn’t sure how to approach the subject. Could it be that she cared for me even a little? I wanted to believe that, and as I turned my entire body to face her, I touched her shoulder. “What is it?”
“I…I—”
“Come on, people,” Danielle said. “You’d better get in here before Wilhelmina skins you alive.”
My jaw tightened, and I almost told her I was more than willing to take the risk, but Abby cleared her throat and took my hand, squeezing it. “We should go in there.”
When I didn’t move, she nodded her head in the direction of the dining room. “Come on.” She let go of my hand and walked past me.
I let out a breath and followed her, my heart stumbling a beat. What was that about?
To my relief, Wilhelmina suggested the game Taboo which wasn’t too bad. The object was to help your partner guess a word without actually saying the word or five additional words that might give it away. We divided up into two teams with Abby and me on one team and Wilhelmina, David, and Danielle on the other.
I wasn’t much of a game person, but I enjoyed this one because Abby and I got to work together. She and I were in sync with each other, and we seemed to know what the other was thinking, which made guessing the words much easier. We won the first game, and then Wilhelmina, David, and Danielle won the second. During the tiebreaker game, Abby guessed the word “water” and we won the final round.
She jumped to her feet and shouted, “Yes!”
I stood and gave her a hug. It felt nice to hold her in my arms, and I didn’t want to let go, but I knew I had to. When we both sat back down, Wilhelmina shot us a secretive, knowing glance. Danielle appeared aggravated, and David was checking his watch. He was probably tired and wanted some alone time with his wife.
“I should probably call it a night,” I said, glancing at my own watch.
“Awww… We were just getting started,” Abby said with a pout.
I chuckled. “Love your endless energy, but I’ve got to get up early tomorrow.”
“I’ll walk you to your car,” Danielle said, rising from her seat. “We need to have that talk.”
Abby stiffened. “I need to speak with you as well. I’ll wait until she’s done.”
Wilhelmina covered up a grin with a fake yawn. “Thank you all for coming tonight. It went exactly as I’d hoped.”
“Thanks for your hospitality and for dinner,” I said. I headed to the door while the others said their goodbyes.
On the way to the car, Danielle skipped up beside me and linked her arm through mine as if we were already good friends. It felt wrong to me, and I wanted to shrug away, but I didn’t want to offend her. Abby lingered at the doorway a good distance away, talking to Wilhelmina.
“Now that we have a moment alone,” Danielle said. “I have a suggestion. How about the two of us go out to dinner?” She looked up at me with wide eyes. “I’d really like that, Colin.”
“Oh…um.” I hesitated, not wanting to hurt her feelings. “Thank you for the offer, but I have to be honest: my heart belongs to another. I know Wilhelmina made it sound like I’m up for a bunch of set-ups, but that’s not the case.”
She didn’t appear surprised. “Thought I would give it a try. Abby’s one lucky woman.”
I jerked back a little. “Is it that obvious?”
“Yeah, to anyone who’s paying attention.” She jingled the keys in her hand. “Good luck. I hope she gets over Nick soon. You deserve a chance.”
I frowned. “You know Nick?”
She nodded slowly. “Yes, we dated briefly. He’s a heartbreaker, that one.”
“And you think Abby isn’t over him?”
She shrugged. “I haven’t been in touch with Abby lately given that she’s a friend of Nick’s, and I don’t ever want to associate with that guy again. It’s hard to say, but most of us have known she’s had a thing for Nick for nearly a decade.”
“I see.” My chest tightened, making it difficult to breathe. “Ten years is a long time to like someone. It’s not easy to get over feelings that have lasted an entire decade, is it?”
She shook her head and gave me a pitying glance. “If you grow tired of waiting around for her, give me a call.” She pulled a pen out of her purse and wrote down her number on a piece of scrap paper. “For the record, you’re way better than Nick, and it only took me a few hours to figure that out.”
After she left, I glanced over to find Abby and Wilhelmina saying their goodbyes. Abby jogged over to my car. “Hey.”
We stood there for a few awkward moments. I finally broke the silence. “What did you want to talk about?”
“Did Danielle just ask you out?”
“That’s what you wanted to talk about?”
“No.” She glanced at the ground and then made eye contact with me for a quick second. “We need to confirm our plans for Saturday.” Pink spread across her cheeks and she looked away. Was she blushing?
“I thought we’d already confirmed.”
“Oh. Yeah, okay. Well, see you on Saturday then.”
She pivoted on her feet and was about to leave when I took her hand to stop her from leaving. “Danielle did ask me out, and I declined.”
She turned to face me, a shy smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Good to know.” She looked relieved, but that may have been wishful thinking on my part.
I stepped closer, and my eyes fell to her lips. I wanted to kiss her but now wasn’t the right time. If I did, and I botched things up between us, I would never forgive myself. Instead, I wished her goodnight and drove home wondering how I’d ever gone this long withou
t Abby Summerhill in my life.
Chapter 13
Abby
Why wasn’t Colin answering my text? I checked my phone for the thirty millionth time and then put it away, frustrated. All I’d said was: Bring your fedora so we can wear our hats after the game. He could have responded with a one-word answer, but, instead, he’d been radio-silent.
It had been a couple of days since Wilhelmina had us over for dinner, and I felt the anticipation of today twisting relentlessly in the lining of my stomach. Okay, that sounded weird, but it was true. Colin had been on my mind. A lot. And it was having an effect on my insides.
Now that I’d gotten to know him better, he was not the same man I turned down weeks ago. Or, to put it more bluntly, I was not the same woman. Some of my priorities had changed, and besides that, I was starting to see him in a new light. I missed him and it had only been two days—that had to mean something, right? And then there was that jealous feeling that hovered over me the other night when Danielle set her sights on him. He didn’t act like he was interested, but the idea of him going out with her made me feel sick to my stomach.
Was I falling for him?
I wasn’t entirely sure. It was certainly possible. Nick had always been at the forefront of my mind, but I’d barely thought of him this week. The entire situation was so confusing. How could I care about two different men at the same time?
There was a knock, and I checked my makeup, my pulse kicking up a notch at the expectation of seeing Colin again. I placed a hand over my stomach and tried to calm the spinning nerves that had been building all morning.
When I answered the door, he stood before me wearing jeans, a dark green t-shirt, and a black jacket. “Hi.”
“Hey, Colin.” His eyes met mine, and I felt a little light-headed. I stepped out onto my porch and locked the door behind me. Today, I’d worn my best blue jeans and a light sweatshirt to keep me warm if it cooled off later.
Colin studied my face, and I felt the intensity of his gaze all the way down to my toes. We stood there like we were supposed to hug or shake hands or do something, but neither of us was sure of the appropriate gesture. It was appropriate to shake hands when meeting someone new, but we weren’t new acquaintances so that was out. I wanted his arms around me, but I wanted him to make the effort, so I didn’t try to give him a hug.
He cleared his throat. “Well, shall we go?”
I nodded, disappointment washing through me as I realized he didn’t plan on giving me a hug. “Yeah.”
Once on the road, I glanced at his profile. “I’m looking forward to the game.”
“I thought you didn’t like baseball.”
“It’s not my favorite, but it’ll be fun watching it with you.”
“I’m looking forward to it as well. It’s our third session, so I’m glad it’s a long event. Gives me plenty of time to practice.”
He was thinking of this as a “session” where he needed to practice, and for some odd reason, that didn’t sit well with me. Maybe it was stupid, but I’d already forgotten about all that. I’d been thinking of it as a date, but his statement brought me back to reality. “You don’t need to practice anymore, Colin. I think you’re good.”
We came to a red light, and he glanced at me, eyes searching for an answer of some kind. “What makes you think that?”
“I don’t know. It’s a gut feeling, really. You don’t need my help. You’ve got this.” I rested my arms on my lap, looking straight ahead, my cheeks slightly warming. Why was a simple conversation making me so self-conscious all of a sudden? That wasn’t like me at all.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I do need your help. Let’s make this a practice date. Would you be okay with that?”
“Sure.” I tried not to sound too eager. The fact that I was having to hold back my enthusiasm concerned me.
“I’m going to ask you something, and if you don’t feel comfortable, just tell me.”
“Okay…”
“Since this is a practice date, can I hold your hand?”
There was a moment where both of us just looked at each other, and a giddy sensation spun in the pit of my stomach. “Yeah, go for it.”
My response appeared to surprise him. “You don’t mind?”
“Not at all.” I made sure to look at him when I said that, a smile curving my lips upward. I like you, Colin. Hint Hint.
He took my hand and laced his fingers through mine, and the air in the car felt instantly charged. Both of us seemed to hold our breath, and for several long moments, we didn’t speak. Holding his hand seemed like the most natural thing in the world, like we were supposed to be together like this.
We drove the entire way to the stadium with neither of us moving a muscle as if afraid shifting of any kind would cause the other to let go. It was a good thing I hadn’t eaten anything all day because my stomach kept flip-flopping around as if it couldn’t decide which way was up or down.
Eventually, Colin did let go of my hand when he parked the car and turned the engine off. We walked through the parking lot to the stadium, and I wondered if he would try to hold my hand again, but he didn’t.
Fans gathered at the stadium, and we moved through the crowd as we made our way to our seats. It had been a long time since I’d been to a baseball game, but I remembered a few things I enjoyed: people watching and eating popcorn from a large bag. I decided I would get a good dose of both before we left.
The stands were full today, and the energy in the stadium was off the charts. I saw people across the field doing the wave, and when it reached us, I stood with my arms above my head and sat down, but Colin remained in his seat, not even lifting up a little.
“Hey,” I said, nudging him in the ribs with my elbow. “What was that? You’re supposed to stand and shout when it gets to us.”
He stared straight ahead at the field. “It’s not mandatory.”
“Oh, it’s mandatory, all right,” I said in a teasing voice. “You can’t come to a baseball game and not participate in the wave.”
He turned to look at me with curiosity. “You really want me to?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I want to see Colin Fitzgerald do the wave. Believe it or not, that will make my day.”
Amusement flickered in his eyes. “All right. I’ll do it. But it’ll probably be the only time you ever see it.”
I widened my eyes and smiled. “Ever?”
He stared at me for a few seconds as if gauging my reaction. “I’m guessing this will be the only game we go to.” He shrugged. “Right?”
I had never been a big sports fan, and it was true, I didn’t often go to football games or hockey games or even baseball games for that matter, but hearing him say this would be the only game we would ever go to together took the smile right off my face.
“How can you say that?” I was surprised that the statement brought tears to my eyes. They hadn’t fallen yet, so I didn’t touch my face or do anything that would draw attention to them.
He studied me with a look of genuine confusion. “I’m trying to understand what’s going on here.”
Video footage splashed across a large screen above the field, and it was causing a stir as fans shouted and clapped and laughed but neither of us looked over or participated in the fun. We both just stared at each other like nothing else around us existed.
“I don’t know.” A tear slid down my cheek, and this time I made a move to wipe it out of the way.
“Abby, what’s wrong?” He moved in closer, concern showing on his face. “Why are you crying?”
I shook my head, embarrassed that I was crying over something so minor. What had gotten into me? It wasn’t that time of the month, and I’d been sleeping just fine, so there was no explanation for my reaction. I lifted a shoulder. “Why did you have to say it like that?”
He frowned. “Like what?”
“This will be the only game we go to,” I said, using my fingers to make air quotations.
“This is o
ur third session.”
“Practice date,” I corrected.
“Practice date,” he repeated. “After this…” He trailed off, and his expression was unreadable.
“What happens after this?” That was the big question.
He searched my eyes as if he might find the answer there.
“Excuse us, we need to get by.” A woman with short, blonde curly hair stood to the left of me. Her husband was right behind her, and they held their ticket stubs in their hands. “Sorry, to bother you,” she said.
“Not at all.” My words were polite, but my heart was heavy, and the interruption couldn’t have come at a worse time.
Colin and I rose so they could walk by us and find their seats. When we sat back down, a man walked down the center aisle yelling, “Popcorn, peanuts, popcorn, peanuts.”
“Would you like some?” Colin asked.
Yes, I wanted some, but I wanted even more to finish our conversation. Colin looked like he was stalling, and that worried me. He’d been the one to ask me on a second date, and I had initially turned him down, but what if he was no longer interested now that we’d spent time together?
I’d thought he was, but maybe I’d been wrong. I was about to repeat my earlier question because I felt an urgent need to know if things between us were going to progress or not, but then I realized something. If he told me he didn’t want to spend more time with me after today, it would be a long evening, and I wasn’t sure I could sit through hours of that kind of torture. I would wait until he took me home. The suspense of not knowing was killing me, but it was probably best not to think about it. Gathering my wits about me, I turned to him and plastered on a smile. “I’d love some.”
Colin rose from his seat and went after the man, paying for two popcorns and two bags of peanuts. When he returned, he had a silly grin on his face. “I forgot to ask which one you wanted, so I got both.”
“Thank you, that was a good decision. I haven’t eaten much all day, so I’m a little hungry.”
“I can get you a hot dog too if you’d like. Is there anything else you want?”
Blind Date with a Billionaire Professor (Blind Date Disasters) Page 13
