She was too tall to have curves like that and no amount of eating helped. She’d tried it. A few years back, Abby had even gone so far as foregoing meat and vegetables for a steady diet of baked goods, to no avail. Her metabolism converted the sweets into energy and nothing stuck. In her mind, she knew she was blessed and people would kill to be like her, but she’d give anything to add ten pounds to her thin frame.
“Can you two come in for a few minutes?” Stef asked, a frown wrinkling the brow of the usually unflappable woman. “I need an intervention with this wedding stuff.”
“Sure.” She walked toward the soon-to-be-bride, who was getting married in less than three months. Stef and Mac made such a great couple. She was thrilled for them and happy to be in the wedding.
Mel fell into step with her. “What do you need?”
“Sanity?” Stef sighed as they walked past her, into her back office. “Got any you can spare?”
Abby smiled. “You’re too hard on yourself. You’re doing great. You’ve got so much accomplished already.”
The woman was organized and efficient. A real go-getter.
“Yeah,” Mel agreed. “You’re the poster child for sane.”
The sane woman shut the door behind her with a snort. “Think you got me mixed up with Abby. She’s the sane one of the bunch. You and I are irrational compared to her.”
Mel walked around the two chairs on either side of the coffee table and sat on the couch centered under the window overlooking the alley. Abby followed automatically, looking for her friend’s cat, then her heart clutched at the thought they’d no longer share the couch with Reggie. It’d been two months since the senior cat had to be put to sleep, but Abby still looked for him whenever she was here.
“True,” Mel said. “Abby’s our sanity anchor.”
Sanity anchor?
Sounded boring. Was she boring?
She sat next to Mel, contemplating her dullness when her gaze fell to the box of brownies calling to her from the coffee table in front of them. “Are those Loni’s?”
“Yes.” Stef nodded, leaning against the front of her desk across from them on the opposite wall. “Help yourself. I bought them fresh this morning.”
“I thought you had a meeting,” Mel said, reaching for a delectable square of heaven.
Abby procured one and turned to Mel. “Hush, or she won’t surprise us like this again.”
Stef chuckled and produced two steaming to-go cups out of nowhere and set them next to the brownies. “I grabbed us some vanilla chai as well.”
“You are desperate,” Mel said between bites.
“Desperate with a capital D.” Stef sighed.
Abby glanced through the open door that led to the front of the empty graphic arts shop. “Was your meeting a no-show?”
“No.” Walking back to her desk, Stef shook her head and waved at her open laptop. “It was a skype consult,” she said, grabbing her own to-go cup off the desk before leaning against it again. “I finished in time to get these goodies and flag you both down to help me decide on the invitations. I just wasn’t satisfied with the bridal shower invites I sent out last month, so I don’t want to use the matching wedding invitations. It’s driving me crazy. I can’t seem to make a decision anymore.” She motioned with her head toward the sample invitations littering her desk. “I miss my brain. It’s nothing but mush lately. And I tried asking Mac, but his answer is always whichever one you want.”
“Oh, really?” Mel sat up, a wicked grin curving her lips. “You know you could get him to agree to about anything right now, right?”
Stef laughed. “Yeah, except what I want is his input…his help with these wedding choices. And believe me, the irony is not lost on me that for once, I’d welcome his alpha attitude. It’d be great if he’d take the reins on this invitation thing.”
“Well, we’re here now. We’ll help you out,” Abby said, placing the box of brownies on the couch to make room on the coffee table for the invitations. “Bring them here.” Moving the brownies closer had nothing to do with hoarding. Mostly. She grabbed another and ate it while studying the samples Stef spread before them.
“Thanks.” Stef sighed as she plopped into one of the chairs, careful to hold her cup straight. “I did up several examples, but I think some have fonts that are too fancy, some that are too plain. A few might be too feminine, and…uhh…see what I mean? Help!”
“What are you drinking?” Mel asked, nodding toward the cup in Stef’s hand.
“Vanilla chai, like you.” Confusion clouded her friend’s aqua-colored eyes. “Why?”
Mel snorted. “I think you need something harder.”
Abby chuckled. Their friend was definitely not her usual confident self.
“Agreed.” Stef snorted, placing her cup on the table before reaching over to grab a brownie. “But I have more consults later, so alcohol is a no go. Besides, I’d end up choosing something Mac would absolutely hate.”
Abby set her free hand on Stef’s arm. “First of all, Mac would never hate anything you created. The man is head-over-heels in love with you.”
“Thanks.” Stef teared up and sniffed before stuffing a brownie in her mouth.
Smiling, Abby released her and sat back. “And secondly, nothing you create is bad. So no matter which of these you choose, you’re not going to go wrong.”
Her friend was brilliant and creative, and her successful business was living proof.
“Abby’s right.” Mel pointed to the invitations. “All of these are beautiful, so go with your gut and quit second-guessing yourself.”
“Yeah.” Abby nodded. “Which of these speaks to you?”
Stef finished her brownie, grabbed a napkin included in the bakery box and wiped her hand before picking up a white invitation with embossed pale-yellow roses. “This one is pretty. I added Mrs. McCall’s favorite flowers to it because she’s been amazing, offering her ranch, not only for my shower this month, but for the wedding and reception, too. And she got her daughter-in-law to do the catering, and you know how much everyone loves Kerri’s food.”
Kerri McCall was part owner of the Texas Republic, the bar and grill Abby lived above. The woman’s food was amazing and always packed in a good crowd at the pub. She was also a great landlord.
“That’s nice and all,” Mel said with a twist to her lips. “But this invitation should be about you and Mac, right? Not his very generous aunt.”
Stef stared at the invitation and sighed again. “I guess you’re right. I just feel I need to do something nice to acknowledge her generosity. Well, for all the McCalls. They won’t even let me pay for anything. Not the place. Not the food. Not their time. I feel like I owe them.”
“You can repay them by keeping that smile on their nephew’s face,” Abby said, before sipping her vanilla chai.
A grin twitched Stef’s lips. “That’s exactly what Mrs. McCall said.”
She smiled. “I’m not surprised.”
The McCalls were very generous people. There was no way they’d accept payment from family.
“So, let’s take this one out of the equation,” Mel said, tugging the yellow rose invitation from Stef’s hands to place it on the floor. “Now, like I said before…which of these speaks to you?”
The bride-to-be chewed on her lower lip as her hand hovered over the invitations. “Uggh…I don’t know. I like them all.”
Popping the last of her brownie in her mouth, Abby enjoyed the chocolate explosion gracing her taste buds while wiping her hand with a napkin. “How about on the count of three we all put our finger on the one we feel best personifies you and Mac? And if two of us choose the same, then you go with that one?”
“Great idea,” Mel said, shifting closer to the table.
Stef nodded, doing the same, flexing her fingers and stretching her neck. “Okay. I’m not going to internalize anything. I’m just going to pick with my gut…and pointer finger.”
Smiling, Abby nodded. “Okay. One. Two. Three
.”
Her finger touched the same invitation as both of her friends. It was unanimous. The winner had a wooden background that felt like the rustic, down-to-earth Mac, and the white, lacy pattern embossed cattycornered from each other accurately represented Stef, the beautiful artist.
“That was easy,” she said with a grin.
Stef laughed. “I guess it was. Thanks for the assist. I doubt I could’ve gotten out of my own head if you two hadn’t helped.”
“No problem.” Mel sat back and grinned. “After all, I’m going to hire you to create my invitations and I’m sure I’ll need you to return the favor.”
Abby’s laughter mixed with theirs before she sipped her drink. Last month at Christmas, her brother had proposed to Mel. It was going to be nice to have her as a sister-in-law. Her friend was going to become family.
“So, have you set a date?” Stef asked, sitting back in the chair, her gaze on Mel.
Her future sister-in-law shook her head. “No. But we did settle on a month. October.”
“That’s great,” she said. The fall foliage would match Mel’s hair. “Wait…of this year?”
Mel laughed. “Yep. I don’t have any family, so it’s just a matter of coordinating with yours.”
A shaft of sadness whispered through Abby’s chest, imagining how alone Mel must’ve felt when she’d first arrived in town. It had practically coincided with her and Stef’s arrivals, and the three of them had become fast friends. What was crazy was how much things had changed in the last ten months. Now, both of her friends were facing the same big milestone.
“I can’t believe you’re both going to be brides.” She smiled at them. “I mean, last March when we first met, who would’ve thought?”
Mel snorted. “I know, right?”
“You had a thing for my brother, but you were so in denial.” She grinned at Mel.
“Yeah.” Mel snorted again. “Kind of like Stef with Mac.”
She lifted her cup in mock salute. “Exactly. But things worked out great, and I’m so happy for you both.”
“Thanks,” Stef said, smiling at her. “I guess that means you’re next.”
“Yeah,” Mel said again, but Abby was too busy choking on her last mouthful of vanilla chai.
After clearing her throat, she chuckled. “Right. Because I have so many guys knocking on my door I can easily choose.”
“All it takes is one,” Stef quipped.
Mel nodded. “The right one.”
She snorted. “Well…if you see him, send him my way, but make sure your fiancés aren’t looking, because they haven’t exactly been helpful to my love life.”
If she was lucky enough to have a brave guy come talk to her at the pub, Carter and her protective posse always ran him off.
Stef sighed. “You’re right. The guys are too overprotective of you.”
“Tell me about it.” She slumped back on the couch. “I’ve been on three dates since moving here. Three dates. And on each of them we had a shadow.”
“So, I guess you’re having no luck finding a date to my wedding, then,” Stef said, gaze dark with what could be construed as pity, but Abby found that labeling it as concern was easier to swallow.
She shrugged. “Zero. Kind of hard with those shadows I mentioned.”
Although, to be fair, she hadn’t really connected with any of those three dates and she’d had no intention of going out with any of the men again. Not that she’d ever admit that to her brother.
Mel turned to her with a huge grin on her face. “You’re in luck this week then.”
“I am?” Abby frowned. “Why?”
What’d she miss?
“You heard Mac today,” Mel replied, waving toward the building next door. “The guys are going to Houston tomorrow.”
Stef sat up. “She’s right. They are pulling guard duty for Mr. Nakamuri. And I think it might be close to two weeks.”
Two weeks without her brother…and shadows?
“Looks like cowboys are back on the menu.” Mel snickered.
She smiled, straightening in her seat. Not because she’d have free rein to dance with whomever she wanted at the pub, but because she’d be able to breathe and move around town without her perpetual shadows.
Abby knew her brother had hovered over her this past year because he was worried about her and the effects of losing Mindy. Worried she’d make poor choices, or some guy would take advantage of her vulnerability. She understood this. She got it. His concern was appreciated and she’d told him that many times, but she needed some breathing space…something else she’d told him. It was hard to grieve with someone watching.
At least she didn’t have that problem in the solitude of her apartment.
Abby had garnered a new appreciation for what Rylee had gone through growing up with three older brothers. She and Rylee had been twenty-two when they’d met after their brothers started working joint ops together. A car accident at sixteen had turned Rylee’s family into over-protection personified. Many times, Abby had listened to her friend vent about her oldest brother’s controlling, suffocating ways. The mediator in her had always tried to remind Rylee that Gabe had done it out of concern. But now that the shoe was on the other foot, she could see how her friend had grown tired of it.
“Although, I don’t think Cooper will be joining them,” Mel said with a shrug. “So you might still have one shadow to deal with.”
Her heartbeat tripped at the mention of the guy, and her body eagerly volunteered for the “dealing with” duty.
Bad body.
“Why won’t Cooper be going?” Stef frowned. “Pretty sure Mac had mentioned he was on the roster.”
Mel snickered. “He was, until the sparring match this morning.” She went on to fill their friend in on what she’d missed.
Stef sucked in a breath. “No-o-o…he actually got a punch past Cooper’s defenses?”
Mel nodded in her direction. “Pretty sure his concentration was centered on a certain part of Abby’s anatomy.”
“What?” She laughed at the absurdity of her distracting the former SEAL. “Carter just got lucky.”
“I love Carter, and he is strong and fast, but we’ve all watched Cooper,” Mel said. “He’s pretty tight, defense-wise.”
Stef nodded. “I have to agree with Mel. Cooper always gives the guys a great workout, but rarely takes a hit. Did it leave a mark?”
Mel turned to her, gaze alight with mischief. “Ask Ms. Nightingale, here. She was real quick to grab an ice pack and rush over to place it on Cooper’s jaw, so she got close enough to see any bruising. I’m not sure what was funnier, though, the look on Coop’s face or your brother’s.”
Crud. She didn’t need Carter overreacting because she felt compelled to help his buddy out. Compelled wasn’t exactly the right word. More like possessed. She hadn’t even realized what she was doing until she stood in front of Cooper’s heaving muscles, holding the icepack against the sexy scruff on his jaw.
It was weird. Like her mind hadn’t even been aware that her body had taken over.
“I just sort of reacted,” she admitted out loud. “He was hurt, so I had to help.”
She watched her friends exchange a look before they stared at her with a knowing gleam in their eyes. “Okay…whatever it is you’re thinking…don’t.”
The smile curving their lips made Abby’s pulse leery enough to jump.
“What?” Mel shrugged, trying to look innocent by raising a brow. “I was just thinking that maybe cowboys weren’t on the menu after all.”
“Actually, just one.” Stef smiled at her. “A certain former SEAL who proved he was no stranger to horses or cattle when he’d helped Mac’s cousin out with a roundup last fall.”
Cooper.
Of course, they were talking about him. But all she could do was stare at them, bewildered that they’d think Cooper would be interested in her—Abigail the skinny rail—whose body was slim and more athletic than voluptuous.
&nb
sp; “Wow.” Stef blinked then frowned, no doubt reading some of the self-doubt in Abby’s gaze. “You actually don’t think he’d find you attractive.”
She shrugged. “Maybe if I had curves.”
Mel’s head jerked back. “What are you talking about? You’re blonde, blue eyed, curvy and tall, and I’d hate you if you weren’t my friend.”
“Yeah, Abs. You’re every red-blooded, straight, American guy’s dream,” Stef said, disbelief rounding her pretty aqua eyes. “Surely you know this, right?”
She dropped her gaze to her lap and shrugged, way too uncomfortable to be talking about herself. “I guess. My hair usually catches their attention.”
She knew that without conceit. Men did look at her, but it never really went any further than that. Except back in college.
One of the assistant professors had actually asked her out, and since he hadn’t been one of hers, she’d accepted. Drew turned out to be great. Eight years her senior, he was nice, funny, confident, handsome, and her only lover to date. They had a good relationship, which had ended when he was offered a full-time position at an east coast college. One where he could get tenure. Of course, she’d encouraged him to take it, even though it would mean the end of their relationship. She’d still had another year of college ahead of her, and then beauty school. And although she’d missed him a lot, she hadn’t exactly been heartbroken. She’d chalked it up as a life experience.
But never had another.
“Trust me, Abby,” Stef said. “Your hair isn’t the only thing that grabs men’s attention.”
Mel chuckled. “Case in point. Cooper today. He allowed himself to get clocked because he was paying more attention to your ass than his opponent.”
Heat rushed up Abby’s neck and settled in her face. “I don’t think so. He was probably distracted by the birds. They were pretty funny this morning.”
Lex and Marilyn always surprised everyone with words no one expected.
“Yeah, they were funny.” Mel nodded. “But trust me, I saw Cooper’s gaze stray to your backside when you bent to talk to Lex.”
Cooper (HC Heroes Series Book 5) Page 3
