Back to Me without you (Sibling Love Book 1) (15 page)

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go and familiarise myself with a new friend.”

Abby rolled her eyes while Jessica folded her arms over her chest.

“Um, you’re here to bond with your sisters and celebrate my pending wedding, not find a new playmate.”

Steven took his beer from the tray Abby was holding, and kissed both of his sisters on the cheek. “Hey! There will be many other occasions to hang out with you, but work doesn’t allow me to socialise with women too much if you know what I mean.”

“Oh, we are aware of what you mean. Have fun, but please be safe,” Abby pleaded with her brother.

“Yes, Mum, but don’t worry about me. I’m a big boy and can take good care of myself. Besides, it won’t be too late of a night. I have to work in the morning.”

And then with that—Abby and Jessica got ditched for something better. They would now become a group of four although Abby wasn’t sure whether she should be happy or sad about that.

“So can I get us another drink?” Justin asked, getting to his feet.

Abby shook her head. “No thanks.”

“Another round, Sam? Your usual?” Justin asked his brother. Abby watched Sam signal a response by nodding his head towards Justin.

“Do you want anything, Jess?”

Abby watched her sister scrunch up her nose. She knew what that meant. Jessica could never decide what she wanted to eat or drink whenever they went out together.

“I’ll come with you because I can’t decide what I want,” Jessica said as she got to her feet and walked away to the bar with Justin, leaving Abby and Sam alone together.

Abby and Sam sat there in silence, either of them knowing what to say to each other.

“So you having fun?” Sam asked her, breaking the ice.

Was he as tense as Abby was feeling too?

“I guess.” Abby shrugged her shoulders. “This isn’t my thing. More Jessica and Steven’s idea of a night out. But it’s okay. What about you?”

“Justin talked me into the idea. I would have preferred a quiet night in front of the television. Or taking in some of the sights that Sydney has to offer.”

“Wait!” Abby raised a hand in the air. “You haven’t seen Sydney’s sights and main attractions yet?”

Sam shook his head.

“I guess we will have to change that then,” Abby admitted.

“Is that your offer to show me around?” Sam asked her. Abby could sense that hope was filling his voice.

Was she offering to show him around? It certainly sounded like it, but Abby didn’t think she would want to spend more time with him than she already was.

“I guess it is my offer to be your tour guide,” she told him. “You can’t leave Sydney without visiting the Opera House, Luna Park or even climbing the Harbour Bridge.”

“Have you climbed the Harbour Bridge before? People tell me that the view is spectacular from above.”

“No. I’m afraid of heights. Never had the courage to do so.”

“Look at that. You’re afraid of heights, and I’m scared of flying. Maybe we can conquer our fears together and climb the bridge together.”

“Well I don’t know about climbing the Harbour Bridge, but I will make you a suggestion. Don’t feel obliged to say yes either.”

“OK. Shoot.”

“I’ll go with you to Luna Park, and we’ll conquer our fears together that way. There are some scary rides there.”

“You’re on.”

Had she just agreed to become Sam’s tour guide of Sydney?

It was mind baffling to her to even offer to show Sam around but it was out there now and there was no taking it back. Sam had already accepted her proposal.

“Are they open now?”

Abby shook her head. “I haven’t been there for a really long time but I’m fairly certain that their opening hours are 10am to 6pm. We’d have to go another day. My offer would still be valid.”

A few minutes later, Jessica and Justin returned to the table and Abby could sense that Jessica was obviously surprised that she and Sam were making small talk with each other.

After everything that happened between the two, Abby was beginning to think that Sam wasn’t as bad as first thought.

“So what are we talking about?” Justin asked as he set a beer down in front of his brother.

“Abby just offered to become my unofficial tour guide around Sydney,” Sam exclaimed with a smile.

Justin raised his eyebrows. “Oh yeah? Where are you going?”

“Luna Park.”

“Luna Park? Well I haven’t been there since I was fourteen,” Jessica said. She turned to Abby. “Can you remember that day?”

“How could I forget? Steven thought he was invincible and could go on every ride possible until he barfed up on one of the rides. He smelt like vomit for the rest of the day.”

“And he taunted us with the smell the entire ride home because he refused to buy a souvenir t-shirt to wear,” Jessica said, scrunching up her nose.

“So Luna Park sounds like fun and I’ve never been there either. We should make it a family affair. It might be fun and we could use it as a last hooray before we get married,” Justin said as he took a mouthful of beer.

Abby watched her sister clasp her hands together excitedly.

“Ooh, I like that idea a lot.” She turned to Justin with a smile. “It’s a good thing that we’re getting married. We are so in sync with each other.”

Abby crossed one leg over the other, choosing to change the subject and ignore her sister making smooching faces at Justin. “So if it’s going to be a family thing then I suppose we have no choice but to invite Steven as well.”

“Oh, do we have to?” Jessica asked, trying to sound disappointed through giggles.

“Well, he is our brother. If we don’t invite him then, he’s going to think that we don’t like him.”

“But he already knows that we don’t like him,” Jessica joked. “I tell him all the time.”

“Do you always make fun of your brother?” Sam asked.

Abby and Jessica turned to each other and laughed.

“We do. This is what happens when he only has sisters. We like to annoy him. And although he’ll never admit it, he loves it when we annoy him,” Jessica said. “It’s our way of knowing that we love each other and that we are always here for each other.”

Justin wrapped an arm around Jessica and she sunk into his embrace. “Then it’s a good thing that I’m joining your family. Steven doesn’t have to be the only guy in the household now. We can be allies. Brother in Laws for life.”

“Watch it,” Jessica said with a playful smile. “You’re marrying me. You still have to take my side when the situation calls for it.”

“So do you think your parents will want to come too? You know like one big family affair.” Abby asked, changing the subject so that she didn’t have to be subdued to another showing of Jessica and Justin being all loved up with each other. She swore Sam was also thankful for the change in conversation because he grinned at her when he took a mouthful of his beer.

Justin shook his head. “No. They won’t be coming. We can ask, but they won’t say yes. Walking around an amusement park all day with their adult children isn’t their idea of fun.”

“Justin’s right. Our mother’s idea of fun is lunch or coffee with friends and Dad’s idea is playing golf,” Sam added. “It will just be the four of us plus your brother.”

Abby couldn’t help but shudder a little knowing she was going to be spending one full day with Sam. It was one thing to offer to be his tour guide when it was just him and her. But this time, it wasn’t just going to be the two of them. Their siblings would accompany them, and Abby couldn’t very well say no to the day out. Jessica would be crushed. It was evident that she was very much looking forward to the idea of spending the day at Luna Park with her family, Justin and Sam.

Abby was just going to have to bite the bullet and spend a long day with Sam.

Just maybe it would give her the chance to find out if her feelings for Sam were real or not.

T
he following morning around eleven, Abby was downstairs at Jess and Steven’s townhouse, seizing the opportunity to get some writing done on her computer while she was alone. Jessica and Justin were out ordering the flower arrangements for the wedding. Steven wasn’t yet home from the night before. With her hair piled up high into a messy ponytail and her glasses on, she was ready to get some work done.

Despite much to think about in the fictional world of her characters, Abby couldn’t help but continue to glance at her watch. She wondered when Steven would come home. She knew he couldn’t stay out all day. He had to work. And for as long as Steven had been a firefighter, he had never been one to call in sick.

Last night hadn’t been as bad as Abby had thought it would be after Steven had ditched them for a good time out with his friends. Although she would never admit it to Sam, Jessica and Justin, she enjoyed herself. It was good to get out at night, considering it was something she didn’t often do. New York City was the city that never sleeps, but Abby liked her eight hours. Besides, with deadlines looming and many book ideas to write, hitting a club was usually not on her list of things to do. The night club scene was never her idea of fun anyway. She left that to Steven and Jessica.

Abby placed her earbuds in and got lost in her favourite playlist and the romantic first-kiss scene of her work in progress when the front door opened.

It was Jessica. The grin splashed across her face said that her morning choosing flowers had gone well.

“Good morning?” Abby asked her sister as she popped out her earbuds, focusing her all her attention on Jessica.

Jessica collapsed onto the lounge chair opposite Abby. She slipped her ballet flats off her feet, hanging her legs over one side of the armchair. “You could say that. It went better and was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be.

“So picking flowers isn’t as hard as you imagined?”

“Not for Justin and me. It turns out, we had the same kind of ideas. And his mother wasn’t there.” Jess lowered her voice and confided, “You know, it’s great that Justin’s parents are footing the bill for most of this wedding. I’m grateful for that. But honestly, things would go a lot smoother if Andrea wasn’t always there with her opinion on everything.”

Abby raised her eyebrows. “You better not spill that little bit of information to your fiancé.”

“I don’t have to worry about that,” Jessica sighed. “Justin said it first. I’m reciting his words, not mine.”

Abby’s focus turned back to her laptop. She was trying hard to crank some more words out onto the screen. She didn’t need her editor breathing down her neck as the book deadline approached.

“So how is the writing coming along?” Jessica asked. “Are you making progress on the next bestseller?”

“Well, I don’t know whether it’s going to be a bestseller or not. No one knows that until the book is out. You’re sweet to say it, though. And it’s getting there—though it would be nice to have no distractions.”

“Nonsense! You’re my sister. Of course, this book is going to be just as successful as your other books. You’re a great writer.”

“And you’re not biased at all,” Abby commented with a laugh.

Jessica shook her head with a grin. “Nope, not at all. So has Steven been home yet?”

“Not yet.”

Then as though he had known his sisters were talking about him, Steven breezed through the door in a rush. He let it slam shut behind him then headed directly upstairs, saying a quick “Hello” before he disappeared out of sight.