CelebrationAfterDarkKobo (19 page)

“To quote her directly, ‘If I had a choice between here or there with that sexy pilot, I’d pick the pilot.’”

Slim tipped his head back and laughed. “I love your mom.” He leaned in for another kiss, taking the time to linger now that he knew he was welcome to. “Twelve whole days together,” he whispered. “I bet a lot can happen in that much time.”

She curled her hand around his neck, drawing him into another kiss. “I can’t wait to find out.”

 
Snuggled up to her husband in comfy pajamas and her favorite robe with her children and grandchildren close by, a new ring on her finger and a glorious trip to look forward to, Linda decided this had been one of the very best days of her life. The time alone with Mac, the party and now this after-party in the salon of the Surf with Evan and Owen playing while the kids danced for them.
 

Hailey slept in her mother’s arms. P.J. was out cold in Joe’s arms, and Laura’s son, Holden, snoozed on Owen’s shoulder.
 

Betsy was curled up in Frank’s lap with his arms around her while they chatted with Ned and Francine. Frankie had been so happy since he met Betsy, and Linda was thrilled for them both. Frank hadn’t been seriously involved with anyone since he lost Jo, so it was particularly poignant to see him finding new love later in life.
 

Evan and Grace were beaming, back together after three long weeks apart. During the party, she’d noticed they were constantly touching each other and were obviously thrilled to be together again. She loved that and loved them together. She couldn't wait for their wedding in a few weeks.

Her mother radar had picked up something with Janey. She’d been quiet and withdrawn during the party and was listless now. Linda wondered if her daughter was coming down with something, which would be unfortunate timing for P.J.’s first Christmas.
 
Tomorrow, she’d have a talk with her daughter to see what was going on.

Maddie hadn’t confirmed her pregnancy, but after seeing her daughter-in-law pregnant twice before, Linda recognized the signs. She had a good feeling about this one. She remembered the terrible heartache of losing a baby followed by the cautious joy of learning they were expecting Mac. For nine long months, she’d practically held her breath waiting for something to go wrong until her son had arrived to make her a mother.
 

He’d been a joy to her every day of his life, never more so than in the years since he brought Maddie, Thomas and Hailey into their lives.
 

Linda’s gaze landed on Abby, who was most definitely not herself. Something was wrong, but Abby and Adam had pretended otherwise for their sake tonight. The two of them were so in love that she couldn’t imagine them having relationship issues. Tomorrow she would also see if she could find out what was troubling them.

She’d admit to having been skeptical of that pairing at first. After all, Abby had dated Grant for more than ten years, during which time there’d been no sign of the slightest spark between her and Adam—because there hadn’t been one, according to both of them. She was grateful that both her sons had ended up with the women they loved and at no expense to their close relationship.

Speaking of Grant, he and his new wife, Stephanie, were so adorable together. She wondered if they were thinking of starting a family anytime soon. Grant wasn’t getting any younger, so there was no time like the present, or so thought his future child’s grandmother.

Her gaze shifted to Mallory. Though she was new to their family, sometimes it felt like she’d always been there. That was how seamlessly she’d fit in with her siblings and cousins. Linda hoped that she would spend more time with them after the New Year.

“You’re quiet, my love,” Mac said, rubbing her arm with his hand.

“Just taking it all in.”

“It’s a lot to take in.”

“To think it began with you and me and led to this.”

“It began with you and me forty years ago today.”

She smiled at him and raised her glass to touch it to his. “You were right, you know.”

He raised a rakish eyebrow. “About?”

“Everything. Us, the marina, the hotel, buying the house, raising the kids here. All of it. I don’t know if I ever actually told you that. Everyone thought you were crazy for staking your claim here, but you knew exactly what you were doing.”

“Hell, sweetheart,” he said with a laugh, “I didn’t know a damned thing other than I wanted you and I wanted Gansett. The rest was pure, dumb luck.”

“It was a lot more than that, and you know it.”

“None of it would’ve happened without you.”

“Yes, it would have. You were on fire with ambition and determination.”

“I was, but I wonder if I wouldn’t have burned out here long before the marina took off if I hadn’t had you to keep me company on all those cold winter nights.”

“Cold winter nights are my favorite kind of nights,” she said.

“Are you saying you’re ready for bed?”

“Not quite yet, but soon.”

“Say the word, and we’re outta here.”

“Before we do that…” When the boys were between songs, she cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention. “Dad and I just want to say thank you all for a lovely celebration. We’ve had a wonderful forty years together, thanks mostly to our children and the ones they love. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer day, and I just wanted to say thank you.”

“It was all my idea,” Mac said predictably, earning groans and sofa pillows thrown at him, all of which he dodged as he laughed.
 

“We have an announcement, too,” Adam said, glancing at Abby, who seemed to grimace.
 

“Well, don’t leave us hanging,” Joe said.

“Abby and I are getting married on New Year’s Eve, and you’re all invited.”

Linda hadn’t seen that one coming, and why did the bride-to-be look less than thrilled by her fiancé’s announcement? The room erupted into congratulations, and while she accepted everyone’s good wishes, Abby looked like she was about to shatter.
 

What the heck was going on?

Chapter 13

“You shouldn’t have told everyone until we’re sure,” Abby said an hour later when she and Adam were in their room upstairs.
 

“Until we were sure of what?” he asked as he unbuttoned his shirt.

She hated that baffled tone of his voice and hated that she’d given him reason to be baffled. She hated that both their lives had changed forever in that doctor’s office yesterday. What had seemed so certain one day ago now was anything but.

“Until we’re sure of what, Abby?”

“Our wedding. Everything.”

“I’m sure, and you were too this morning when you said you’d marry me on New Year’s Eve.”
 

“I just… I… I can’t seem to process any of it. The diagnosis, the wedding…” She shook her head in frustration and anguish.
 

Adam crossed the room to her, placing one hand on her shoulder and the other on her chin, compelling her to look at him. “You don’t have to process any of it today or even tomorrow. We’ve got the rest of our lives to process anything that comes our way.”

She couldn’t bear to see the hurt and confusion in his beautiful blue eyes, so she looked away.

He gathered her in close to him. “Everything is going to be okay, Abs. If we stick together, we can get through this. I promise.”

God, she wanted to lean on him. She wanted to hold on to him and never let go, but in the back of her mind was the nagging fear that it simply wasn’t fair to shackle him to her when everything was so uncertain. He was saying and doing all the right things, and she appreciated his support so much, but that nagging doubt wouldn’t be silenced.

“Let’s get some sleep, honey. Tomorrow we’ll make plans.”

Abby let him lead her to bed, where she settled in her usual place—with her head on his shoulder, his arms around her. The thought of sleeping any other way but wrapped up in him was too painful to consider.

“I really loved the video,” she said softly in the darkness, eager to think and talk about anything other than the elephant that sat squarely in the middle of the room. “You did such a great job.”

“I’m glad you liked it.” He ran a hand over her hair, trailing down to her back. “Someday we’ll have our own video, packed with forty years of happy memories.”

In the fog of her despair, Abby couldn’t see that far into the future. She was having a hard time seeing next week or next month. She wanted to curl up in a ball and retreat from life, but Adam would never let her do that.

He turned to face her, keeping her head cushioned on his bicep. “I can hear your brain working a mile a minute.”

“You cannot hear that.”

“Yes, I can. I know you better than anyone else ever will, and I hear you thinking about all the ways this situation sucks and how unfair it is to me and all sorts of other things that would totally piss me off if you said them out loud.”

Okay, so maybe he
could
hear her thoughts.

His lips found hers in the dark, and all the despair in the world couldn’t keep her body from responding to him the way it always did. As his tongue slid between her lips to stroke hers, a sharp sting of desire between her legs had her squirming to get closer to him.
 

Under the T-shirt of his that she wore, his warm hand found her breast, rolling and teasing her nipple between his fingers as he continued to kiss her as if his life depended on reminding her of the fiery passion they shared.

Her T-shirt disappeared over her head. His shirt landed on the floor next to hers. When he brought his bare chest down on hers, Abby drew in a sharp breath at the glorious feeling of his skin rubbing against hers. That was one of her favorite things.

Adam broke the kiss and buried his face in the curve of her neck, making her shiver from the caress of his warm breath against her skin. “I love you more than anything else in this world, Abigail. If you leave me, you’ll ruin my life and yours. Please don’t leave me.”

His softly spoken plea broke her heart. Adam, her Adam, didn’t beg. He didn’t plead. He didn’t grovel. That she’d reduced him to all three was almost more than she could bear. Tears filled her eyes and slipped down the sides of her face, wetting her hair.

He kissed them away. And then his lips were closing around her nipple, making her moan from the pleasure that stripped away her worries. When Adam loved her, there was no space left in her mind for anything other than him and the exquisite way he made her feel. Her pajama pants and panties slid down her legs, which he pushed toward her chest as he bent to love her with his tongue.
 

Oh my God
. “
Adam
.”

“Yeah, baby. I’m right here. I’ll always be right here, and I’ll always love you no matter what happens.”

A sob hiccupped through her as he caressed her clit with his tongue and drove his fingers into her, sparking an orgasm that made her scalp tingle as she throbbed with aftershocks.

Giving her no time to recover and no chance to check out, he entered her slowly, grasping her ass in his big hands as he drove into her. She who had once had trouble taking a man into her body took this one like he was made for her, which he had been. She who’d had trouble having orgasms with other men had multiple orgasms with him, because he had accepted her completely and utterly, loving her exactly the way she was from the very beginning.