Love Me: The Complete Series (17 page)

The only drawback to the excessive chats was waiting until almost midnight to take a shower and climb into bed. Not to complain, but the guy had said he was on a business trip to the other side of the world and it was morning for him
.
He was frustratingly chipper. She had to be nothing more than haggard, yet he didn’t seem to mind.

The chats stopped after the fourth day and she assumed work took over. Of course, she stayed awake
hoping
for a message anyway and chided herself for caring. She had no time for a relationship. Especially one filled with unknowns.

Caroline’s proficient advertising, blogging, and tweeting had sucked in quite a few more weddings, funerals, and even the occasional anniversary party or other event.

It had been over a week since Abby spoke to Carter. Good riddance. She wished she could stop sighing though.

She glanced at the time. She had a couple coming in just before closing to look at their bridal offerings. They’d also asked about catering options. Abby had never been into the food business and hesitated to get involved, but Caroline jumped in and took over the call when she started to decline. “Sure we can cater—we can do the whole thing. No problem.” She winked at Abby as she led the phone caller astray. That had been a week earlier. She’d led a few more down that path since and Abby cringed at the risk involved.

“Why the heck did you tell them that? Neither one of us knows shit about catering and the only thing you cook is Hot Pockets.” They’d lose the customer in five minutes when they showed up, but Caroline wasn’t to be discouraged.

“Don’t get your panties in a wad, honey. My cousin is a fabulous cook, and she’s done a few weddings. Mostly for family, but she said she wanted to branch out. She just got a catering license. If we can get more business out of it, I say it’s time to branch.”

Abby rolled her eyes and grimaced. The woman was prone to jumping off cliffs without a parachute. “Well, you know we can’t afford to lose a customer before we get them, right?”

“Pshaw. Calm down. We aren’t losing anything. Have faith, girlie.”

Easier said than done, but Abby caved when Caroline’s cousin, Samantha, stopped in and showed them her catalogue. Which was a photo album filled with all the things she had cooked before. Hopefully they were as yummy as they appeared.

The door flew open and wind rattled the plants, ribbons, and wind chimes near the counter. Their couple had arrived. And so had Abby’s chance to get a piece of Carter’s friend Jackson.

Her eyes popped and her heart plummeted.
No way.
Not them!
She searched for a place to hide, noting the tall fern by the back door. “Caroline, can you take over for a minute? I need to—”
Run for it.
She ducked behind the fern and sidestepped to the back room.
Holy shit. Now what?

She looked at the calendar, registering the names, and realized she had no idea what Jackson’s last name was. And, of course, Caroline hadn’t bothered to get first names.

Abby watched through the same window she’d used to spy on Carter as Caroline and Samantha greeted them. Her ears burned and the flush on her face made it impossible to concentrate on what was said. When Caroline excused herself and approached, Abby took several short breaths to calm the nagging dread.

“What the heck’s wrong with you? Are you sick or something?”

She shook her head.

“Then let’s go talk to these people. It’s a big sale. Let’s get it done.”

Abby threw a hand to her mouth as her throat clammed up. “I c-can’t. It’s
them.”

“Them who?”

“That’s Carter’s ex. The one who dumped him! And that guy—is Jackson. The
real
Jackson. I dumped a can of water on his crotch! And I sent her hate flowers. I can’t go out there. No way.”

Caroline peered through the glass at the couple holding hands and making goo-goo eyes then burst out laughing. Not just a soft chuckle either. A full throttle, loud and obnoxious, belly laugh.

Abby grabbed some baby’s breath and tossed it in her face. “It’s not funny. If I go out there, there’s no telling what they’ll do—or say. I was horrible to them and I mean
horrible
.”

Caroline laughed until tears rolled down her cheeks then she gulped a few times before stopping the tirade.

Abby grabbed her arm and squeezed. “Knock it off. Get a grip. I
can’t
go out there.”

Her best friend and business partner wiped the moisture from her eyes and sniffed. “Why not? How many times have you said you wanted to give him a piece of your mind? Tell him exactly what you thought of how he treated Carter? How
she
treated Carter? Well, here’s your chance. Go get ’em, honey.” With a wave of her hand at the one-way glass, she disappeared back into the room and spoke loudly to their new customers. Who would likely be old customers in the next few minutes. “I’m sorry. Abby will be out soon. She’s taking care of something. We’ll just wait.”

Which they did for at least fifteen minutes until Abby finally stopped hyperventilating and got her wits together enough to make an entrance, since Caroline refused to let her off the hook. She tried to approach quietly and unobtrusively but her soon-to-be ex-friend nipped that in the bud.

“Ahhh, there you are! It’s about time. This is our owner and manager, Abigail.” Caroline homed in on their faces as Amanda and Jackson turned. Well, if their expressions were any sign of their compatibility, they were made for each other. Both mouths bottomed out and their eyes rounded to the size of quarters.

“You!” they both said in unison. Yep, two peas in a pod.

Caroline attempted to maintain a straight face—unsuccessfully—while Samantha darted a glance around the group.

Abby’s face went hot as a habanero, and she tried to smile. “Hi.”

“You know her?” Jackson’s eyes changed from love-struck goo to dark frown.

Amanda ignored his question. “You’re the hate-flowers girl. Don’t tell me you sent Jackson some, too.”

Abby rattled her head back and forth then found her voice. “No, he got a bucket of water on his crotch.”

Amanda’s brows followed suit and once again, the two were on the same wavelength, which happened to be a deadly stare-down of a soon-to-be-out-of-business shop owner. “Seriously?”

Abby wasn’t sure where to start, or even if she should. “You two are engaged?”

“We’re here to discuss a wedding, aren’t we?” The two broke their confrontational stance and Jackson shifted to look at the floor. “So, do you make a habit of sending hate flowers to ex-girlfriends, or pouring water on their boyfriends? Or did Carter just sweet talk you into it? Hmmm?”

“Of course not. He didn’t talk me into anything. It was my idea. I met him at the restaurant and we had too much to drink, then we started talking about all sorts of things and he told me about you and how you ditched him for another guy then we started—I don’t know. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Then I delivered the flowers and you started crying and saying what a great guy he was and you seemed like you
missed him
and I thought, wow, maybe she wants him back or regrets it. I didn’t know. So, I didn’t tell him what you said because—well—that’s
your story
and I don’t want anything to do with it. But he keeps texting and Jackson i.e. me keeps answering.”

Jackson popped his head up. “I’m not answering anything. I haven’t heard a word from him since they broke up. I was afraid to talk to him. I went by there and tried, but you—doused me.”

Caroline and Samantha had now imitated the same expression as the young couple and all four looked like they were about to belt out the high note in the church choir. Abby could have tossed a half dollar through each of those gaps. “I had to shut you up. You were telling him about our relationship and I was afraid he’d find out—”

Amanda’s face went white and she spun around. Slamming a hand on her hip, she swung her head side to side. “Did she just say
our relationship?
As in you and her?” Her hair swayed as she pointed her perfectly manicured finger between Abby and Jackson.

Jackson raised both hands and stepped back. “I don’t know what the hell she’s talking about. She’s crazy, if you ask me. I’d never seen her before I stopped by Carter’s office.”

Abby stepped forward and punched a finger at him. “He thinks I’m you, dumbass.” She swung to Amanda and moved the finger her way. “He thinks I’m you, too.”

Caroline popped up onto the nearby counter and swung her legs as she grinned. “This is getting gooood.”

Abby growled, “You’re no help. You’re the one who started all this lunacy. Why don’t
you
tell them?”

Caroline grinned. “Oh I think you’re doing great, partner. You’re on a roll. Don’t stop now. Just take a breath and keep going. Samantha, what do you think?”

Samantha sidled up to Jackson and hitched a thumb his way. “I’m with him on this. I think she’s crazy.”

“I’m
not
crazy. Gullible, maybe, but not crazy.”

Amanda sighed. “So Carter thinks you’re Jackson, or me, or—what was it you said?”

Abby rolled her eyes. “Check. Check. Check. You win the prize. He thought I was Jackson and he kept texting me. Only it wasn’t you,” Abby pointed to Jackson, “it was me. Then Caroline grabbed the phone and answered for me. Thanks for that, by the way. Remind me not to ever call you when I
really
have a problem. Then he thought I was you, Jackson, and kept texting. I answered again because
she
had just dumped him and I felt bad for him.”

Abby stopped for air. “Can you believe that? He sees me running at the park for what, five minutes, and now they all want to talk about the status of my breasts
?”

The two lovebirds gave each other a crazy-woman-talking glance.

Caroline snickered. “Well, they are good ones—as far as breasts go. I mean, from what I can tell and all.”

“How juvenile. So, I just texted them back that they weren’t fake. Only technically, it wasn’t me texting
.”

Jackson put two fingers in his mouth and whistled twice, then made the time out sign. “Whoa. You mean you’re the running chick from the park that he talked about?”

“Oh, great! So, I say fake boobs and running in the park and you automatically know who I am? What the hell else has he said? Yes! I’m running chick. So, I answered his text. Only it wasn’t me answering because he thought I was you, and when I told him they weren’t fake—well, he put two and two together and figured I’d slept with you.”

Amanda’s face shriveled up and she squealed. “
You slept with her
?” She threw her purse over her shoulder and marched toward the door.

Two steps away, Jackson grabbed her arm and yanked her back. “Hell, no! I didn’t sleep with her. I don’t even
know
her.”

Abby followed. “He’s right. He didn’t. Carter just thinks he did because your intended went down to his office and marched in and confessed.”

Both of them turned. “Confessed to what?”

“To being with me before Carter was, only—”

Amanda thundered, “So you were with her?”

“NO!”

Abby continued, “Holy crap, you’re dense. Listen up, girl. He confessed—only it wasn’t me he was confessing about—it was
you.
Get it? When he said he’d met
her
before Carter, he was talking about you. Carter and I had been sort of seeing each other so Carter thought it was me—because of the texts. He hasn’t got a clue it was you, because I never had the heart to tell him. Apparently, neither has lover-boy here. When you cried over the flowers, I just—chickened out.”

The sound of Abby’s cell broke the seconds of silence that followed as she tried to settle her pounding heartbeat. Without thinking or looking, she grabbed it and answered.

“Abby?” As if it couldn’t get any worse, guess who. Carter.

Oh shit.

Carter stared at the montage of traffic and waited. Was Jackson going to answer or what? They hadn’t spoken in a long time, and it was about time to actually
talk
rather than text. Not to mention he needed to discuss the project for a few minutes and get background on his client—something Jackson could likely provide.

“Hi, Carter,” said a definitely feminine not-Jackson voice he was familiar with. Too familiar with. Had he dialed wrong? He checked the display. Abby answered
Jackson’s phone?
“Hang on a second.” Her voice became muffled as she spoke to someone else. “You need to tell him
.
Straighten it out. It’s not my place to air your shit.” Obviously that was to Jackson.

Carter growled and raised his voice. “What are you doing answering Jackson’s phone?”

“Technically, it’s not Jackson’s.”

He heard a muffled noise on the other end then Jackson spoke, “Hey, Carter. What’s up?”

“You son of a bitch.” He punched the End button and hung up.
So it was true.

He was an idiot to think maybe there was a woman somewhere who Jackson hadn’t screwed or at least charmed into wanting him. Why would Abby be different? Was the entire time spent with Abby just a fluke? His imagination? No, there was a connection—he was sure of it.
Am I forgetting the night her phone went crazy and she ran out like there was a fire?

He was already late for his meeting and the traffic was shit. He cursed. The traffic was always shit in Bangkok, so what was different now? Other than his thoughts were only partially on the meeting that waited. He grabbed his satchel from the floor of the cab, paid, and shoved his way toward the building. Well, at least now he understood why the guy never showed up for their group lunches or any of the baseball games. He had been brave enough to go after her without him present but not to face him while doing so.

Carter had known Jackson for twenty years, ever since the thought of girls made them puke. Their competiveness had always been a fun part of their friendship. Until now. Now it was so—over. If it weren’t for this contact and Jackson’s ties, he’d never deal with the man again. Ever. In fact, he’d just—