The Perfect Gift (5 page)

CHAPTER EIGHT

Nabi groaned as Grace ran her hands over his chest. He couldn’t get enough of her. He had to feel her, all of her. But when her hands reached for the very visible bulge in his pants, he knew he had to stop. He had plied her with alcohol and interrogated her. If they were going to start a real relationship, then their first time wasn’t going to be groping each other on the couch like a couple of teenagers.

“Grace,” he whispered as he nibbled her lip, “we need to slow down.”

“Screw that.” Grace yanked off her shirt and Nabi’s eyes went wide. He’d never seen a more beautiful woman.

Before he knew it, he was reaching for her. Her breasts filled his hands and her head rolled back. He bent forward and placed a kiss on the base of her throat. No. He had to stop.

Nabi jumped from the couch and threw the blanket that rested on the arm at her. “Let’s watch a movie.”

“A movie, huh? Want to make one instead?” Grace purred as she stood up and slowly unzipped her skirt. She’d gone from excited drunk to seductive drunk real fast.

“Grace, you’re drunk. As much as I would love to do that with you, I want both of us to be able to remember it the next morning.”

“Oh, I’ll remember it. And morning sex. We’ll have it, right? Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve had sex?” Grace asked as she sat down to peel off her cowboy boots. Nabi watched as she tried and tried to get the first one off. “It won’t stay still. Silly boot, stop moving.”

Her eyes fluttered closed, and her hands stilled on her boot. Her body swayed and then slowly fell onto the couch. She’d passed out. Grace would never forgive him if she found out he kept topping off her drink to get information out of her. He may have ruined the most perfect date he’d ever had. Good thing it was his job to keep secrets, and he was very good at his job.

He let out a frustrated sigh as he picked her up from the couch. He looked down at her lacy underwear and cursed. He carried her to her bedroom and laid her on the bed, pulled off her boots, and rummaged through her drawers until he found a T-shirt to pull on over her head.

Turning back the covers, he picked her up again and placed her head on the pillow. A cute soft snore came from her, and he smiled. Nothing had ever been as endearing as her letting loose with everything she’d bottled up over the years. Grace Duvall was full of strength, hope, love, a wicked sense of humor, and the Rose sisters’ special tea.

Nabi leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. “Tomorrow I’ll be as honest with you as you’ve been with me. I promise.” And for the first time, he left a date with the hope of seeing the woman again. Maybe he would wait another day to send that email to his father.

*     *     *

“Daddy, please?” Abby begged.

“No. You are not going to that party. You are way too young.” Ahmed shook his head and clenched his teeth.

“Mom, talk to him. I’m almost sixteen, and everyone is going to be there. Zain and Gabe are going. Ryan and Jackson. Sienna and Carter. Sophie. Layne. Piper and Dylan. Reagan and Riley. Sydney and Wyatt.” Abby ticked the names off her fingers.

“Where is it?” Bridget asked with motherly patience.

“It’s in the field by the water tower. It’s a field party. Everyone is just parking their trucks, putting the tailgates down, and hanging out.”

“There will be drinking,” Ahmed pointed out.

Abby rolled her eyes. “Duh. But that doesn’t mean I’ll drink. And Zain and Gabe said they would take me and bring me home.”

Her father stared at her before motioning for her mother to follow him into their bedroom. Abby waited impatiently. She crossed her fingers. “Please, please, please,” she chanted softly.

The door opened and her parents walked out together. Her father didn’t look happy. That gave her some hope.

“You can go with conditions,” her father said.

“Yes! Thank you, Mom!” Abby hugged her mom and smiled at them both.

“Don’t thank me,” Bridget said with a tight smile on her face. “It was your father’s idea. I wanted to wait a little longer. This is your first and only chance to prove you’re mature enough to handle this type of party.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Abby said seriously. When her parents gave her a chance, she knew she better not mess up. They were trusting her, and she would prove to them that they could do so.

“As I was saying, conditions,” her father started. He held up a finger. “One—no drinking, smoking, or drugs. Two—you answer every call or text from us immediately. Three—you call us anytime you feel uncomfortable. You won’t be in trouble; we just want to make sure you’re safe. We will pick you up immediately. And four—you are home by eleven. If Zain and Gabe won’t bring you home, then remember condition number three.”

“Deal,” Abby squealed as she jumped up and down and threw her arms around her father. “Thank you!”

Abby pulled out her phone and sent a text to Zain and Gabe to come pick her up. They were leaving in five minutes. “I have to get ready!”

Abby ran upstairs and into her room. She brushed her hair and looked at the outfit she was wearing. Jean shorts and cowboy boots and a tank top with “Kentucky Girl” written across it. Soon, she heard Zain and Gabe knocking and knew she didn’t have time to change. Her first field party! She swiped on some lip gloss and ran downstairs to hear the end of her mom lecturing Zain and Gabe.

“Yes, ma’am,” they both said at the same time.

“Ready?” Zain asked.

“Yep,” Abby said as she grabbed her Keeneston High School sweatshirt from the chair.

“Eleven. Not a minute later or I swear I will send your father after you,” Bridget said seriously. “Now, have fun.” She smiled.

Abby hugged her mom and kissed her dad before racing out the door. She jumped into the back of Zain’s SUV and could hardly contain the squeal of excitement.

“Thank you, guys, so much.”

“No problem, but we promised your mom and dad we’d look after you. So, no disappearing with Corey,” Zain lectured.

Gabe grunted, and she thought she heard him mumble, “Tool.”

Abby just smiled. Getting her first kiss was not breaking any of the conditions her father had outlined, so Zain and Gabe could just get over it. Better to ask forgiveness than permission in this case. Her phone buzzed and she smiled as she read the text from Corey. He was looking forward to talking to her tonight. Talking was not what she had in mind, but it was a good sign.

Ahmed turned to his wife after he watched the taillights disappear into the night. He did not know what possessed him to allow Abby to go when his beautiful wife was so against it. No, he knew. He was the tough dad, always the one who kept Abby in line. For once, he wanted to be the good guy. That was not something he was used to.

“I can’t believe you let her go,” his wife said with surprise and a little worry in her voice.

Ahmed turned and looked into Bridget’s face. They’d been married for almost eighteen years, and he loved her more every day. And he’d also learned her looks. The one she was giving him at that moment said he had made a mistake, but now he had to live with it. But it wasn’t a mistake to let Abby go to a party.

“With tons of boys, alcohol, and probably drugs,” Bridget said with a raised eyebrow.

Maybe it was a mistake. She was just a teenager, and there would be boys trying to give her beer and . . . No. He didn’t make mistakes.

“Are you now wondering if you made the right decision?”

Bridget slipped her arm into Ahmed’s and walked with him back into the house. He was Ahmed. He didn’t question decisions he made. With a gulp, he turned to his wife. “Honey, get the drone.”

“No problem; I assume you want the small one that is the quietest,” Bridget said with a smirk as she headed for the basement.

“Abs! Over here,” Dylan shouted as soon as she opened the car door. It was hard to miss Dylan. Some people had started calling him Devil Davies because of his dark, brooding looks. He was fifteen, but he looked twenty and was the spitting image of his Uncle Miles—tall, muscular, dark-haired, and with the Davies signature hazel eyes. He was already over six feet tall and was intense.

The field was packed. Trucks formed a circle around the water tower. Music boomed on the speakers and coolers sat in the grass next to each back tire. Dylan and the rest of the crew from their Nabi plot were clustered around Ryan’s truck. The three of them headed over and Abby felt bad she had forgotten about Nabi and Grace in her excitement.

“How did it go?” she asked Sienna who seemed to be trying to get near Ryan.

“It seemed to go really well. I kissed . . . they kissed and then we left. So, if there are no mixed signals, I think it’s promising,” Sienna told them.

“Unless she doesn’t know what she wants. You know how fast women can change their minds,” Ryan said as he took a step away from Sienna.

Carter looked between his sister and Ryan and narrowed his eyes. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Ryan shrugged as he moved to pick up a beer from the cooler.

Abby looked at Sienna who was watching Ryan bend over the cooler as she nibbled her lower lip. Something weird was going on.

“But it looks like our mission was accomplished?” Abby asked, drawing everyone’s attention away from Ryan and Sienna.

“Looks like it.” Sydney smiled.

“I’m glad. I would hate to see Nabi marry out of desperation instead of love,” Reagan said while Riley nodded her agreement.

“Me too,” Sophie added as she grabbed a beer from the cooler as well.

“Well, now that the mission is over, I’m off to party,” Piper said before giving everyone a wave and heading to a nearby truck where a bunch of girls were dancing to country music.

“Good job, Abby. I’m glad it all worked out.” Layne gave her a hug and headed over to meet with some of the girls on her volleyball team.

As the girls drifted off to hang with their friends, Abby looked around for Corey. She spotted some kids from her class Dylan was hanging with but didn’t see Corey’s blond locks.

“What’s gotten into you?” Wyatt asked Ryan as he pulled a second beer from Ryan’s hand.

“Yeah, you have to slow down or Mom and Dad will be pissed to discover you drunk,” Jackson warned.

“Give me your keys.” Zain’s authoritative order produced instant results as Ryan handed the keys to him. Zain handed them to Jackson who pocketed them.

“You know I was just teasing you about Sienna, right?” Carter asked slowly. “Is that what’s got you in a mood?”

Ryan shook his head. “No, you weren’t. I was pathetically in love with her, and she thought of me as a little kid. A kid! Do I look like a kid? For crying out loud, I’m only a year younger than her; I’m a good six inches taller, have straight
A
s in college, and nabbed a select internship with the government. But I’m just a kid,” Ryan spat in disgust.

“I’m sure she didn’t mean it like that,” Carter defended.

“I’m sure I don’t give a shit anymore.”

“Ryan,” Gabe said as he slapped his back, “women are strange creatures. They are deep and as you peel away the layers . . .”

“Oh stuff it, Gabe,” Ryan growled.

Carter shook his head. “I’m going to find my sister.”

“Ryan?” A soft voice called from behind.

Abby looked behind him and saw a pretty girl who was in the class behind Ryan’s during high school.

“Want to go grab a drink and hang out?”

Ryan reached into the cooler and snagged two bottles of beer. “I would love to.” Ryan smiled as he slipped an arm around her waist.

The small group watched as he headed off with the girl into the darkness. Jackson shook his head. “That’s Ashley. She’s had a crush on him for years.”

“Abby?”

Abby spun around and came face to chest with Corey. He was here! Her heart sped up and she felt her fingers itch to touch him. “Hi, Corey.”

She could practically hear the eye rolls from the boys behind her, but she ignored them. The little scene she’d just watched between them showed her they didn’t know anything about relationships.

“So, you want a beer?” Corey asked as he held up a can.

“No, she doesn’t,” Wyatt said stiffly as he stepped up next to her.

“I didn’t know you were her brother,” Corey sneered.

“He’s not,” Abby said quickly.

“Think of all of us as her brothers,” Zain and Gabe said as they stepped forward. “Older, bigger brothers.”

“Guys,” Abby warned. “Let’s go, Corey. They’re just messing around.” Abby slipped her hand into his and walked off in the direction Ryan and Ashley had gone.

“I’m so glad you’re here tonight,” Corey purred as they found a spot under a willow tree. Abby looked around at the canopy of leaves and felt as if they were in their own world. Music strummed in the distance and mixed with the sound of a nearby stream. It was so romantic—perfect for her first kiss.

“Me, too.”

Corey set down his beer and scooted closer to her. She swore her heart would leap from her chest at any second.