The Perfect Gift (6 page)

“I’ve wanted to do this forever,” he said softly as he reached out and pulled her against him.

“Then what’s stopping you?” Abby challenged.

Corey pressed his lips to hers and her heart stopped beating. She was shocked at how it hurt. He ground his lips hard against hers. She tried to pull back a little to coax him into slowing down. His grip tightened on her arms as he held her tight against him.

“Whoa,” Abby panted as she pulled her head back.

“I know, right? It’s so intense.” Corey licked his lips and ran his hand down her back before moving his hand to her stomach.

“No. I mean, easy. We can go slow, you know?”

“So, you’re a tease,” Corey snapped.

“What? No, I just meant let’s kiss a little softer and slower.” Abby felt the mood and the excitement flee. Why was Corey acting like this? “Let’s talk a bit. What are you up to this summer?”

“Talk? I didn’t ask you out here to talk.”

“Well, I didn’t come to be pawed at,” Abby snapped.

Corey took a deep breath. “You’re right. Let me try again.”

Corey leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her lips. Okay, that was pleasant even if Corey was acting like Ryan. Maybe men really didn’t understand women. Corey put his lips to hers softly. Oh, this was what kissing was all about. She felt herself flush as Corey ran his hand down her back to cup her hip and pull her closer. She felt the pressure increase as he became more demanding. She pulled back to slow him down as he thrust his tongue in her mouth. Eww. It was so . . . wet.

She pushed against his chest to let him know he’d gone far enough. Instead of slowing him down, it encouraged him. She pulled her head to the side to dislodge him. “Stop!”

“You are a tease,” he said as a curse.

Abby felt her heart start to race for a whole different reason. Her friends had been right. Corey was a tool, a player, and an asshole . . . an asshole with a very strong grip on her.

“I said no! If you treasure your balls, then you’ll let me go right now,” Abby said with barely controlled anger. But when his hand moved to squeeze her breast, she’d had enough of being nice. A swift uppercut to his chin made him freeze in place. He looked surprised, and then his eyes rolled slowly back into his head. The branches from the willow tree parted as Zain, Gabe, Jackson, and Wyatt looked on. They saw Abby’s angry face and Corey’s hand on her breast. Then Corey fell to the ground with a thud.

“Abby, why don’t you come with me? I think some of the girls were asking where you were,” Jackson said, holding out his hand to her.

Abby smiled. They were too loyal to say, “I told you so. ”With a sigh of relief, she reached up and took Jackson’s hand. He held open the curtain of branches for her and escorted her from the tree.

“Wake up, dickhead,” she heard Wyatt demand and then heard the hard slap of a hand against a face. He was so handsome that sometimes it was easy to forget Wyatt had a backbone of steel that he inherited from his father, Marshall, who was a member of Special Forces.

“What?” Corey said groggily. “What . . . that bitch punched me!”

“Oh yeah? What until you see what we do to you,” Gabe said with a tone that sent chills down Abby’s back.

“I warned you we were like her brothers,” Zain snarled. “And we protect our own.”

“Cross or uppercut?” Jackson, in his normal quiet and in control way, smiled down to her as he led her away.

“Uppercut.”

“Good girl.” Jackson patted her hand at the same time the sound of a fist connecting with a stomach reached her ears.

“Now, let me teach you a little about respecting a woman,” Wyatt’s slow drawl said from behind her. Abby didn’t hear any more as Jackson carried on a line of soothing small talk. Soon they reached his truck, and he handed her a cold beer.

“For your hand, not for you to drink.” Abby looked down and saw a slight swelling of her knuckles. She’d hit lots of people in karate tournaments, but this was the first time she’d done it without pads. The cold can felt good on her hand.

“Thank you.”

“Anytime. I’m going to hate when Greer starts to date. Luckily, my parents are a lot like yours. She’ll know how to take care of herself. I just hate that she might have to.”

“I should have listened to you all.”

“You’re right, you should have,” Zain said from behind her.

Abby turned to see Zain, Gabe, and Wyatt walking up to her. They wore grim expressions, and suddenly Abby felt like crying.

“I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Wyatt said gently.

“It wasn’t your fault. It was his.” Gabe pulled her into a hug. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. I stopped it as soon as I realized he wasn’t listening to me. I had just wanted my first kiss to be so much better than that. I mean, that was horrible and slobbery. And he had bad breath.”

“Come on,” Jackson smiled. “It’s your first field party. What would it be like if you didn’t dance barefoot in a field to country music?”

Abby felt the disappointment fall away as Jackson led her to where a group of people danced in the center of the circle of trucks. Soon she was laughing as she danced with all her friends. She even danced with Nolan from her class. He had always been shy and stuttered his request to dance. But as soon as she said yes, his smiled warmed her instantly.

The song ended, and Abby didn’t want to leave Nolan’s arms. He held her gently. He made her laugh, and he had even asked for her phone number. Who knew the quiet guy in science class was so nice? And cute. He was tall, a little on the skinny side, but his deep-green eyes were intense.

“Abby, time to go,” Zain called from behind her.

“Sorry, I have to go. Curfew,” Abby said sadly. Corey hadn’t reappeared. In fact, she’d forgotten all about him.

“Me, too. My parents want me home by eleven. I’ll text you later, if that’s okay?”

“That would be great. Thanks for the dance, Nolan.”

Zain smiled at Nolan and shook his hand before they each went their separate ways. All the way home Gabe ribbed Zain about a girl he danced with. Abby only half-listened. Tonight she’d learned something she never wanted to admit. Her mom had told her the flashy bad-boy types were trouble. It was the strong silent ones who were the keepers. Tonight she’d realized her mother was right. It was a sickening feeling to admit her mother was right but a comfort to know she would always be there to give advice.

CHAPTER NINE

Grace felt the throbbing before she opened her eyes. The world tilted slightly when she sat up. She looked down at herself and cringed. She was in a T-shirt and tucked into bed. The only clue that it hadn’t been of her own doing was that she still wore a bra. She hated them, so it would have been off immediately if she had undressed herself. And that meant her first date in years had undressed her and tucked her into bed.

Grace fell back onto the bed and felt like crying. He would never call her and ask for a second date. What an idiot she was. The tea . . . the blasted special tea. It tasted so good, and she had been so nervous. The tea had made her relax.  She didn’t even want to know what she had said. She remembered talking, getting up to go to the living room, and the kiss. Wow, that kiss had rocked her world. Then things got a little fuzzy. She just hoped she didn’t do anything to embarrass herself too badly.

A knock at the door made her grab her head. Who in the world was here so early? She rolled out of bed and stumbled to the door. She pulled back the curtain and hissed as the sun blinded her. Apparently she was not just hungover. The tea had also turned her into a vampire.

“Who is it?” Grace called out before hissing again in pain.

“Nabi,” came the chuckled response.

Grace blinked in surprise and swung the door open. She jumped back out of the bright sun and hid behind the door as Nabi walked in, carrying a brown paper bag and a huge cup of coffee.

“Coffee!” Grace grabbed the cup like a lifeline and took a deep drink.

“I thought I owed you that much after last night,” Nabi said as he set the bag down on the kitchen table. “And breakfast. Biscuits and sausage gravy, my favorite. I hope that’s okay with you.”

“It’s great. But I should apologize. I don’t ever drink, but I was so nervous,” Grace said as she brushed her hair from her face. Oh gosh, her hair. She looked down at her bare feet and old T-shirt. She put her hand to her head and cursed under her breath. Her hair was sticking up everywhere, and she was pretty sure there was a giant crease mark running along her cheek.

“Actually, I need to apologize. Sit down; there’s something I need to tell you,” Nabi said as he pulled out a kitchen chair for her.

“This doesn’t sound good,” Grace murmured as she sat.

Nabi took the seat across from her and looked nervously at her. “I swore I could keep it a secret, but I want us to always be honest with each other. I got you drunk so I could ask about your husband.”

“What?”

“I was so worried you could only care for him that I kept topping off your drink so you would tell me if your heart was closed to a new relationship.” Nabi grimaced. “I know, I was horrible to do that to you.”

Grace was so surprised she just stared at him. He fidgeted like one of her students who was in trouble, and for some reason that made her heart soften. “Why?”

“I have not been a saint over the years, but none of those women were relationship-worthy. The past couple years I have been looking for someone I actually wanted to get to know better . . . someone I wanted to make breakfast for. I have been on so many first dates, but no one has sparked my interest. I was about to send my father a request that he arrange a marriage when I met you. The spark was immediate. But being a widow, I didn’t know if your heart was still wed to someone I could never compete with.”

Grace shoved her chair back. “I’m so sick of this widow crap! Yes, I had a husband. Yes, I loved him. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be loved again. It doesn’t mean I don’t dream of marriage, a family, and someone to share my life with. I’m not dead!”

Nabi jumped up and wrapped his arms around her. “I know. I found that out last night. I’m so sorry. I was just so afraid to get my hopes up. And here I go and ruin the chance I was given. Please, Grace . . . please say you will give me another chance. Just one more date.”

“I felt it, too, Nabi,” Grace whispered against his chest. She took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and heard the steady pounding of his heart. She felt him breathe. She smelled horses and the outdoors. She wanted to be near him forever. “I will give you one more date on the condition that you ask me if you want to know something. I’ll always tell you the truth.”

Nabi leaned back so he could look in her eyes. “I promise. I’ll also always tell you the truth. You’ll never regret giving me a second chance.” Nabi leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. Heat flared through her body in response.

“Tonight at six. I’ll pick you up for dinner. Then maybe we could go riding afterward.”

Grace would have responded, but that kiss had tilted her world more than a whole pitcher of the Rose sisters’ special iced tea. Instead, she just nodded and watched as he left. The door closed, and she stared at it for a full minute before breaking out into a little happy dance, accompanied by a squeal of delight and then a moan of agony. Aspirin first, then breakfast.

Nabi smiled the whole way back to the farm. He pulled up to the security building and noticed the bicycle leaning against a tree. He entered the key code and swiped his badge by the steel door. It unlocked, and he walked into the building. Two security guards sat at the computers, monitoring all the cameras on the farm, while other guards patrolled the grounds.

“Morning, boss,” they called as he walked in.

“Morning. Anything interesting going on?”

“Nope. Just getting ready for the Prince James of England’s visit to look at his new colt. We are coordinating security with Mr. Ashton’s farm as well, since the prince will be visiting both locations.”

“Good. Let me know when you’ve completed the protocol, and I’ll look it over to finalize it.” Nabi looked around the darkened room and saw what he was looking for at the small desk in the corner. He walked over and peeked over her shoulder. “Who is Nolan?”

Abby shrugged and continued to look at Nolan’s report card she had managed to find on the school’s database.

“What happened to Corey?”

“Corey’s a tool.”

Nabi reached forward and clicked off the screen.

“Hey! I was looking at that.”

“Sometimes it’s better to just ask about them instead of investigating and interrogating,” Nabi said before giving her a quick pat on the head. “So, who’s this Nolan character?”

“He’s so nice. He’s in my science class. We danced last night, and then he texted me just to make sure I got home all right. Zain and Gabe are driving me to the Blossom Café this afternoon after Nolan gets off work. We’re going to get a milkshake together.”

“Work? That sounds promising. He’s fifteen and works?” Nabi asked impressed.

“He’s sixteen, and he works at the feed store during the summer. His parents own it.”

“Nolan Flynn? He’s a good kid. And your parents allowed this?” Nabi asked, surprised.

“He asked Dad this morning when Dad stopped at the feed store. He was so impressed that a boy actually talked to him. He said he would allow it if someone else was also there. The twins said they would go. They’re good friends.”

“Yes, they are.”

“How did your date go?”

“Good. In fact, I’m taking her out to dinner tonight.”

“Well, you better seal the deal soon because my friend Megan saw you go into Mrs. D’s house last night and told everyone at the field party. Now everyone knows Mrs. D actually wants to date. The guys are lining up to ask her out. Megan’s dad said he was going to ask her out tonight when he got home from work.”

Nabi groaned. Of course! He’d finally found someone he was interested in, and half the town was going to go after her. “Megan’s dad? Isn’t he your father’s age?”

“So?”

“Shit,” Nabi cursed before storming from the security building. He headed for the barn to do a little manual labor and found Ahmed, Mo, and Will looking over a horse that was getting ready to foal.

“What’s gotten you so mad?” Ahmed asked as the three men turned to look at him.

“Was the date last night that bad?” Mo questioned.

“We thought with our advice it would go well,” Will sighed. “Sorry, man.”

“I messed up and interrogated her,” Nabi said through clenched teeth.

The men sucked in a breath and looked at each other. “What technique did you use? Please tell me you didn’t use the Reid Technique,” Ahmed said slowly.

“No, I used the Rose sisters’ special iced tea technique. And then I told her about it this morning. She was reluctant, but she forgave me and gave me one date to prove myself.”

“Oh,” the men all said, knowing what a powerful technique that really was.

“And now I have found out every other single man in town wants to ask her out since she went on a date with me.”

“Then you need to stake your claim,” Mo told him.

“Very publicly,” Ahmed agreed.

“And there’s only one place to do that.” Will nodded.

“The Blossom Café,” they all said together. Daisy and Violet’s restaurant was ground zero for gossip. He had planned to take her to a nice place in Midway or Lexington, but they were right. He had to go big or go home.

“Is she worth taking the relationship to the next level?” Ahmed asked.

Nabi didn’t have to think about it. “Yes, she is.”

“Then good luck,” Will said as he shook Nabi’s hand. “You’ll need it.”