Chapter Seventeen

 

 

Abby made sure Luke would be occupied for a while so she could do her maid of honor duties with Carrie on Monday. Luke assured her he could take care of himself and Bryce offered Luke the use of one of his cars. It was nice that the two of them hit it off well enough that Bryce could trust him with his house and car.

She still had a hard time reconciling the two images of Bryce in her mind. When she’d first met the guy, she thought he was way uptight and a little snotty, but the more she got to know him, the more she realized he was just an incredibly private person. He had a heart of gold — the perfect man for Carrie. And with Carrie’s influence, Abby could already tell a difference in Bryce. She couldn’t wait to see how much he would open up after they were married and Carrie was with him all the time.

“You still with me?” Carrie asked, pulling Abby from her thoughts.

“Yeah, I was just thinking of you and Bryce. I’m so excited for you both.”

“Me, too. I can’t believe the wedding is finally here. It seems like ages.”

“I’ll bet. I’m sorry I haven’t been here to help more.”

“No worries. Melissa is fabulous and has taken care of everything. You wouldn’t have had to do much until now anyway.”

“Yeah, and you would have been spending all your free time with Bryce so it wouldn’t matter if I was here or not.”

“Not all my time, but most of it for sure,” Carrie said. “I have missed you, though. I’m glad you’re back. How long are you staying after the wedding?”

“We’ll fly back on Sunday night. Gotta get the finishing touches done on the house and get it listed right away. I want to get it sold soon so I can get back to work before the summer is over. That’s when most people start coming back to see me anyway, since they start getting stressed with the approach of back to school and fall events.”

Carrie nodded. “I’ve paid the rent on the apartment for the next two months, since my brother will still be there. He’s going to be moving to on-campus housing when school starts, so you’ve got time to figure out what you’re doing with the place. You sure you don’t want to look for another room mate?”

“Nah. I doubt anyone will be able to fill your shoes.”

“Oh, you’re sweet,” Carrie said.

Abby smiled, thinking of the type of response Luke would have said to something like that.

She hadn’t seen him since last night. Already she wished she was done with the errands she and Carrie had to do so she could get back to him. The thought made her wonder how hard it would be to say goodbye for good when she was done in Maryland.

 

***

 

Luke felt like a little kid waiting for his friend to be available to play. He knew he could easily go out and explore the city, but he didn’t want to do anything without Abby. She knew the town and could take him to all the fun stuff and help him avoid the traffic, but she was probably going to be with Carrie all day.

Bryce had left him the keys to one of his cars and permission to take it wherever he wanted to. Luke decided to spend some time on his laptop making sure all his property listings looked good and doing the little things that needed tweaking. It didn’t take him long. He found himself filling his time playing a couple of online games he hadn’t been able to get on in a while.

When he saw the text from Abby around noon, he got excited.

You want to meet for lunch?

Absolutely, he replied. Where?

She gave him directions to a place she and Carrie would be. Think you can find it?

No problem. He plugged the address into his map app, grateful for that feature in a strange city.

See you soon.

Luke put his laptop away and checked himself in the mirror. He breathed into his cupped palm, deciding to brush his teeth again before leaving to meet with Abby.

When he got to the restaurant, he saw Abby standing near the glass front watching for him. She looked adorable in her sun dress and big sunglasses, like she fit in this world. It hurt a little to think of this as her home. He wanted her to fall in love with Maryland and stay there with him. He would have to do a lot of work to get her to see how good they would be for each other. And he hoped that being with her best friend for her wedding would help put more romantic and long-term relationship thoughts into her head.

“Hello, beautiful. How has your morning been?” Luke leaned in and kissed her cheek. He took her hand in an easy way that he hoped wouldn’t look too demanding but would entice her a little. “Did you get all your stuff done yet?”

“No.” Abby sighed. “We’ve got a couple more things to do, but it shouldn’t take too long.” She walked with him toward the back of the restaurant, where Carrie and Bryce were sitting close with their foreheads almost touching.

The two didn’t look up when Luke and Abby approached. It wasn’t until Luke pulled out Abby’s chair that Carrie realized they were there.

“Glad you could come, Luke.” She looked at Abby. “Would it upset you too much if Bryce and I took off early after lunch? He’s got something with the youth center that needs our attention. We can do the rest of this stuff tomorrow.”

“No, that’s fine,” Abby said. “But if you want, I could finish up what we had on your list. Most of it is stuff you don’t really have to be there in person for anyway, right?”

“You don’t mind?” Carrie asked.

“Of course not. That’s what I’m here for. Tell me what you need, and it’s done.”

“Isn’t she an angel?” Carrie said, glancing at him and then smiling at Abby.

“That she is,” Luke answered, looking at Abby. He squeezed her hand before letting it go and checking the menu.

They enjoyed a meal and Luke was relieved the couple in front of them weren’t the kind to be overly affectionate in public even though they radiated happiness. Before long, the two of them were gone, leaving him alone with Abby. It couldn’t have worked out better if he had planned it. Bryce took the keys to his spare car and said he’d send someone for it so Luke could go with Abby on the remainder of the errands that needed taken care of before the wedding.

“I never thought of how much work went into a wedding,” Abby said. “I’m glad she hired Melissa because I’d have stunk at all this.”

“You haven’t been planning yours since you were thirteen?” Luke asked.

“No.” Abby met his eyes. “I never got into that. I figured my preferences would probably change too much to do anything serious that early.”

“Ah,” Luke said.

Abby grinned. “I was the kind of girl to write my name with the last name of my current crush over and over in my notebook at that age.”

“Well, you want to make sure the last name works. I can totally see the wisdom in that.” Luke wanted to ask if she’d ever tried his last name. He didn’t want to push his luck, but Abby Morison sounded good to him.

“You ready for this?” Abby asked when they pulled up in front of the office building of Carrie’s wedding planner.

“Absolutely.” He opened her door and took her hand as they walked up to the front door. When they got inside, a perky assistant stepped out from behind her desk and came to meet them.

“Are you here for a consultation?”

Abby shook her head. “No, I’m here to meet with Melissa. My friend Carrie Winters asked me to follow up with her on a few last-minute things.”

“Of course,” the assistant said. “Right this way.” As she led them down the hallway, she glanced back, looking at their joined hands. “You can wait in her office. She’ll be right in. And just so you know, her calendar fills up quick, so you might want to book your own wedding as soon as possible.”

Abby started to shake her head, but Luke grinned. “We’ll keep that in mind. Thanks so much.”

The girl nodded and closed the door as she returned to the front. Abby raised her eye brows at Luke. He shrugged. “Sometimes it’s easier to just go along with their assumptions instead of explaining it all.”

The arrival of Melissa saved him from whatever Abby might have planned to say. Instead, Abby introduced the two of them and explained what Carrie wanted her to do.

As the women discussed all the last-minute items on the list, Luke was happy to just sit back and listen. He found some of the stuff interesting, but for his wedding, he only really wanted input on the location, the cake, and the wedding dinner. Abby could pick out the rest herself.

Luke studied her again. He was absolutely convinced she was the right girl for him. He really needed to find a way to make her feel the same.

He hadn’t let go of her hand when they walked into the building, and she’d let him keep hold of it, only letting go when the assistant let them in the office. They were getting more and more comfortable with each other, and that could only be a good thing for him.

 

***

 

Monday night, Abby snuggled up against Luke on Bryce’s back patio after dinner as they all planned out the surfing day.

“Early morning really is the best time,” Bryce said as he explained it to Luke. “You’re rested enough so you can put some serious effort into it. And the waves are often better.”

“Good thing I’m still on Eastern time,” Abby said.

Luke smiled. “Just what I was thinking.”

“I’ll finally get back to normal just in time for us to head back home to Maryland.” She chuckled. Luke’s arm tightened around her.

“Should we just meet you there?” Carrie asked. “Abby and I can bring some breakfast stuff for when we’re finished. Or we could just hit one of the little shops along the beach.”

Luke shrugged. “You know better than I do.”

“I think having two separate vehicles would be best,” Bryce said. “Then we can go our separate ways if we need to.”

Abby liked the idea. She didn’t want to be dependent on the other two in case they wanted to do something after surfing.

Whether Carrie wanted time alone with Bryce or if she was trying to give her and Luke a nudge, Abby didn’t know, but she and Bryce went inside the house. Abby was alone with Luke.

“It really is beautiful here,” Luke said. “And up on the hill like this, you don’t really hear all the sounds of traffic.”

“Yeah,” Abby said. “Too bad it isn’t this quiet near my place.”

Luke just nodded. He didn’t remind her of how the Maryland house was secluded enough for this same kind of peace. The more she thought about it, the more she really did love Beverly’s place. She had been happy here in southern California, but after spending so much time in Maryland, she knew she could love it, too.

There were just too many things for her to consider. This didn’t feel like the right time to jump into a huge decision like that. She needed time to weigh her options.