Sometime after eight o’clock, Abigail settled down in Mateo’s living room sofa to watch the news. Her body melted into the cushions and a sigh escaped her lips. She was tuckered out.
After enjoying a leisurely chat at the coffee house, Abigail had accompanied Ida on her evening runs. Micah, Jonny, and Sonny were picked up from school and then jetted to their respective piano, math and ballet classes. An hour later, they were shuttled to the ice cream parlor where Abigail treated them all to their favorite flavors.
She hadn’t been doing much of anything and yet the constant activity and chatter had her wondering how Ida did it all on top of cooking and teaching her classes at the university. Abigail would have dropped dead from exhaustion if her life was a cycle of such chaos.
Her eyes fluttered closed, but she strained to keep them open. Ida had hinted that Mateo would drop by tonight. She wanted to talk to him before he left for the hospital again.
Grunting softly, she sat up and forced her gaze to the television where the latest stories of government corruption and world doom played out in the red banner streaming across the screen. Her chin lumbered south and she gave in to the pull of sleep only to jerk her head upright again.
Eight turned into eight thirty, which turned into nine and ten. Abigail gave up and decided to take a quick nap. Stretching out to rest more comfortably, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
What felt like a few minutes later, Abigail sensed someone’s presence. Not sure whether she was dreaming or awake, she reached out to touch the person’s face. Granite met her finger tips. Square jaw, rough with the bristles of a lazy day scruff. Broad forehead. Strong nose.
It felt like Mateo… Abigail’s eyes burst open and her gaze flew to where her hand stroked the doctor’s face. She snatched it back and held it by the wrist, glaring at it for taking a mind of its own.
Bad dog!
“Mateo,” she said, straining to get up. “When did you come in?”
Mateo wore a smirk that turned his already devastating good looks up a few notches. She batted the hair from her eyes and tried to act as if she hadn’t been groping his face ten seconds ago.
“I’ve been here for a few minutes.”
“And you didn’t wake me?” she chuckled nervously.
“You looked tired,” he said and sat down on the tiles so that their faces were level. “Besides, if I’d woken you, I would have missed out on your expression just now.”
She tucked her hand behind her back. “I thought I was still dreaming. I’m really sorry.” “It’s okay. I don’t mind.”
Embarrassed, Abigail tried to change the subject. “How was your day?”
“Mm,” Mateo murmured, closing his eyes. His content expression confused her. Mateo wasn’t usually so… weird.
“Did something good happen?”
He tilted his head. “Coming home, seeing you, hearing you ask about my day, it’s nice.”
Heat zipped through her heart, but she reminded herself that this was Mateo. As teenagers, Abigail had learned not to take him seriously, and now that she was grown, she wouldn’t fall for it.
“Did you fail a test at the hospital or something?”
He chuckled. “What are you talking about?”
“You used to sweet-talk me right after you failed a test we spent weeks preparing for.”
“I did, didn’t I?” he mused, a smile lighting up his face. “I don’t know why I tried. You were never moved by me.” “That’s because I’d seen you work that charm on all the other girls.” Abigail wiggled her fingers in his face.
“What other girls?”
“Don’t play innocent. You had a different girl flinging herself at you every week.”
“I’m a friendly guy and I attract friendly people.”
“Please. The only reason you weren’t playing the field and breaking hearts was because Ida would cream you if she found out.”
“It’s true. Mom was strict about the no-dating rule, but even if she hadn’t been, there was only one girl I was looking at.”
“Here you go again!” Abigail threw her arms into the air. “Are you sure you didn’t fail a test or something? This is too déjà vu. I feel like
I should take out my red pen and start correcting your work.”
Mateo frowned. “Are you joking right now or were you seriously clueless about the way I felt about you?”
The sober tone of his voice wiped the grin from Abigail’s face. The conversation was getting a lot more serious and she felt a bit exposed. Her gaze swept down to her lap where she clutched her hands tightly together.
“H-how did you feel about me?”
Mateo’s hand snaked out and he gently lifted her chin so that their gazes connected. His beautiful eyes searched hers as if the answer to life’s most pressing question lay within her soul. He was stripping her bare and she wondered what he saw.
“You really didn’t know,” he breathed at last.
“Didn’t know what?”
“That I loved you.”
Her eyes popped open and she coughed, straining to detect a glisten of humor in his eyes. Mateo had never gone so far before. Surely he was joking. Surely…
“Is that so hard to believe?” he asked.
“I mean, we fought all the time. And you had the attention of all the popular girls. Everyone wanted to hang around you. I wasn’t even a part of your group—”
Mateo rocked back. “I can’t believe it. You honestly had no idea.”
“Say you did have feelings for me,” Abigail reasoned. “Why didn’t you come out and tell me? Why did you make it seem like it was all a joke. Remember that bet we made? That you’d take me to October Fest if you got an A on your mid-term? You ended up taking someone else.”
“Because you agreed to go with someone else first.”
“No way! I heard that you were going with Chelsea Barker weeks in advance.”
“Chelsea Barker?” Mateo shook his head. “She asked me and I said yes after I found out that you were going with that Frank guy.”
Abigail pursed her lips. “Well, what about that time we went to San Pedro with your family? You couldn’t stop talking about going back home to see Linda.” Mateo chuckled and she felt the indignation rise. “Yeah! You went on and on about how she was so cute and about how soft her hair was!”
“Abby.”
“What?”
“Linda was Parker’s six-month-old niece.”
“What? I thought...”
“I know what you thought and that’s why I did it.”
“You jerk!” She smacked him and he held up his hands in defense.
“I only went on and on about her because you were pushing me at Martha.”
“See!” Abigail thrust her finger in the air. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about. We were two teenagers who got on each other’s nerves.”
“You didn’t get on my nerves,” Mateo confessed. “You intimidated me. There you were, so beautiful and smart and from a good family. You had everything together. I knew I would never be able to compete with all the guys who’d come after you.”
Her eyes widened as she realized where he was going with this. “The promise. We made a promise that last night on the island. Oh, Mattie…”
“It’s okay.”
But it wasn’t. Abigail recalled the sweet feel of the breeze on her face, the rush of the Caribbean Sea against her toes and the look in
Mateo’s eyes when he’d held her hand.
“When I graduate from med-school and get a job at a good hospital, promise you’ll consider me. Promise you’ll give me a chance.”
He chuckled. “You told me if I came in the top three for bio-chemistry, you’d wait as long as it took.”
“You came in fourth.”
“Guess it’s my loss.”
“I feel so bad.”
“Don’t.” He took her hand. “I would have done anything for you, Abby and that hasn’t changed. Life got in the way back then and I know you’re getting married soon and I know this is bad timing, but I have to tell you. I still love you. I will always love you. Even though I
came in fourth, can I still cash in on that promise?”
She clutched her chest as a tide of emotions swept over her. Mateo Hernandez loved her. He had for years and Abigail couldn’t deny that she had too. After learning how a man should never treat a woman, she was ready for a better deal. Abigail wanted so badly to be loved.
Not just by any man, but by him.