“Oh.” Ricki glanced at her phone. “You’d better go get it so we can hit the road.”
“I still have to go to the bathroom and brush my teeth.”
“Why the hell didn’t you do that already?” Ricki asked.
“Were you listening? We were looking for you.”
“Oh, yeah.” Ricki jiggled her cellphone at Abby. “I emailed you all the videos I took inside your house. In case you wanted to use them.”
Abby wound her fingers around the bottom of her shirt. “Uh, thanks.”
“No problem.” Ricki shoved her phone into her pocket.
“It’s just…well, I thought maybe you could help me with them,” Abby said.
Ricki gave Abby a dismissive wave of her hand. “Blythe can help you.”
Abby nodded.
“Hey, I’m gonna run in and brush my teeth.” Blythe turned and started for the house.
“Wait.” Ricki jumped off the hood. “I’ll grab your bag for you.”
Blythe stopped and turned. “Really? I think I can handle my bag. Geez.”
Ricki stared at her before plopping onto the hood of the car.
When Blythe returned, Ricki still sat on her car, while Abby stood several feet away with her arms crossed over her chest. A deep crease lined Abby’s forehead. If her eyes hadn’t been bloodshot earlier, Blythe would have sworn she’d been crying.
Fuck.Was last night a terrible idea? Judging by how Abby and Ricki were behaving, it had been. Maybe it was good they were leaving early. It’d give the two space to get over their discomfort.
In an extra perky voice, Blythe said, “I’m ready to go.” She moved toward Abby and draped her arm over her shoulders. “Thanks for having us. I had a great time.” She waited for Ricki to echo her sentiment, but when she didn’t, Blythe continued. “Are you coming to Berwyn next weekend?”
“We can talk about it later this week,” Abby said.
Blythe’s heart sank. That wasn’t her usual response. Normally, they solidified the following weekend before Abby left. Now that they’d visited Harveston, maybe she wanted to negotiate their returning here next weekend.
“Okay.” Blythe turned and wrapped her arms around Abby. “I need a big hug to last me all week.”
Abby squeezed Blythe. After Blythe let go of Abby, she was surprised to see Ricki already sitting in the driver’s seat.
Blythe pointed to the car. “I guess that’s my cue to go. Thanks again for a great weekend.”
Abby’s eyes flashed with anger, and she marched around the car to the driver’s side. She glared down at Ricki. “I don’t even get a hug goodbye now?”
Surprise registered on Ricki’s face. She sat clutching the steering wheel for several seconds before she released it and reached for the door handle. Abby threw the door open before Ricki could.
Ricki stepped from the car, but she looked past Abby, never making eye contact. Abby stepped into Ricki’s arms. At first, Ricki politely patted Abby on the back as they hugged, but then her hand stopped moving, and she pulled Abby against her. They embraced for a few beats longer than Blythe expected before Ricki stumbled backward.
“Uh, thanks for having us. But we need to go. I don’t break my commitments.”
Abby moved back so Ricki could get into the car.
Blythe waved to Abby as she slipped into the passenger’s seat.
Whatever bug had crawled up Ricki’s ass, Blythe planned to extract it on their drive home. Ricki’s discomfort after last night was expected, but being rude was unacceptable. If Ricki couldn’t handle casual sex, it was on Ricki, and she shouldn’t take it out on Abby.
CHAPTER 36
