Page 99 of A Whim and a Prayer

“Of course I forgive you, you goose!” Abby gently brushed curls out of Winnie’s face, the love in her eyes making Winnie tear up even more. She lifted Winnie’s chin with a jut of her brow. “As long as you know, dear cousin, I’ll never let you do it again.”

“Oh, God bless you!” Winnie lunged to crush Abby once more. “Because I need a best friend like you to help keep me in line.”

Abby pulled back with a questioning tilt of her head. “You mean two, don’t you, since God made sure there was a second one to rescue you?”

Winnie glanced away with a faint squirm of shoulders, not particularly eager to talk about Beck, especially after what happened at the fraternity. So instead, she filled Abby in on what transpired with her mother and her newfound faith, leaving out all details of the assault.

“Oh, Winnie!” It was Abby’s turn to dispense with a crushing hug when Winnie was done, pulling back to beam at her cousin with that same glow she and Beck always had when they talked about God. “I am soooo happy for you, Cuz, and to be honest, I’m thrilled for Beck and me too.” Her brows did a little dance. “Because now we don’t have to work so hard keeping you in line!”

Tone considerably lighter, Abby reached to pluck two peppermints from Winnie’s stash in the drawer. “Wellllll, today’s the day your agreement is up with Beck, right?” She handed a peppermint to Winnie before popping the other in her mouth. “Sooo … how are you feeling about … you know … things?”

Things.

Winnie swallowed hard as she unwrapped the peppermint, determined now more than ever that she could never date Beck. She shrugged as she put the candy in her mouth, crunching it to pieces. “The same … especially after …” She looked away, vigorously rubbing her arms as if she could scour the embarrassment away. “Well, you know. And to be honest, Abs, more than a little bit scared, hoping he kept his promise to at least try to date others.”

“Oh, he has!” Abby assured her with a teasing chuckle. “And although I did my level best to get him to ask me out, the boy sidestepped it at every turn.” She faked a scowl as she crunched the candy to smithereens, which Winnie worried was more real than not. “Said he doesn’t want to ‘disrupt our friendship.’” Her mouth sloped sideways as she stared Winnie down. “Sound familiar?”

“Uh, very.” Winnie’s tone was dry as she shifted to sit Indian style, striving for a more relaxed air while she faced her cousin head-on. “I’m truly sorry, Abs, but to be honest, Beck dating you would be as awkward for all of us as him dating me.”

“I guess.” Abby heaved a noisy breath as she pilfered two more peppermints from the drawer before tossing one to Winnie.

Slowly unwrapping the second candy, Winnie idly toyed with it instead of putting it in her mouth. “So … do you know who Beck is dating?”

“Ha! Are you kidding? I grill him every time we get together, which isn’t all that often these days since he’s been working extra hours and studying like a fiend.”

Winnie flipped the peppermint in her mouth and leaned back, going for casual disinterest as she crossed her legs with arms braced behind her. “Soooo …” She jagged a brow while she sucked on the candy. “Are you going to tell me?”

Abby studied her with a tip of her head. “Why? You jealous?”

“No, I’m not jealous,” Winnie lied and immediately felt a blast of heat in her face. Oh goody, she thought with a depleted breath, now I can’t even lie honestly …

“Oh my gosh, you are!” Abby sat up to stare, the twinkle in her eyes growing by the moment. “I have never seen you blush that color red before, Winifred Dennehy! You are jealous, aren’t you?!”

Winnie’s head fell back with a groan. “Okay, okay … yes, I’m jealous—but not in the way you think. And let me just say for the record that this faith thing is soooo restrictive!”

Abby grinned as she leaned to pinch Winnie’s knee. “Only in things that aren’t good for you, Winifred, like telling a lie—”

“They’re only white lies,” Winnie insisted with a pout, knowing full well she was only fooling herself.

“But that ‘faith thing,’ as you call it,” Abby said, “is pure freedom when it comes to God’s blessings, Cuz, so get ready for the downpour.”

A smile tickled the edge of Winnie’s lips against her will. “That’s what Mama said Uncle Brady told her way back when, that she better duck because the blessings of God were going to overtake her.”

Abby offered a smirk. “Well, see? Why do you think I’m here?”

Giggling, Winnie pelted her with a pillow. “I guess. If you tell me who Beck is dating. But only because I’m jealous of the time he spends elsewhere while I’m trying to restore our friendship.”

Abby’s smile faded. “So, you’ve 100% ruled dating out for friendship only?”

Winnie looked away, afraid Abby would see the telltale glaze in her eyes. “You know I have, Abs, I just told you that.” She shook her head. “And I’m not going to change my mind.”

“Okay, I was just kind of hoping …” Kicking her shoes off, she sat on the bed next to Winnie, getting comfortable. “Well, Bella, Laney, and I coerced him into going with us to Revere Beach a couple of times, and he did dance with some girls, but he only dated one or two because he wasn’t really interested, he said.”

Winnie managed a nonchalant nod, wondering why this was so hard to hear.

“I know it’s only been about a month that you made him promise to date others, but he finally found someone he kind of liked and they’ve gone out quite a few times.”

“Really!” Winnie offered her most carefree smile, aware that beneath it, she was clenching her teeth. “What’s her name?”