Page 22 of Everlasting Vows

It’s difficult to read her expression in the limited light, but I swear I see a glimmer of hope in her expression. She simply nods and leads me back the way we came, heading for the magnolia tree. “This should be in bloom for the wedding.” She waves her free hand above her head. “But we should consider planting some more flowering plants. Hopefully, if we do it right, we can really make the garden come alive for Prue.”

We discuss our ideas, mostly things we’ve already spoken about over the years but never made the time to make happen and create a plan to get things moving. We don’t have any time to waste. I draw a deep breath of cool night air into my lungs before we head inside, hopeful we’ll make it. I lock the house and set the security system, then walk Abbi to our bedroom.

Stopping outside our door, I take both of her hands in mine and lean in to kiss her cheek. She looks up at me, sadness in her eyes, and I know what she’s thinking. How can we make this work if we can’t sleep in the same bed? “I’m working on it, Abs. I’m determined to deal with my demons, so this won’t be forever.” I press my lips to her forehead, closing my eyes as I soak in the moment and the feeling of her soft skin beneath my lips. “Can I take you on a date tomorrow night?”

She pulls her face away a little and studies me closely. When she shakes her head from side to side, my stomach free-falls. “I can’t. I have dinner planned with Callie. She’s in the city for a conference, so it’s the perfect chance to catch up by ourselves. We planned it weeks ago,” she tells me, her voice full of apology.

I know how important spending any time she can with her sister is to her, so I would never ask her to change her plans. I reach up and smooth her hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. “How about lunch?”

Her shoulders drop, and she almost curls in on herself. “I’m spending the day with Prue. She wants to find her wedding dress. If we can’t find what she wants tomorrow, we’ll go out again on Sunday.”

“Let’s hope she finds the perfect dress tomorrow.”

She smiles sadly. “Do you even know our daughter?”

I huff out a chuckle. “Yes. Yes, I do.” I tuck my hands into the pockets of my sweatpants and rock back on my heels. “I guess we can try again next weekend?”

“Maybe,” she whispers.

Leaning in, I kiss her chastely one last time, disappointed that I can’t share a bed with my wife. “Good night, Abs.”

Her eyelids drop closed. “Night, Nix.”

9

ABBI

“Damn it! I’m late,” I huff, rolling my eyes toward the darkening sky. I hate being late. Apart from being rude, I don’t get to spend nearly enough time with my sister one on one.

Power walking along the sidewalk until I reach the restaurant, I spot Callie sitting in a booth by the window, absorbed in her phone, so I tap on the glass. Her head snaps up, and when her eyes land on me, a wide smile stretches her cheeks. Gosh, I miss her. We rarely get the opportunity to catch up face to face with her living an hour outside the city in the opposite direction from me with her husband and their twin girls. By the time I make it inside, she’s standing by our table with her arms outstretched, and I walk straight into them. We embrace, rocking back and forth, and the love between us releases a knot that’s been twisting in my chest since Thursday morning.

We kiss each other’s cheek, and pull away, studying each other closely. She looks so happy and content, and it takes me back to a time when I felt the same.

“It’s so good to be able to hug you!” Callie says as she squeezes me again.

“You too. It’s been too long,” I tell her as I squeeze her back. I should make the effort to visit her more now that my kids are grown. I really don’t have an excuse. She slides into the booth, and I take off my coat so I can join her on the opposite side. “I’m sorry I’m late. Prue was relentless in her hunt for the perfect wedding dress today. I tried to explain that she probably wouldn’t find it on her first outing, but she insisted she would.”

Callie leans forward, closing the space between us. Her eyes sparkling in the low light of the restaurant. “And did she?”

I chuckle and shake my head. “Of course not, but she was determined. We’re heading back out tomorrow.” I must remember to wear more comfortable shoes. My feet are killing me.

My sister pouts. “I wish I could stay in the city tonight so I could come with you guys, but the girls have gymnastics in the morning and I don’t want to miss it.”

I reach across the table and squeeze her fingers. “I wish you could too, but you shouldn’t miss out on gymnastics.” I get more comfortable in my seat. “How are your babies? They look like they’ve grown heaps when we FaceTime’d last.”

In true Callie fashion, she laughs freely and boldly, making heads around us turn. “Oh my gosh! The girls get into everything. I need to have eyes in the back of my head and the stamina of an Olympic athlete to keep up with them.”

We both giggle like schoolgirls at her over-the-top description.

Callie was an oops baby. So we’re at very different stages in our lives with sixteen years between us. I was more of a mother to her than our mother was. She was also older when she had her twin girls than Nix and I were when we had our kids, so the age gap between our kids is even greater. Even though our kids are cousins, sometimes Murph and Prue feel more like an uncle and aunt to Elena and Lillian.

Our time is always limited these days, and neither of us wants to waste a minute perusing the menu, so we both order our usual when the server arrives. While we wait for our food to arrive, Callie shares more of her girls’ escapades, often drawing the attention of people from tables close by. Where I tend to be quieter and more reserved, Callie is the opposite—loud and outgoing. She never subdues her personality, making her magnetic.

Throughout dinner, she regales me with anecdotes of her life, sharing how fantastic Dean is with their girls and how engaged he is with them. “He’s such a great, hands-on daddy.” Jealousy burns deep in my stomach. We only ever had Nix home for short periods in between tours and assignments. “They’re really lucky to have him.” She leans her chin on her hand, hearts in her eyes. “So am I.” She looks at me, a soft smile touching her lips. “How did we get so lucky in the husband department?” she asks wistfully.

Tightness knots my stomach, and I fidget with my napkin for something to do, unable to meet my sister’s gaze. The moment stretches out with no response from me when I would normally use the opportunity to gush about Nix. But the urge to gush over my pseudo-husband isn’t there. Shame washes over me that my marriage is falling apart and I haven’t been open and honest with my sister to tell her.

We used to share everything—to be fair, she’s always been more open and shares a lot more than I do. I know the exact day she lost her virginity and when she had her first kiss. I was the one she came to when she got her period, and I was the person she phoned when she met Dean and knew he was her person from the instant he said hello. She was the first person to know when I was pregnant with Murphy and the first to hold him after me and Nix.