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“Lovely brunch, don’t you think?”
Abby nodded, still not trusting her voice.
“The reception was wonderful as well,” Eden continued.
Betty snorted softly, but Abby managed to form a coherent sentence. “Yes, it was beautiful. The bride was so happy and the music was…” She thought of the slow dance she’d shared with Tucker on the patio and tried like hell not to blush. “The music was really good.”
“Yes,” Eden said, grabbing another strawberry. “It was. Though you and Tucker, well you left early, didn’t you?”
There was a teasing note in her voice, but it did nothing to quiet the nerves going crazy inside of Abby.
Abby looked at Betty Jo helplessly, but the woman’s eyes were fixed to the right.
“Oh,” Eden murmured as the woman followed Betty Jo’s gaze.
Abby glanced toward Tucker and his brother, and spied an older couple. There were hellos and Tucker set down his plates. He shook the man’s hand, said a few words and then the woman hugged him fiercely. Beau glanced their way, and Abby could tell by the look on his face that something was up.
Tucker’s father walked over to his sons and more greetings went round. A few seconds later, the entire group made their way back to the table.
Abby shot another look at Betty Jo but she shrugged slightly as if she had no idea who the couple was.
Eden smiled warmly. “Kate. Jason. We didn’t know you were at the hotel. We would have…” Her eyes moved over Abby and then back—it was a quick glance really, nondescript, and yet it made Abby uncomfortable. Something was happening, but she had no idea what it was.
“We would have loved to have seen you. Dinner or something,” Eden continued.
“We had no idea you were here, either. I’m in town for a medical convention,” the man said. “But we ran into your daughter, Grace, in the lobby just now. So we had to say hello. It’s been…too long and unfortunately, we’re heading home.”
“Ah,” Eden cleared her throat and Abby picked up on a nervous thread, like an electric pulse that touched all of them.
Tucker still hadn’t looked at Abby, though he’d set a plate in front of her, and she didn’t have to look up at the woman to know her eyes were settled on Abby. They’d found her from across the room and were stuck to Abby like glue.
She didn’t seem unkind, just puzzled, as if trying to work something out.
“And who’s this?” The woman named Kate asked, her eyes still on Abby.
There was an uncomfortable silence and then Tucker spoke in a rush. “This is my friend, Abby Mathews. We had a family wedding and she was nice enough to brave my crazy family and keep me company.”
Abby’s stomach tumbled, and she gripped the glass in front of her as if it was a lifeline. Uncomfortable didn’t come close to describing the charged atmosphere, and Tucker was behaving as if…
As if last night hadn’t happened.
Noah Simon looked as if he didn’t know what to do or say, and Tucker’s face was hard. It was hard and closed off. She’d never seen him like this.
“Well that was certainly nice of you. Hello, Abby. I don’t think we’ve met before,” the woman said pleasantly, though her eyes were strangely blank. There was no menace there, but Abby got the feeling that the woman wasn’t a fan. “I’m Marley’s mother.”
Abby felt as if her face was glass, and if she did or said the wrong thing, it would shatter.
“We’re Tucker’s in-laws.”
Chapter Fifteen
The ride to the airport was quiet, and so was the flight itself. In fact the entire trip home was made up of small talk that didn’t matter, and a whole bunch of silence to fill in the cracks.
Jesus.
Kate and Jason. He hadn’t seen that coming. Tucker frowned as he grabbed his bag and hitched it over his shoulder, and then scooped up Abby’s from the carousel. He’d called ahead, and there was a cab waiting just outside.
“Car should be here,” he offered, not knowing how to fix the strain between them.
