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Despite her determination, on Saturday night after watching John and Shelby exchange the vows given to them by her father, she felt far from okay. Maybe it was the gorgeous ivory Empire-waist dress Shelby wore that was so similar to Abigail's own gown. Or maybe it was seeing her brother's tears as he tenderly took Shelby's hand and promised to cherish her always. Or maybe it was the fact she felt both deliriously happy for her brother and madly melancholic at the same time. And her mental state wasn't helped by having to deal with Birdie's refusal to wear a dress or the fact her daughter had sweet-talked Shelby into letting her bring her father.Pretty please, Aunt Shelby?It was the"aunt" part that had sealed the deal. So Abigail spent much of the reception held at her parents' house hiding from Cal.
"Hey, if you wanted to camouflage yourself, you should have borrowed Aunt Margaret’s nightgown. Same fabric,” her mother said, finding her half behind the damask drape in the dining room.
“Huh?" Abigail asked, jarred from her contemplation of the dormant bushes outside the window. She glanced toward the formal parlor, where most of the guests stood chatting with one another. “I thought Aunt Margaret slept in the buff?”
“She does?”
“Rumored by her children,” Abigail imparted with a slight smile.
“Why so glum on a happy occasion?” Her mother wasn’t one to be distracted by nudity or rumors. Obviously.
"I'm just dealing with...stuff."
"Is it the art teacher? Leif?"
"What?"
"Birdie said you've been seeing him."
"We're friends."And we had fabulous sex. And I may have fallen in love with him.
But she didn't say that, of course.
"Oh," Fancy said, tracing the condensation collecting in the corner of one windowpane. "I had hoped."
"He's not my type."
"You have a type?"
"Everyone has a type. Besides, he's not staying in Magnolia Bend."
"Well, no one saidyouhave to stay in Magnolia Bend."
Abigail jerked her head toward her mother. "Don't be ridiculous. I have a business here and this is where Birdie goes to school. It's where you and Dad are. I'm not giving that up for a chance at-"
"Love?"
"I'm not in love," Abigail said as fresh pain throbbed within her. Like a cut she'd thought healed, her wound reopened to throb anew. Then the anger came. She'd done this to herself. Waded into a shallow pool, thinking she'd be safe, then grabbed helplessly for something to hold on to when the earth beneath her feet shifted, sucking her into a vortex. Despite her strong efforts to remain casual, cool, and collected, she'd been sucked in.
Hell.
"Well, Leif hasn't left town yet," Fancy said with a soft smile. "Nothing is hopeless."
"I'm not a silly starry-eyed girl."
Fancy narrowed her green eyes. Her wispy red hair was perfectly coiffed for once, complementing the emerald dress that accented her curves and camouflaged her tummy. Nestled between her age defiant decollete was the single ruby pendent Dan had given her on their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, telling her she was indeed a prize above rubies. This woman was a true steel magnolia and she didn't bullshit when it came to her children. "Love is supposed to be silly, Abigail Ann. Don't you dare miss out because you're worried about looking foolish.Thatwould be stupid."
"Who wants to be a fool, Mom? I've been there and done that with Cal."
"And you're letting him win again."
"What are you talking about?"
"Honey, there's not one person in this town outside his own mother, who doesn't think Calhoun is the stupidest man in all of Louisiana. What he did, well, people don't forget that easy. But you're lettinghisinsecurity and foolish choice to let you go keep you from living and loving. I've sat by for years, biting my tongue-"
"Ha," Abigail sniffed.
"- waiting for you to have the guts to shuck him off your back. But you let that memory cling to you. You wear it, and last week when I saw you at the grocery store, your eyes were sparkling, your cheeks were pink, and you looked like a woman who'd been loved. I came home and told your father that you'd finally kicked that asshole to the curb."
