Page 91 of Sweet Talking Man


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"That's not my charm working-it's my eyes." He jabbed a finger at the brown eyes she used to tell him were the color of chocolate chips. "You were always beautiful. Why did I ever think what we had wasn't enough?" He stopped and took her elbow, looking at her with a mixture of regret and hunger.

"Cal, we've been over this. We can't go back. What's done-”

Cal's mouth descended, capturing her protest. He wrapped his arms around her, drawing her to him. Abigail didn't resist, but allowed the kiss. Maybe she needed to see if there was something there, or maybe she needed the closure, but either way, she didn't push him away.

Cal tasted familiar. His lips were warm, not too demanding but not the least bit brotherly. She felt something stir inside her, a gentle awakening, before the realization that this embrace was wrong broke through.

Carefully she ended the kiss. She studied the man she'd once loved, the man she'd given herself to, the man who'd tossed her away.

"Abi," he whispered, lifting a hand to stroke her cheek. "We were so good together. I still want you, baby."

Abigail caught Cal's hand in hers, and pulled it away. She stepped back still holding his hand a moment before dropping it. ''The key word in that statement iswere,Cal. We're not together anymore. I know you thought you could come home and convince me to give you another chance. But I won't. I moved on.”

"But what I did wasn't about you, babe. It was me. I was screwed up, that’s all.”

Abigail nodded. "I know. But I've learned some things about myself. I allowed what you did to me to happen because we were never equals in this relationship. I gave too much of myself, sacrificing what I wanted to make you happy. But I won’t do that anymore."

“That’s not true. We were equals, and we were happy. We can be again if you would just open yourself to the possibility. If you would just forgive me for being stupid. I can make you happy.”

"You can't because I don't love you anymore, Cal." Abigail looked him in the eye. ''And you don't really love me. If you had, you never would have left. Love isn't selfish."

He opened his mouth. Then closed it. A few seconds ticked by before he said, “I’m sorry."

Abigail twirled around, spreading her hands. The moon above cast a steadfast magical glow on the frosted grass. That orb had looked on as hearts broke, as love died, as people expired. That moon had seen everything. “Look at all this, Cal. This land has been here for centuries. People have loved, laughed, cried and grieved on this land. We're no different.”

"What do you mean?" he asked, looking at her as if she'd sprouted wings.

"I mean, this is how it is. We lose. We win. We accept what life gives us even if it’s not what we want. This is the ebb and flow of life."

"I don't-"

"This time you're not getting what you want. I'm not yours anymore. You had me and you tossed me away."

Cal watched her as she lowered her arms and walked toward him. She took his hands, making the first move to touch him in over five years. He looked at their linked hands. "My daddy told me to let the anger go. I didn't want to because it still hurt to see you and know you didn't want me. But you know what?"

He arched a brow in question.

"I survived. I healed. I let you go. So, yeah, I want to forgive you. Oh, there will be times it will be hard because I'll always remember, but it’s time for me to truly let you go. Finally."

"But-"

''No buts. We will never have what we once had, but we can do as you suggested a few weeks ago-we can be grown-ups about it. I don't want to be bitter anymore."

After a few seconds of silence, he murmured, ‘’So there’s no-”

“Nope,” Abigail interrupted, holding up a hand. “Not a chance. But I want to be friends. Or at least cordial to one another. We’re always be a family in a way, so that means you can no longer manipulate Birdie into thinking you and I have a shot."

"I didn't..." His protest died when she gave him the look she gave their daughter when Birdie fibbed.

"Okay, I was jealous over that Leif guy and said things about him not being right for you. I didn't help things for you. I exploited her wanting a family again."

"You told her he was wrong for me?" Abigail asked, pissed, but also incredulous that Cal had admitted to being wrong.

"Only because I wanted to be right for you again. Look, I'll fix this. I'll tell her I shouldn't have done that. But I'm not sure I can ever give up on you, Abi."

''Abigail. And you have to."

For a minute or so they stood there, breath puffing white in the chilled air. The moon shone over them, a silent witness to the true end of Abigail and Cal.

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