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“No. He asked me to go to coffee yesterday,” Abbe replied, not understanding why this made Rafe angrier.
“And this morning, when we were discussing our plans for later today, you didn’t think you should mention to me that you were going out for coffee with your ex-fiancé? Or were you purposely hiding it?”
“Oh,” she said, just starting to realize that there was something wrong with what she’d done. “But, no, it’s not like Iwantedto see him.”
“Then why did you?” he asked.
Abbe shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know.”
Rafe shook his head and brushed past her, on his way out the door. “When you figure it out, let me know,” she said, slamming the door after him.
Abbe turned to Charles. “Do you know why he’s so angry?” she blurted out.
“Oh, honey.” Charles gave her a pitying look. “He’s scared Danny still has a hold over you.”
“He doesn’t!” Abbe said.
“Then why did you go for coffee with him?” Charles asked, cringing, like he knew he was asking a tough question.
“Because I—” Abbe stopped and thought about it.
There really was no reason for her to catch up with Danny or try to be friends. They weren’t going to be friends. Why give him even one more second of her attention? Unless, of course, he had a hold over her and she still couldn’t say no to him.
“Oh shit.”
“Now she gets it!” Charles said. He came to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “I can close up here if you want to go chase after Rafe and apologize.”
She leaned forward and gave Charles a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you,” she said before running outside.
Rafe had already driven off. Abbe didn’t have her car with her. She’d have to run to the T station and hope that he went home. If not, she’d just have to wait in the lobby for him because she didn’t know where he worked or what he did apart from work, family, and hanging out with her.
The train took forever, leaving her plenty of time to realize what an idiot she’d been, and by the time she got into the city she was actually facepalming herself in public. She went into Rafe’s lobby and searched for a concierge that she recognized, and saw Bianca sitting with a very attractive older man at a table in the lobby. Bianca spotted her and waved her over, standing, and grinning from ear to ear.
“Oh my god, are you coming out for drinks with us?” Bianca said, pulling Abbe into a hug as soon as she got there.
“Ah, no, I don’t think so. Is Rafe coming down?” Abbe asked, thrown.
“Yeah, why not?” she asked, and then stepped on her own question. “Oh, this is our uncle, Gabriel, I don’t think you’ve met him yet, have you?” Bianca said as the tall, handsome man stood and held out a hand to shake. He had the same blue eyes and dark hair as his niece and nephew, and though he was starting to get a hint of silver at the temples Abbe guessed he couldn’t be much past forty.
“Wow, you seem really young to be Rafe’s uncle,” Abbe blurted out, a little dazzled by the slightly older version of Rafe’s eyes.
He laughed warmly. “Their father, my brother Michael, was a fair bit older than me,” he explained. “I’m happy to meet you, Abbe,” he said, looking at her appraisingly, like he hadn’t decided what he thought about her yet.
She was suddenly aware of the fact that she was covered in fur and some residual glitter from one of the animal’s Halloween costumes, and that she probably looked horrible.
“Why aren’t you coming out with us?” Bianca demanded.
“I…uh…” Abbe froze up, and then said exactly why, without any filter. “I have to apologize to Rafe, actually.”
“Why? What’d you do?” Bianca asked with her usual candor.
Abbe gave up. “I went out for coffee with my ex-fiancé and didn’t tell him.”
Both Bianca and Gabriel recoiled and said, “Oooh,” at exactly the same time, like they were both watching a hockey match and they’d just seen a particularly vicious body check.
“Yeah. It was bad,” Abbe said, nodding. She saw both of their gazes land on someone standing behind her, and she knew it was Rafe.
She turned and faced him. He looked downright stunning in a tailored suit, button-down shirt, and no tie. His hair was subtly styled and he had on one of his flashier watches.
