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Pulling into the parking lot, he scanned for Abigail’s white Chevy Equinox. When he didn’t see it, he headed inside to find a table. Ten minutes later, Abigail entered in a black zip up and black yoga pants. Miller smiled to himself seeing her familiar figure and dress.
As she walked towards him, he stood. Then he realized he didn’t know if she’d want to hug or not, so he tried to read her face.
“Hey, how are you?” he asked.
“Good, sorry I’m late. The ladies in Senior Pilates are talkers.”
“No problem. Can I get you your usual?”
“Yeah, sure. Thank you.” Abigail sat and scooted her chair in.
Miller walked to the counter and ordered their go-to: a mango pineapple smoothie for her and a blueberry açaí smoothie for himself.
Returning with their drinks, he sat across from her and asked, “So, how have you been?”
Abigail put up her hand but kept her eyes glued on the table. “Can we not… small talk? I just need to know… are you with Liza? The last few days, people have been coming up to me at the Community Center showing me posts on Instagram. I know you said you missed me, but I’m having a hard time believing it the more I think about it.”
Miller scootched forward. “Liza and I aren’t together. I’ve been miserable without you. Liza had this absurd idea that if we pretended to date, it would get your attention. Maybe it was dumb, but I was desperate.”
Abigail was quiet. Then a smile spread across her face. “That makes a lot more sense.”
Cocking his head, Miller asked, “What do you mean?”
“I just couldn’t wrap my mind around you ever liking someone likeher.”
The muscles in Miller’s jaw tightened. “Someone likeher?”
Abigail leaned back in her chair. “Liza Eckland… she just seems so… fake.”
“Liza’s not fake.” The words sprang out his mouth quicker and louder than he would have liked. Inhaling, he continued, “That’s just how she is… bouncy and optimistic. It grows on you.”
Abigail leaned forward, elbows on the table. “You like her.”
Miller mirrored her pose. “Yeah, I do…as a friend.”
“Just a friend?”
“Yes,” Miller said definitively. “She only has a few hours of community service left to complete, and then she’ll be gone.”
Abigail’s shoulders relaxed. “How isthe rescue?”
“Good. Murphy and Willow are getting adopted. And, thanks to Liza’s help with fundraising, last I checked our SupportACause page has raised around thirty-five hundred dollars. We still need to raise more, but we’re getting there.”
“Once you raise what you need, do you think you’d have more time to spend away from the rescue?”
Miller took a drink of his smoothie, stalling as he thought about her question.Do I want to spend time away from the rescue?He hated the idea of leaving the dogs alone for too long. “I would need to hire another worker, and I still don’t know if that’s in the budget yet. But I’ll find a way to make sure I have more free time.”
Abigail chewed on the inside of her lip. “I saw Liza’s photos of you at the bowling alley and shopping. It looked like you were taking time to have fun. It was nice to see that. I’m just wondering if you’ve turned a new leaf or if the rescue is going to consume you again.”
Cupping his hands around his drink, he stared at the purple liquid and immediately pictured Liza in the same color dress attempting to salsa. Shaking the image from his mind, he looked into Abigail’s piercing hazel eyes. A moment of clarity washed over him. He and Abigail were constantly fencing—trying to find the right formula according to her set movement and rules.
“Abigail… you know who I am and what I do.”
Meeting his eyes, she responded, “I want to be with you, but I just don’t know if I can be around dogs twenty-four-seven.”
Miller felt his brow creasing. She was asking him to choose. “It sounds like—”
His phone rang, cutting him off. “Sorry.” He looked down at his screen and saw Liza’s name appear.Why is she calling right now?Blowing out a breath,he sent it straight to voicemail and continued. “The rescue is important to me. For the foreseeable future, it’s going to take—”
