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“Do you not drink, in general, Abby?” Sean asked.
None of your bloody business.
“It just hasn’t been agreeing with me lately.” Abby glanced over at me, her cheeks reddening.
The table remained quiet.
Looking around, I crossed my arms and chided, “Nothing to talk about now that I’m here, eh?”
“Well, yeah, we talk aboutyouhalf the time,” a very drunk Melanie giggled.
Emma elbowed her.
As the minutes passed, everyone eventually went back to their normal mode of conversation. And after a while, I managed to forget my troubles for a bit, even talking shop with some of my employees, many of whom I was sure had hated my guts before tonight. My job wasn’t to be their friend, but rather their boss, but I supposed it wouldn’t have killed me to socialize with them from time to time, actually get to know them.
About an hour later, when everyone began readying to disperse, I realized I needed to make sure no one saw Abby and me leave together.
I texted her just before I left the pub.
Sig: I’m going to walk out aheadof you. I’ll get my car and park around the corner on Devonshire.
Abby approached my car about five minutes later. Once she spotted me, she picked up her pace. Upon entering the car, she yawned. “Are you okay to take the wheel? My offer still stands.”
“I am,” I said as I pulled away. “I only had one pint. And any buzz I had has worn off.”
“You didn’t trust me to drive when I offered, did you?”
“Well, you’re not the greatest driver when you’re fully awake and alert.” I looked over at her. “You seem tired.”
It didn’t make sense to go all the way back to the countryside at this hour. As uncomfortable as I felt, I knew what I should offer. “It’s too late to go back to Westfordshire,” I told her. “We should just stay here in London. My flat has a guest room.”
CHAPTER 19
Sig
Track 19: “I’m on Fire” by Bruce Springsteen
“I don’t have any spare clothes,” Abby said as I parked.
“I’ll give you a shirt to sleep in. You work from home tomorrow anyway. I’ll just drive you back in the morning.”
She sent a text to Lavinia as she followed me upstairs to my flat. I reminded myself again that a little discomfort with having her stay the night was better than driving all the way to Westfordshire right now.
She wriggled her brows. “I might just be the first woman who doesn’t get kicked out before morning!”
“Very funny.”
She yawned. “That was a good idea leaving the pub separately, too.”
“I didn’t want them to get any ideas.”
“Any ideas they got would never top the truth.” Abby chuckled. “If they only knew what the hell was really going on with me.”
“It would make for an interesting watercooler discussion.”
She tossed her purse on my sofa. “I’m glad you came out tonight. You surprised me—and them. I loved the looks on their faces when you arrived. They all shut up real fast.”
“Yeah, that was pretty telling. I guess I should make more of an effort. I didn’t realize what an ogre they thought I was.”
