Page 84 of The Wedding Favor

“People are already wondering about you two,” Eli said, not acknowledging anything Abe had said. “I’ve had five text messages today already.”

“Nothing is happening,” Abe said, irritation leaking into his voice.

“There better not be. You’re a helluva lot older than her. You need to be the responsible one. Can you do that for once?”

“Nothing is going on between us,” Abe said through gritted teeth. “She’s watching Hallie. That’s all.”

Yep, that definitely stung.

Eli made a noise of frustration. “And you took her to a wedding?”

“As a favor.”

“I hope so. Your mother could not handle it if you decided to take off again. It all but broke her the last time.”

I wondered how Eli himself had faired after Abe left. Had he been broken, too?

“Just stop. Stop it,” Abe said sharply.

“It needs to be said. If you can’t handle hearing it…” Eli’s voice trailed off but the implication was there anyway.

“I am an adult,” Abe bit out. “I have a kid. I moved my entire life back to Two Harts. I’m opening a business. I’m here for Hallie to get to know her family. I’m not going to put any of that in jeopardy.” He shot me an unreadable look. “I have no plans to do anything with Iris Sampson except be her friend. Period.”

“Well, remember that,” Eli snapped.

I needed to remember that, too. The two kept talking, their voices sharp and concise, but I couldn’t process any of it. I was too busy remembering every word Abe had just said. He’d said them to his dad, yes, but I couldn’t help thinking that he’d wanted to make sure I heard them loud and clear too.

I have no plans to do anything with Iris Sampson except be her friend. Period.

Friends. That’s it. And that’s all it was ever going to be. Which was fine. Good, even. Abe didn’t need a recent college graduate who currently had no idea what to do with her life mucking his up. Obviously.

Not that there had been anything between us. I’d clearly gotten caught up in the whole wedding date thing. Which was all fake. Any feelings that might have started to creep in? Those were fake, too. They would have to be.

Why did it feel like I was gaslighting myself?

After the call ended, neither of us said a word. It wasn’t one of those comfortable silences, either. Abe’s fingers tapped rapidly on the steering wheel. I stared out the window, watching the city scenery change to a long stretch of highway. The silence weighed on me, growing heavier with each passing minute. So, I did what I did best—I lied my face off.

“Thanks for the weekend. It was very kind of you.” Then to prove my point, I slugged him gently on the shoulder. “You’re a great friend.”

There. That was perfect.

Abe glanced at me, then back at the road, his face unusually blank. “Not a problem.”

“This whole favor thing is really working out for us.” I grabbed my purse and dug through it for that last piece of chocolate.

“Yeah.”

“Hallie will be back in school before you know it and I’ll be out of your hair.” I popped the chocolate in my mouth and spoke around it. “Life will go back to normal for both of us.”

Whatever normal would look like for me, anyway.

“Do you have something lined up then?” he asked casually, but a weird sort of tension radiated off him, making the muscles in his shoulders tense.

Of course not but I wasn’t going to tell him that. Besides, it was time for me to buckle down and figure that out. The last step in the article was to start applying to my dream jobs. Even though I still wasn’t sure what that was. So basically, that stupid thing hadn’t helped me at all.

“Not yet but I have a few opportunities I’m looking into.” No, I did not. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll end up on the other side of the country?” I tucked my purse on the floorboard and yawned. “Think I’ll take a nap. Unless you need me to drive.”

He shook his head. “I got it.”