Page 90 of Sweeter Than Fiction

“Is there anyone serious I should know about?”

“Not right now. There’s one guy that I go see movies with sometimes, but it’s never gone further than that. It’s more of a friendship than anything.”

“You never know. Abby and I were just friends, too, and look where that ended up.”

“We’ll see.” She smiles. “So, do you think Abby is the one?”

“I think it’s a little early to say for sure,” I tell her. “Mainly because I don’t want to freak Abby out, but yeah, I think she’s the one.”

“Good. I like her. You better not let her go.”

“I don’t plan on it,” I pause a moment. “I just hope things are going well between her and Jill.”

Chapter Thirty-four

Abby

“Thanks for the coffee,” I tell Jill as she sets a steaming mug in front of me at her kitchen table.

“Oh, it’s my pleasure. Thank you for coming with me. I have to confess something, though.”

“Did you bring me here to kill me?” When I say it, I wonder if my dark sense of humor is going to land.

I think I’m safe, though, when she starts laughing. “No, I actually had Mom make up that thing about the butter just so I would have a reason to get you out of the house. I wanted to get to know you better, but knowing my brother, he would hover over you all day.”

“Oh,” I begin. “You could have just said that. I would have still come.”

She gives a nervous giggle. “Well, I guess I just had to make things more difficult and now slightly awkward, huh?”

“You’re in good company. I’m the queen of awkward.”

“I’m not going to interrogate you or anything. But when my brother, the ladies' man, brings home a woman for us to meet, I know she has to be special.”

“I can’t be the first girl he’s ever brought home,” I say. “He told me about Alicia.”

She rolls her eyes. “Don’t get me started on that whole thing. I still want to punch that bitch in the face every time I see her around town.” She sips her coffee. “And yes, they were serious, but Mom and I knew that it probably wouldn’t work out. And when he went to New York, he just became a serial dater.”

Curious, I ask, “Why did you think they wouldn’t work out?”

“Because Alicia was always all about herself all the time. Donovan was constantly going above and beyond to make her happy, but she never did anything for him. He is the guy who will go out of his way to make people happy. And he will never ask for anything in return. But I think someone can only go through that so much before it starts to wear on them.”

“He told me that she cheated when he came to New York,” I say. “I didn’t know about the other stuff.”

“Because he probably doesn’t even realize the other stuff was happening. Look, I don’t presume to know what goes on in a relationship. Maybe her vagina was made out of candy or blew him like a Hoover—I don’t know. But from what I could see, it was always very one-sided. Like, one year on his birthday, I came to her with an awesome idea to have a party at this paintball place that he loves. I had gotten her all the details and even offered to pay for some of it. She didn’t listen to any of it. All she did was buy him a 99-cent card. She didn’t even write a note in it. Just signed her name like he was just a coworker or something. And he never complained. He acted like that card was the best thing he ever received. But just imagine if she actually would have taken my advice and given him a really kick-ass party. Or even did something else just to make him smile.”

We fall silent for a moment, and I think about her words. It’s not lost on me that Don goes above and beyond to make me happy too. He will do anything in his power to make me smile.

Jill interrupts my thoughts. “I just want to see my brother receiving a tenth of the happiness that he gives to others. I want someone to think about what he wants for once.”

When she realizes that her comments may sound a little pointed, she says, “I need you to know that none of this is directed at you. As far as I can tell, you make Donovan endlessly happy.”

“I hope so,” I reply in a low tone.

She runs her nail along the handle of her mug. “We just all miss him. It’s harder with him in New York because we don’t always know what’s going on in his life. And he misses out on so much here. I wonder if maybe he feels a little left out.”

“For what it’s worth, you guys take way more of an interest in Donovan’s life than my family does in mine, and they live just uptown.”

She gives me a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

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