Page 97 of Sweeter Than Fiction

“Still drinks the same,” I tell him.

Already the sky is turning a pinkish orange color, and it looks like someone painted it directly into the sky. The most I get in New York is seeing the sun going down between a couple of the buildings. Part of that is because of the tall skyscrapers, but I’m also aware that it is probably because I don’t get out all that often.

“I can’t believe you did all this,” I say to Don.

“It wasn’t that big of a deal.”

“How did you find the time?” I ask.

“Mom helped me out. Speaking of which, how did you plan the paintballing thing today? You have never even been here before. How much Googling did you have to do to make that happen?”

“None,” I confess. “I told Jill I wanted to do something special for you, and she helped me plan it all.”

“It was awesome, and I had a blast. You looked super sexy out there.” He gives me a quick kiss. “But I have to ask why? I loved it, but what made you think that you needed to do something like that?”

I take a few sips of wine before replying. “Jill told me about Alicia.”

He looks confused. “I already told you about Alicia.”

“No, she told me about how you would always do all these grand gestures for her, and she would never do anything in return. It was really one-sided. I am well aware that you do grand gestures for me all the time, and I don’t always do a good job of reciprocating. I don’t want you to resent me or anything.”

“Abby, I don’t resent Alicia because she didn’t do nice things for me. That’s not even why we broke up. We broke up because she cheated, and wanted to be with someone else. While I appreciate Jill looking out for me, she didn’t know the ins and outs of that relationship. Did I do more for Alicia than she did for me? Probably. But I didn’t see it as one-sided. She still did things for me. Just because Jill didn’t see it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.”

My cheeks burn red because I feel silly for not getting all the facts first. “Sorry,” I say in a low voice. “I just thought—”

He stops me with his lips on mine. His kiss feels so good that I almost forget that I’m supposed to be holding onto the cup of wine and almost drop it.

When he pulls back, he says, “I love you so much.”

“Huh? You’re not mad at me for just assuming?”

“Abby, you went out of your way to make plans with my sister—in a town that you’ve never been to—just to make me happy. I think that may be the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

“You just said that Alicia would do sweet things for you.”

He smiles. “She never wanted to take me paintballing. Ever. That will be a memory that only you and I share.”

He grabs my chin and tilts it up so that I’m looking at him. “And for the record,” he begins. “I love doing grand gestures for you. And I’m never going to stop. That doesn’t mean that I need something from you every time. You have given me more than you realize.”

“Well, I was going to suggest that I repay you with dirty things in the bedroom, but if you’re saying that you don’t need anything in return, I guess we don’t have to.”

“Now, now, Abigail. Let’s not get hasty.”

We both start laughing so hard I worry that wine’s going to come out of my nose.

When we settle, I look out at the sky. “Do you ever miss living here?”

He shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t know. There are certain things that I miss, I guess.”

“Like what?”

“Like having some quiet time. New York is never quiet. The noise was really hard for me to get used to, but I seem to be doing better with it.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“Now, when I need quiet, I just come see you.”

“Me? Have you met me, Don? When I am in my apartment, I’m not exceptionally quiet. I even talk to my cats.”

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