Page 86 of Between the Stars

“You’re not scared?”

“Oh, I’m fucking terrified.” He laughs. “But it doesn’t mean I won’t be there every step of the way.”

I kiss him again, and I believe him. I put my trust into an undecided, unpredictable future.

CHAPTER36

A memory I found

JACE

She’s… everything.

Two thingsyou need to know before I throw you into the fire of what is dinner with the Locketts.

One. I’ve never had a productive conversation with her father.

Two. I don’t like pasta. At all. I find it repulsive and slimy.

And there I am, being forced to eat it because it’s the only thing on the fucking menu, and sitting across from a man who absolutely despises me. If you can’t see his murderous glare at me, just wait, it’s coming.

“Abbi, you’re making a huge mistake. What were you thinking? What’s the degree for if you’re not going to use it?”

Abbi sits next to me and my muscles shake, trying to restrain myself. “I’ll get a job here. I think Henderson’s are looking for a nurse. I’ll check it out soon.”

“Soon.” Kevin snorts, gripping the back of his head. “Abigale… you’re better than this. What must Griff think?”

His use of her full name sends a jolt of anger through me. You’re laughing, aren’t you? Why, because he has the nerve to insert Griff’s name into a conversation he has no part of? Maybe there’s that, but I push that anger aside for a later time. I’m more upset with him making her feel like she’s not good enough to make her own decisions.

Can you believe he said that bullshit to her? It takes everything, and I do meaneverything, inside me not to stand up, flip this fucking table over and knock his teeth in. He doesn’t get to tell her she’s making a mistake. Not again. Because the first mistake we ever made was choosing lust over love. If you don’t know what I mean by that, think about it, I bet you come to your own conclusion and realize the truth.

I wouldn’t say I’ve ever had respect for Kevin Lockett. He’s selfish.

The tension in my brow is undeniable. I want to react to his words but I remain silent.

Waiting.

Abbi’s shoulders tense, his posture rigid. I want to lean over and brush the hair off her shoulder and kiss the softness of her skin. I want to remind her I’m here, with her, but I don’t. I wait for her response. “Griff and I are no longer together, so I could give a flying fuck what he thinks of decisions he has no part of.”

The waiter walks by and I grab a hold of his arm after gagging down a bite of noodles covered in alfredo. “Whiskey straight.”

“Coming right up.” He nods, smiling. We went to high school together and I bet he knows exactly what’s going on here. I level him a “shut the fuck up and bring my drink” look.

He disappears around the corner and Abbi sighs, her shoulder’s rolling forward. I take a fleeting glance at the noodles covered in what looks to be cum and push my plate away. I’ve officially decided I will never try pasta again.

“You’re serious about this?” her mother asks, eyeing me. I’m not sure if that question is directed at me or Abbi.

She swallows and darts her eyes away. A beat of silence passes. “I am,” Abbi notes, picking at the bread in her hand. I wonder what she’s going to say next when she smiles at me. “I’m sure of my future with him.” I wink at her, my approval of what I know is coming next. I haven’t even told my parents Abbi’s pregnant, but I know they’re aware. “I’m having a baby in September.”

Babies… I silently correct. I don’t look at her parents when she gives the news. No, I’m too busy staring at the girl between the stars. Her beauty in this moment, bathed in candle light and glowing with the lives growing inside her, is absolutely breath taking. I think I gasp at the image. My entire life sits next to me and I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.

“Christ almighty, Abigale.” Kevin tosses his napkin on the table. “Are you serious?”

Abbi’s silent, tears flooding her eyes. She knew this would be his reaction. I stare at my disgusting slimy pasta and work my jaw back and forth.Don’t lose it in the restaurant. My fingers tighten around my fork and I clench my fists. Numbness and waves of pain radiate through my fingers in my left arm but I still make the fist.

Keep calm, man. Let this bitch dig his own grave with his daughter.

Kevin blows out an aggravated breath and levels Abbi with a glare. “Gage sold the remaining shares of Lockett plumbing. Does you being pregnant and leaving Griff have anything do to with it?”

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