Page 30 of Austen, Edited

Chapter 17

Abby fiddled with her clutch, her knees wobbly as she stood inches away from Greyson outside Gabelli Hall. “Thank you for the ride,” she said, trying to muster up the courage to look at him. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to, considering the fact that their near-kiss on the boat was still replaying in her mind.

“Of course. Are you free tomorrow? I was hoping we could do something.” He leaned back, his hands stuffed into his suit pants pockets, waiting for her answer. Why did he have to look so good?

She unzipped her clutch, looking for her phone. When it wasn’t there, she tried to replay in her mind the last time she’d had it. She must have forgotten it when they left for the party.

“I don’t think I have anything going on, but I’ll let you know when I find my phone in my room?” Her voice made the last word sound like a question, and she laughed.

“Sounds good. Just let me know.”

Awkward silence pressed down on them, and she wondered what she was going to do. She moved forward, wrapping her arms around his middle in a hug, too scared to do anything else. As she backed away, she remembered his suit coat. She took it off and folded it slightly, handing it over to him.

“Uh, thanks again for, uh, this and the ride. I’ll text you later.” She grabbed her card out of her clutch and swiped it through the reader at the side of the door. Before he had a chance to say anything, she was already down the hall and waiting for the elevator. She’d usually just take the stairs, but her feet were already killing her. Besides, the amount of adrenaline from her time with Greyson seemed to make it so she’d probably lose her balance.

Once she was in her room, she sighed against the door. Her emotions were all over the place, and after the night she’d had, it was almost magical. Maybe she’d wanted to live in that magical world a while before sealing any kind of fate between the two of them with a kiss, making or breaking their friendship.

Abby walked into her room, finding her phone on the bed where she’d left it. She sank onto the bed and clicked the on button. A message appeared, one from her uncle, who had probably only texted her maybe five times since she’d gotten a cell phone.

We’re having a family brunch tomorrow. Meet at the house at eleven and don’t be late.

Abby gave a mirthless laugh at the word family. The only time the Harringtons acted like she was part of their family was when they were trying to get people to think they were so generous at taking in their niece. There weren’t any major events planned, and the garden party had been the week before. What could be the reasoning behind ordering her to the house?

She lifted her head when she heard the outer door open, Tiffany’s laugh tinkling through the air to the room. Silence followed, and Abby was sure she was kissing her man of the week.

A minute or two later, Tiffany appeared in the room, looking starry-eyed like she’d just been proposed to.

“What a night! Just another reason I love working for Meg. You still look amazing, girl, even after all the wind from the boat.” Tiffany moved to the dresser and took out her dangly earrings, dropping them into the small silver bowl where most of her earrings were held. “You looked pretty cozy with Greyson. How are things there?”

Abby thought about falling back dramatically to add a laugh, but she remembered the last time she’d tried to do that and decided against it.

“Who knows? I mean, I’m pretty sure he was going to kiss me right before Parker and Meg announced the date of their wedding. And then I was too chicken to stick around and see if he would try it again once we got back here.” She rolled her lips in, now realizing she might have blown the best chance she had to further her relationship with her best friend.

“You’ll be fine. Maybe he’ll even see it as you playing hard to get.” Tiffany chuckled as she disappeared into the bathroom.

That wasn’t how Abby wanted to play it, though. She wasn’t willing to jeopardize a good relationship by sending mixed signals. But then again, until now, the low intensity of the signals she’d been sending must not have been noticeable.

She didn’t want to ruin the evening by overanalyzing everything. She would tomorrow. She’d have plenty of time when she was at brunch with her aunt and uncle.

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