Page 37 of Austen, Edited

It didn’t take long to change. Part of her wished she could just cuddle up in her bed and get ready for the last classes of the week in the morning, but if she truly wanted to enjoy those classes, she’d need to endure the torture of the evening.

“Much better,” Jeff said as she walked out.

Abby gritted her teeth. The fact that he cared so much about how she looked just lumped him in with the whole Harrington family.

He held out his arm, and she hesitated, thinking of the last time she’d linked arms with Greyson.

Holding up a finger, she ran into the bathroom, closing the door with a click. She took several breaths and reminded herself she needed to do this for a reason. She smoothed out a section of hair and walked out of the room. Without looking at Jeff, she walked to the door, throwing it open and walking down the hall.

He was there in a few seconds, striding next to her. They didn’t say much as they took the elevator back down and walked out to his car.

The drive to the restaurant wasn’t bad for a weeknight, although finding a place to park was going to be a nightmare.

Jeff pulled the car up against the curb and shifted into park.

Abby pointed out the window. “This is a no-parking zone. You’re going to get towed.”

He flashed her an arrogant smile, and Abby felt her contradictory side rear its head. If he wanted to get his car out of a tow yard, she wasn’t going to say anything. The benefit was she could still take the bus or T home.

Once he was out of the car, she turned to see him hand off his keys to someone before joining her at her side of the car. She glanced around, not seeing a valet sign of any kind. “But, what?” Her brain was all confused, and she wondered how that had even happened.

“I called ahead for a valet. Not a big deal.” He buttoned up his suit coat and opened the door for her. Part of her wished she could say she was good, wait for the door to close, and then open it herself.

College. No debt.

She forced a smile. “Thank you.”

There was no wait as the hostess took them right back to their table. “Your server will be right with you.” The woman left quickly, and Abby wished she could have lingered even just a bit longer to ease the tension pressing down.

“So, Abby, what have you been up to the past nine years?” Jeff intertwined his fingers and laid them on the table in front of him. From the tone, Abby wondered if this was more of an interrogation than a setup date.

“Oh, you know, hanging out at the house. School, school. More school.” She took a sip from the ice water in front of her, grateful for the coolness of it. Her mouth was dry, her tongue thick.

Jeff leaned back, and once he opened his mouth, she wondered if he was ever going to close it again. “I’ve been in Maryland with my mom, but you probably knew that already. I’ve had some rough patches, got in trouble with the law, but I’m a reformed citizen, living under the rules of my father now.” He rested his arm on the back of the chair next to him, giving her a coy smile.

If she wasn’t already annoyed with the man, there was no way she could see a long-term relationship with him. She was all for people changing their ways, but having been abandoned time and again by her parents, she didn’t want to repeat that for herself or for any future children.

She nodded, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw a waiter coming in her direction.

“Are we ready to order?”

Jeff jumped in first, detailing his order and all the changes he wanted with it. As nice as the restaurant was, she was just ready for something simple.

“I’ll have the fettuccine.” The waitress looked at her, waiting for something similar to the changes her date had required. “That should be it. Oh, a salad with ranch on the side would be great.”

The waitress took the menu and nodded. “Salads are included with all meals. I’ll go to the kitchen and get the food back out here as soon as possible, okay?”

Abby nodded, wishing she could be of use to the kitchen staff in the back. Anything to keep from the awkward conversation she knew would happen with Jeff. He’d always talked about weird things, detailing the way his pet snake ate and digested his food when they were twelve. She did her best to keep a neutral expression as he began talking, not wanting him to complain to her uncle about the kind of date she’d been.

What she hadn’t been expecting was someone to call her name from a few feet away.

“Abby?”

She turned, seeing Carson Carver in a tailored suit. Ruby wasn’t around him, and she wished she was. The shy girl had a lot of personality for someone who struggled in social situations.

“Hey, Carson. What are you up to?”

He waved his arms around the restaurant. “Just checking in on my place. I try to come once a week and make sure the kitchen and staff have everything they need. What about you?” He turned his eyes to Jeff and back to her, causing shame to rush to her face as she realized what he’d been inferring with the look. Basically, where was Greyson, and who was this guy?

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