Page 62 of Under Pink Skies

We were all saved from responding when our waitress came by to get our orders. Almost everyone ordered coffee, except for Lucas, who ordered a soda. For someone obsessed with theirgains, he sure enjoyed his daily soda.

“When are you leaving?” Imogen asked once we ordered.

“I have to head back today,” Kam said. “There’s plenty of work to do.”

“I’m heading back with you,” Lucas said. “Myappointmentwas rescheduled because the other party is unable to attend.”

He uttered the words with such distaste that I was momentarily taken aback. I could only assume he was referring to his ex-wife.

Abbie looked to me, and I realized out of all the things we discussed in recent days, the one thing we hadn’t was what happened after the festival. All the air seemed to vanish from the room at the knowledge that one way or another, this would end. It would either end with us finding a way to make things work going forward, or it would end for good this time.

I never saw myself staying in Watford. There were too many terrible memories of things that happened here. I didn’t want to raise a family in the place that took so much from me.

I also knew I couldn’t ask Abbie to leave. Her family’s business—the store her mom and dad built from the ground up—was here. People who had watched her grow up supported her at every turn. I couldn’t ask her to leave all of this behind. I wouldn’t do that.

I also knew I couldn’t go back to the life I had before. Now that Abbie was back in my life, I would do everything in my power to keep it that way.

“I need another day or two to wrap things up,” I said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. Abbie’s shoulders visibly relaxed, but Imogen’s face fell.

We were once again saved from having to discuss this further when our food arrived. To my surprise, Lonnie Watley, the owner and operator of the diner, came to deliver our food to us.

“I wanted to thank you guys personally for the work you did on the festival,” Lonnie said. “One of the couples that attended loved our waffles so much, they want us to cater their wedding. Can you imagine? Waffles! At a wedding! This new generation’s something else, isn’t it?”

Lonnie bumped my arm with his, as his booming laugh filled the space, and I instantly regretted getting here late, so I had to sit on the outside of the booth. Abbie smiled into her coffee, and I gave a small shrug.

“That sounds like a great opportunity, Lonnie. I’m glad the festival could help you make some new connections,” I answered.

Lonnie nodded, appeased with my response, and turned to Abbie.

“How’s your dad these days, sweetheart?”

“He’s doing fine, Lonnie. Thanks for asking.”

I respected the hell out of Abbie for always being respectful. She tried her hardest to take the most generous interpretation of people’s questions.

Lonnie turned back to me, and I braced myself for what I knew was coming.

“I’m glad you came back here, kid. Always knew you’d make something of yourself.”

My jaw twitched, but I gave him a tight-lipped smile. He clapped his hand across my back one last time before walking back towards the kitchen, shouting orders as the brunch rush started. Kam let out a small snort, and I glared in his direction.

I didn’t understand why everyone in this town continued to brush over the fact that Ellis was a horrible human being and that I was the one who had to live with him. The more time I spent in Watford, the more conversations I had with people who knew Ellis and what kind of man he was.

Yet none of them had ever stepped up to help me. And now that I was back in town, all they wanted to talk about was how proud they were of me for rising above it.

I didn’t want their amends.

The rest of the meal passed with random conversations and huge mouthfuls of good food. Lonnie’s relatives excelled at one thing—American comfort food—and they hadn’t made any updates to the menu in years. One didn’t mess with perfection.

Kameron paid the bill, citing one last expense for their festival sponsorship. I slid out of the booth and followed him to the door. I looked back and saw Lucas talking to Abbie while she waited for Imogen to come back from the bathroom. I frowned, confused what Lucas would need to say to her he couldn’t say in front of the rest of us.

“Everything okay?” I asked when Abbie stepped out onto the sidewalk just outside the front door.

“Yeah,” Abbie said, though she didn’t meet my gaze. “Yeah, I’m good. I need to check on my dad before we head out.”

Chapter 24

Abbie

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