Page 8 of One Wild Night
Chapter 2
Scott lookedover at Abi andsmiled.
Nothing was funny about this situation, but he had to laugh at the opportunity that fate had dished hisway.
Fate, karma, life,coincidence.
Whatever it was, he was grateful forit.
He’d been thinking about her for a while, now -- even before he’d found out about thewedding.
From time to time, she had crossed his mind purely because he’d had his longest relationship with her. Scott knew he took absolute advantage of her and that he’d been a complete asshole to allow her to leave the way shedid.
He knew that now (or rather a few years back when reality began to sink in). His grandfather always told him that one day the fast, reckless way of life would catch up with him and that he’d burn out fromit.
The old man couldn’t have been more right. Fortunately, nothing bad had happened as such. It was simple, really, and began with the news of his friend and teammate -- Gale Montgomery, the infamous Gladiators quarterback -- getting married. This was a guy who Scott saw with one woman after another and preached that he’d never settle down. But, yet, he’d found one woman who could change his mind and change hisways.
Who was even worse was Josh Mancini, whose wedding to his former assistant took place at the end of last summer. That guy used to be the poster boy for womanizing, and, yet, like Gale, he’d found one woman who could change him -- and Josh had one hell of a change tomake.
Scott couldn’t have been more shocked and surprised at the two of them. It was all good stuff, and he was happy for them both, but the whole occurrence was something that flagged itself to him. It made him question his ownlife.
It made him think about the one woman who’d been good to him, the one woman he could remotely classify as the kind of person that he’d want to be serious about. There was just one massive problem: He’d ruined his chances with Abigail Winters, singeing any hope with her to within an inch of itslife.
Right now, his car felt colder than Antarctica with the coldness the said woman was giving him and the icy, emotionless glances she occasionally threw hisway.
Abi did not want him. She hated being in his car, and she was most probably calculating an alternate route toPhoenix.
It was her love for Margo that made her decide to go with him. He knew she wanted to get to her as quickly as possible and, honestly, while he was worried about his sister, he admittedly took advantage of the situation to spend some time with Abi. Scott knew he had no chance in hell, but that didn’t mean he’d turn away an opportunity for hercompany.
He looked over at her, reserved form sitting next to him in his Range Rover. She was looking through the window, watching the scenery as they drove by. Her hands were clasped on top of her purse, which was the same peach color as her long, perfectly-manicured nails. As the wind picked up, she tucked a wayward strand of her light brown hair behind her ear. It reminded him of warm, liquid caramel, and it looked just as smooth, too. Her hair and her large green eyes were a perfect combination. Her eyes were the first thing he had noticed that night he’d first met her. He’d thought they were beautiful with their olive green shade and specks of brown that made themunique.
It was amazing how that night had always stayed in his mind. The three nights with her that he remembered the best were the night he met her, the night he first made love to her, and the night she lefthim.
That last memory was theworse.
“Do you think Gale believed you?” he asked breaking thesilence.
“Yeah,” she answered without looking athim.
Before they left, they had gone back to the lobby to speak to Gale. Scott didn’t think Gale believed Abi for one second about Margo being delayed, and then he got this uneasy look about him when he tried to comment, and Scott asked him if he was okay. There was something amiss, here, and the only person who knew what was going on was his beautiful ex who was sitting next tohim.
“He didn’t look like he did. How come you didn’t tell him Margo was stuck in Phoenix?” He’d guessed that Margo had asked her not to, but the question was ‘why.’
“I told him enough.” Again, she didn’t look athim.
He glanced across at her as they stopped for a traffic light. Wow, she was definitely hell-bent on ignoringhim.
Scott smiled as the Cranberries came on the radio and started singing “Turn Away.” Abi loved the Cranberries, and he knew she loved this song, inparticular.
He drove across the lane when the lights changed, moving into the fast one. As much as she didn’t want to talk, he was determined to get her to warm up tohim.
“Do you remember this song?” He looked over at heragain.
“No,” she said, a little tooquickly.
He couldn’t resist the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth. She remembered the song, alright. It was one of her choosing, and she loved playing it when they madelove.
“Are you sure?” he teased. “I seem to remember you loving this song. Alot.”
