Abby came out of the restroom with a clean face and arms, but her hair was still sticky from the frosting. She smiled nervously as she took a seat in front of Nick, who was looking through the menu.
"Hey I see you cleaned up. I hope you like the place. It's one of my favorites." He gave her a nervous smile. "Plus, everyone loves Pixie here."
A tall blonde with a wide smile came to the table and greeted Nick warmly. She gave Abby a quick smile and then bent down.
"Who is a little princess? Yes...you are..." She took out the fuzzy dog that had cake matted on her fur. "What did you do to her?" The blonde smiled curling up the dog in her arms.
"I'll bring her back when you're done."
"Thanks. That would be great." Nick smiled and watched as the tall woman disappeared through the door.
Abby couldn't help the smile on her face. "Wow! Looks like Pixie isn't the only one loved."
"No way! We just...I know her..."
She shook her head, "I know what that means!"
"What?" He gave her an innocent look.
Abby rolled her eyes, "Oh please! You probably know her, like you know me." She focused her attention on the menu. It still frustrated her a bit to know what Nick had done or was doing.
Nick made a face, "As a matter of fact...NO! Anyways, I told you I had an explanation; maybe not for the way I acted towards you, but for what I did!" He sighed heavily when he saw Abby entranced with the menu. "I guess what I just said was a waste." He leaned back in his seat and took a sip of his water.
Abby looked up and sighed, "The way you acted towards me...doesn't really matter. What matters to me is that you're marrying Tiffany and I'm kinda leery about it."
"Join the club. I think everyone is leery about it. I...I love Tiffany and I proposed cause I believe she's the one...for me." His blue eyes were boring into Abby's as he said the words.
"That's all easy to say, Nick."
"It's true. Alright...you know what, if we are going to have to do this whole wedding thing together. We should at least make peace, don't you think?"
Abby pondered for a bit. Nick was right; they had a week and a half to go with the planning. "I agree...but I do deserve the explanation."
He rolled his eyes. The waiter approached them and asked if they were ready to order.
"Turkey clu--" They both said.
Nick smirked, "Two turkey clubs." The waiter shook his head, took the menus and walked away.
"I'm not gonna give you a whole story. I just want you to know that I didn't meet anyone else but you. It was all just a dumb test. I love Tiffany and that's why I'm marrying her. I hope you believe me."
Abby smiled even though deep down she was a bit disappointed. "I believe you. Just the fact that you are putting your dreams to the side for Tiffany to have an all-out wedding, really shows that you care...love her." She stirred her tea with her straw, her eyes on the swirling liquid. "We start with a clean slate today. There is still a bit of planning to go and we need to get along for it to get done right. Plus, we are gonna be related...in some way." She smiled.
He smiled back "I do love her. I also really want to apologize for that one night. I'm under a lot of pressure with this whole wedding thing and I had just had an argument with my agent."
"You don't have to apologize. I understand...I wasn't what you were expecting."
"Don't get me wrong; you are pretty and you have a--"
"--a great personality? Yeah, I get that a lot. Thanks."
"Are you going to accept my apology?"
She let out a deep sigh, "Apology accepted."
Now she was thinking the whole lunch thing wasn't the best decision. How many times had she heard that line before? Many. Abby was relieved when the waiter appeared with their food. They wouldn't have to continue with the conversation; that's what she thought.
"So, how is Charlie?" Nick chewed and swallowed as he waited for Abby's response.
She wiped the corners of her mouth and took a sip of tea. "He's ok...right now. Doctor said he only has a couple of months left. Taking this time off was really hard for me. I don't want to not be there, if something happens to him."
"Hopefully, nothing will happen. He sounds like a strong kid."
She giggled thinking about Charlie. "He sure is. He's addicted to Mortal Kombat on PS3...he plays some guy over and over and can't beat him."
"No way! I love Mortal Kombat." Abby's face had suddenly turned serious, almost worrisome. "It must be hard to be a kids nurse?"
"It has its ups and downs. Ups for the most part..." The blonde interrupted the conversation as she walked happily up to Nick and Abby and handed over the now clean, Pixie.
Squeak.
She licked Nick's chin as he placed her back in her bag. "Thanks Jamie." He said standing up and planting a kiss on her cheek. She smiled flirtatiously and placed a hand on his arm.
"It's always a pleasure." She giggled. "So, how is the wedding coming along? Sometimes I forget that you are tying the knot."
"It's coming along. Tiffany is in New York right now and her sister, Abby, is helping me out."
They both turned to look at Abby who was now standing too. The blonde's brown eyes scanned her from head to toe and smiled. "She doesn't look anything like Tiffany."
"Oh, they are step-sisters."
"Um...I think I should go. Thanks for lunch, Nick." Abby didn't wait for a response, she hurried out of the café and headed towards her car.
"Abby! Wait!"
Abby stopped and turned around. "What's up?"
"What happened? Why did you just leave?"
"Oh, I just have things to do. I want to get this cake off, it's really starting to stick." She gave him a smile.
He licked his lips and smiled. "Yeah...me too. We don't get special treatment like Pixie."
They started walking towards the cars. Abby rolled her eyes and laughed. "I'm pretty sure if you gave her the ok...she would have given you the same treatment."
"Oh please!" Nick chuckled, knowing damn well that Abby wasn't lying. He'd had many nights of special treatment from Jamie, but that had ended way before his engagement. They walked towards Abby's car and he watched her as she rummaged her purse for her keys.
"So I guess we will meet tomorrow at noon?"
"Yeah. Um...I have that photo shoot...so, could you cut me some slack if I'm a bit late?"
She shook her head, "Ok. See you tomorrow then." Abby froze in place as she stared at the empty spot where her Altima had been parked. This was not happening to her. Now that she looked closely there was a blue outline and a...handicap sign. "That wasn't there before!" She exclaimed.
"How did it get there now?" Nick couldn't help but grin. She scowled. "Don't worry about it." He looked at his watch and realized it was already late. "Why don't I give you a ride home. You call to find out where they towed it to and we can pick it up early in the morning. Yeah?"
"I thought you had the photo shoot?"
"Right! Um...you can come with me. It will be quick...I hope." Nick shrugged after his suggestion. "If you want!"
She thought about it, but was there really anything to think about. Somehow spending time with Nick was the highlight of her day. Well, besides hearing from Charlie. Abby thought it would be best to seem hesitant towards his idea.
"I dunno...I don't want to complicate your day."
He placed a hand on her shoulder and guided her towards his Hummer. "Come on. It's ok and when we are all done we can pick up your car."
The twosome hopped into the Hummer and headed towards Abby's house.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wait a minute...you're taking her to the photo shoot?" Brian questioned with raised brows.
Nick shrugged, "I don't see what is wrong with that?"
"Carter? Seriously, you're gonna be butt naked."
"I am not!"
"How much you wanna bet! Plus...she's gonna see all your business." Brian was serious, but Nick grinned at the thought. "Yeah, I know you like that." He shook his head at Nick. "You're playing with fire..."
Nick rolled his eyes. It would be the highlight of his week to see Abby blushing profusely because of his nudity. Something about being around that girl made him feel comfortable and less stressed. Which somehow could complicate things in his life.
"You're thinking about her!" Brian commented, staring at the TV.
"No, I'm thinking about tomorrow and the whole butt naked thing."
"I don't want to sound like a church boy, as you always call me. But, you need to think about all your decisions thoroughly. I mean, there is still time for you to cancel the wedding. Time to get to know Abby if you like her that way. Most importantly buy that gym you want so badly."
Nick let out a sigh. Brian sounded crazy, thinking that he could like Abby that way. She wasn't his type. That he knew for sure. On the other hand, he didn't know what the hell he wanted in regards to the wedding or his gym. Somehow communication with Tiffany was close to impossible ever since she'd left. When he called she wasn't available, and when she answered; her boss was always rushing her off the phone.
There was a part of him that really wanted this wedding to work out and wanted to spend the rest of his...life...with Tiffany. Then, there was the part of him that just wanted to be free again. To own that gym and spend most of his time there. His thoughts were broken as his phone buzzed in his pocket.
"Hello! I was hoping you would call..."