A Fool's Gold Wedding - Susan Mallery Page 0,22
led the way to her bedroom. “You have been busy. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to spend your summer working on my wedding.”
“It’s been fun. Joaquin helped a lot. The man can paint. And glue on beads.”
Melissa put her handbag on her desk and unzipped her skirt. “Really? So you’ve been spending a lot of time with him?”
“Yes.”
Her eyebrows rose. “And?”
Abby threw herself on the bed. “He’s great. Why didn’t you tell me he was so good-looking? I was unprepared.”
“Is he? I don’t know. I think Davis is the handsome brother.”
Abby didn’t point out that was probably the love talking. Davis was cute and all, but Joaquin could stop traffic. At least the female part of it.
Melissa pulled on shorts, then unfastened her blouse and dug a T-shirt out of the drawer. “So looking after him hasn’t been awful?”
“Not at all. We get along great.”
Melissa stared at her. “Wow. So you like him?”
“Yes. Don’t be surprised. You just didn’t spend enough time with him. He’s not stuffy at all. He’s got a good sense of humor and he’s willing to do anything.”
“Really?” Melissa drew out the word to several syllables. “Do tell.”
Abby sat up and laughed. “There’s nothing to tell. We’re having fun.”
“Naked fun?”
“Hardly. It’s been a week.”
“But you like him?”
Abby shook her head. “Don’t get all speculative on me. We’re not marrying brothers. I’m just saying it’s been nice to get to know him.” And kiss him, but she didn’t say that.
“I’m glad. One less thing to feel guilty about.”
“Absolutely.” Abby stood up and waved for Melissa to follow her. “Come on. Let’s go tell Mom you’re back. She has the master wedding list. We’ll figure out what we have to do over the next day and a half, then go get Mexican food tonight.”
Melissa linked arms with her. “You’re my favorite sister.”
“I know. Isn’t it great?”
* * *
JOAQUIN FOUND HIMSELF oddly excited to return to Fool’s Gold. He left a couple of hours earlier than he’d planned, simply to return to the town. No, he amended as he drove east on Interstate 80, not the town. Abby.
He’d missed her. He’d been gone just over forty-eight hours and he’d missed her. He wasn’t sure how that was possible or what it meant but the need to see her and talk to her urged him to drive faster so he could get there sooner.
He couldn’t wait to have her smile at him and tell her about his weekend with his brother. He’d always assumed he and Davis had nothing in common, but he’d been wrong. Maybe when they’d been younger, their life experiences had been so different they couldn’t relate to each other, but that wasn’t true now. They were both successful in their chosen careers, they both liked baseball more than football. They’d had a great time at the game on Saturday, cheering the Giants on to their win. Conversation had rarely ebbed. Joaquin had even been interested in the talk about the wedding and where Davis was taking Melissa for their honeymoon.
The detailed description of the beachfront resort on Maui had gotten him to thinking about a vacation...with Abby. He would love to go snorkeling with her, try off-roading, ride bikes down from Haleakala at sunrise. He could imagine her laughing next to him as they explored the tropical paradise together. Or maybe they should go to Aspen. They could snowboard, then spend their evenings in front of a fire. Later, in bed, he would touch her and taste her and please her and—
He returned his attention to the highway. No more thoughts of Abby, he told himself. Not until he was safely back in Fool’s Gold.
But as he saw the sign telling him he was only thirty miles from his destination, he felt a flicker of apprehension. Simon’s words were ever present. He was going to have to tell Abby why he’d come here in the first place. He was going to have to convince her that those reasons weren’t why he stayed and trying to do that was what had him hesitating.
He didn’t want to hurt her. He didn’t want to make her feel she wasn’t special, because she was. She needed to know she was important to him and he didn’t know how to tell her the truth without shattering whatever it was between them. But he would figure it out. He had to.
He’d tried to practice by telling Davis, only he’d never quite gotten the words out. The second time he’d tried,