Saved by Love (Willow Valley Book 3)(27)

“Abby?” Lissa prodded, concern taking over the curiosity. “Are you okay?”

Abby nodded, taking the simple gold band from Lissa and placing it back in the jewelry box before closing the lid firmly. She looked back at Lissa.

“Why do you have a wedding ring?”

Any number of excuses could have been made, but Abby was tired of hiding from the past, and she certainly didn’t want to lie to her sister-in-law who had shown her nothing but kindness from day one.

“It’s mine.” She dropped to the bed with a sigh. “I was married.”

Lissa came and sat next to her. The shock on her face couldn’t have been more obvious. “Does Jesse know?”

Abby shook her head. “I almost told him last week, but I just wasn’t ready. It’s too painful. I haven’t told anyone about it, actually. I try not to think about it.”

“What happened?”

Looking at Lissa, she saw that her now-closest friend and family member wasn’t just asking out of nosiness, but that she was genuinely concerned for her.

Abby took a deep breath, trying to slow her racing heart. They were words she’d only spoken aloud once before, when she told her mother. “He died.”

Lissa clasped her hands to her mouth, then reached out and hugged Abby tightly. “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.”

It was hard to talk over the lump in her throat, so she just nodded until she could take a few more calming breaths. She tried to remember her mantra and breathe in and out.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Did she? Part of her did. She’d only talked with a counselor a few times after Derek’s death. It had weighed so heavily on her for so long that she almost felt the need to get it out. But the other part just wasn’t ready to go there. Not when she was about to take a trip that would force her to face her biggest fear. It was too much to deal with.

She shook her head. “Maybe another day? It’s been a long time now, a couple years. I’m okay. But thank you.” She offered a smile, and Lissa wrapped her in another giant hug.

“Whenever you’re ready. And I won’t say a word to anyone. Not even Jesse. This is yours to tell when you want to.”

Abby believed her. Despite Lissa’s busybody nature, she was a good friend, and Abby knew she could trust her.

Just then, Abby’s phone beeped with an alert from a new text, and she glanced at it and saw it was from Ethan.

Want to grab a bite before we head to the airport?

He and his friends had chartered a flight with a private jet, so they were leaving later that night to get in as much time as possible at the beach. She texted him back.

Sure, almost done. I’ll come down in a few.

“I need to finish up so I can meet Ethan for dinner before the flight,” she told Lissa.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

She took a second to make sure she could answer truthfully. And was happy and a bit surprised to be able to honestly say, “Yeah. Yeah, I am.” She smiled at Lissa, already feeling lighter because her friend knew, and even better that she wasn’t thrown into a pit of despair over talking about it. “I think I’m better than I’ve been in a long time, actually.”

Lissa smiled back, some of the spark returning to her eyes. “That’s because you have one of the hottest guys known to womankind waiting to sweep you away for the week.” She stood from the bed and made her way toward the door, turning back to say, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Abby laughed. “I’m not so sure that leaves a lot of things off the table.”

Putting her hands on her hips, Lissa pursed her lips and said dryly, “Haha. Now go meet that fireman and have the hottest time of your life.”

“I think I’ll do just that.”

***

“Ladies and gentlemen, the captain has turned on the ‘fasten seat belt’ sign…”

Ethan tuned out the last of the pre-landing instructions, choosing instead to focus on Abby. She seemed nervous. Was it from the flight or something else? Maybe spending the week with him?

The past week with her had been amazing, and he couldn’t wait to take this trip with her. Though he did have a hard time pushing aside the memories of the last time he’d taken a woman on a trip. And the resulting tragedy. But he was trying really hard not to focus on it, wanting to enjoy his time with Abby.

“You okay?” he asked. She was squeezing his hand so hard her knuckles were white.

She nodded, her mouth pressed into a tight line. “I’ll be a lot better once we are on the ground.

Ethan grinned at her. “Not a fan of flying? It’s not so bad. Safer than driving.”

“So they say.”

Once they landed, Abby let out a sigh of relief and looked noticeably more relaxed. They disembarked and made their way across the tarmac to retrieve their luggage, then followed the group they’d come with to a shuttle that would take them to the resort they were staying at.

Abby turned to him after they were settled in the shuttle. “So how exactly did all of you afford a private jet and a private beach villa?”

“You think we’re all poor in Willow Valley?” he teased, laughing when she got flustered.

“No! I just mean it seems pretty frivolous.”