NICE GIRL TO LOVE (THE COMPLETE THREE-BOOK COLLECTION)(109)

And Brian had never even stood a chance, really.




As nightfall came, with Skylar over at Becky’s for a sleepover and Abby and Connor gone, Brian pulled another bottle of beer from the case he’d brought out to the backyard and slowly walked around the orchid shade house gazebo he’d made for Abby.

That she hadn’t yet seen.

The modifications he’d made to turn it from just a shade house into a cozy little gazebo as well were simple, but Skylar loved it. Treated it like her castle. More often than not lately, he’d find her out there a lot of days and even some nights, draped across the bench just talking on her phone or reading. Seeing that always made him imagine Abby having done the same thing when she was young. And inevitably, he’d imagine a few other adorable little children growing up doing the very same thing, following in the footsteps of their big sister and mother.

Tonight, for the first time, it really did seem like it was all a big fantasy.

He sat on the bench and looked over at the thick tree trunk he’d built the gazebo around. Like the shade house in Abby’s childhood home, he’d built this one right up against the lone tree in their yard so he could transplant some of the wild orchids into the bark of the trunk. They were doing well, already starting to take root.

The irony of that was a bitter pill to swallow.

Was that why he hadn’t planted the white egret orchid into the tree? He’d given it to Abby to take home the day of her defense. After the way she’d reacted to Connor showing up at her office, Brian hadn’t been able to bring himself to show the shade house to her.

Perhaps his subconscious already knew.

He drained his beer and tossed it onto the pile of jagged empties lying in the lawn.

After the sixth or seventh bottle, he’d stopped flinching at the sound of the glass shattering. He had no idea what number he was on now. Pulling out another one from the case, he popped off the cap and balanced the open bottle on the knob of the trunk he’d reserved for Abby’s white egret orchid. To pay homage. When it rocked and teetered over the bark, he didn’t even move to catch it. He watched almost in slow motion as it came crashing down and flooding the floor of the gazebo with beer.

Shit. He made a mental note to hose that down before Skylar got home tomorrow.

Stumbling over the broken shards, he reached for another, and saw a flash of movement in the house. Laughing in his head as he did it, he called out to the fleeting shadow. “Beth?”

Damn, he must be really drunk off his ass if he was seeing the ghost of his dead wife.

He let go of the fresh bottle he’d picked up and dragged himself back into the house.

Maybe if he went to sleep now, he could chat with his dead wife about Abby. Maybe Beth would know why it was that the women he fell in love with couldn’t stay with him.




ABBY TUCKED HER CHIN atop her knees and gave Connor her CIA stare. It was less menacing than her FBI glare but it packed a lot more hidden ammo. Usually, it preceded a full interrogation, not unlike the one she was about to unleash on Connor.

“Tell me what’s wrong.” She lowered her brows down even more. The look of sorrow that had blanketed Connor’s face shortly after the concert had haunted her all night.

And clearly, Connor was positively shaking in his boots, based on the way his eyes crinkled at the corners as he repeated for the third time, “Nothing. I told you, everything’s fine.”

She was just about to switch to her FBI glare when he added, “Hey, before I forget, my assistant Laura is going to call you with some info I think you’ll be really interested in.”

Well that was a blatant evasive maneuver. And dangnabbit, was it an effective one. She pouted. “Okay, I’ll bite. What info?”

His tilted his head, an excited little smile brewing. “I know you’re not thrilled about your Plan B options in California—and as I’ve told you, I’ll support you whether you go to the West Coast or Timbuktu—but there might be one other option for you to consider.”

“There aren’t any more full-time teaching positions available, Connor. And believe it or not, I’m over-qualified for many of the other positions. They won’t even consider me. I could stay on as a lecturer and wait until another tenure-line position opens up but honestly, my department has already told me they aren’t expecting another opening for a few years.”

“What if you did something more in line with your degree?” he asked, eyes dancing.

“Any positions like that would be filled with doctoral students—”

“No, I mean what if you focused on academic research for a bit first. That’s the other half of being a professor, right? You could do research, work on getting published, and lecture some of those courses you were talking about on the side if you find yourself missing teaching. Then, when a tenure-line position does open up in a few years, you’d be in a really strong position.”

Abby was at a complete loss for words. Not just because Connor had presented her with a great plan that she really should’ve widened her focus to consider, but because of what he was offering with this option.

A chance for her to stay here with Brian and Skylar.

“Doesn’t your firm have a location in California?” she asked then, locking her gaze on his.

“Yes.”

“Would it be hard for you to transfer over there?”