NICE GIRL TO LOVE (THE COMPLETE THREE-BOOK COLLECTION)(64)

“Damn, you’re going to fall asleep on me aren’t you?” Brian’s voice floated over her hair softly as he pressed a smiling kiss to her forehead. “Go ahead and rest, sweetheart. You had a pretty eventful afternoon.”

With that, he stood and walked over to the linen closet for some clothes.

Shame.

He was heartbreakingly handsome. Always had been. But ever since he’d gone back to coaching afterschool to supplement his teaching income, he’d gotten even burlier from the added lifting sessions before practice. It was almost unfair. Superhuman, really. His build was now more impressive than the average underwear model’s physique—a standard issue Sullivan trait it seemed—though every other aspect of him remained far gentler and way more mellow than Connor.

She’d never thought of mellow as being the new sexy. But it so was.

And nice was the new hot. With two T’s.

Hearing Brian’s soft chuckles echoing in the room, she realized she must have said the last couple of sentences out loud.

“I think you’re ‘nice with two T’s’ too, Abby,” he whispered before kissing her on the cheek. “Sweet dreams, honey.”




Abby sluggishly woke up from her nap and tried to figure out if it was morning or night. The clock flashing 7:30 on her DVR machine didn’t offer very much more clarification.

After checking two more clocks around the room, she glanced over at the microwave and finally saw the PM. Oh good, so she hadn’t been zonked out all night long. Stretching herself awake, she found that nearly all her muscles were achy, as if she’d just had the mother of all workouts. Huh, maybe she should quit the gym and just climb trees and roofs to stay in shape.

Though it was still early, she went over to the kitchen to cook up a batch of Mexican hot chocolate, her usual feel-good drink of choice. Oddly, when she got there, she saw that all her hot cocoa fixings were already on the counter…along with a post-it with a note in Brian’s handwriting:

>> IN THE SPIRIT OF THIS WHOLE HIGH SCHOOL DATING THING WE HAVE GOING…

Huh? She flipped over the post-it. What did hot cocoa have to do with high school dating? It didn’t make any sense at all.

She was just about to call Brian to ask him to explain when she bumped into a little bowl on the floor with milk. Oh, shoot, Sammy! She’d forgotten all about him. Since he wasn’t anywhere to be seen in the kitchen, Brian must have let him out. She glanced outside to make sure the weather had died down before heading over to the fridge. It was still early enough to check on the two cats. May as well bring ‘em a little evening treat.

“Oh c’mon!” she exclaimed aloud when she saw another two post-its waiting for her in the fridge, one on the egg carton, and one on a cucumber. Was she that predictable? It’s not like she spoiled Scruffles and Sammy every day with scrambled eggs and cucumbers—just a few times a week.

She pulled off the post-its.

>> NO, YOU’RE NOT THAT PREDICTABLE.

Ha! Clearly, she was.

>> I JUST KNOW AND LOVE ALL YOUR ADORABLY WEIRD HABITS.

Aw, being called weird had never sounded so great.

Grabbing her phone from her bag, she chuckled when she saw one final post-it.

>> SO AGAIN, IN THE SPIRIT OF THIS WHOLE HIGH SCHOOL DATING THING…

Her phone beeped a text alert, so she checked her inbox.

>> WILL YOU GO TO PROM WITH ME? Y OR N

Abby shook her head and tamped down all the sudden teen-esque butterflies in her stomach as she texted Brian back.

>> Y





CHAPTER FIFTEEN


“OHMIGOSH ABBY, Dad is going to flip out when he sees you.”

Smiling, Abby gave Skylar a hug. “All thanks to you. This was a great dress you helped me find.” Normally, she would’ve just gone for a simple black dress, maybe even gray, but Skylar was insistent that this champagne-colored number was the way to go.

It was gorgeous. A fitted bodice with ruched fabric up the torso and a flowy skirt that fell just past her knees, a perfect length to hide the large band-aid still covering her left knee. And to top it all, the simple Grecian one shoulder twist over her right shoulder gave the dress a classy look with just a touch of sexy.

No way she would’ve picked the dress out for herself.

“Thanks again for coming shopping with me, sweetie. Are we still on for our shopping date next week to find you the dress for your dance?”

“Yes! OMG, I can’t wait.”

Abby chuckled and went over to her dresser where she’d put a stack of teen pop magazines and dress catalogs earlier. “I bought some light reading material so you can look through and see what kinds of dresses you like. Doggy ear them and we’ll go see if we can find something close on our budget.”

“Really? Oh, Abby, you’re just the best!”

“Sure thing. And don’t worry, even if we can’t find the exact right dress, we can alter it at home ourselves. I can adjust the style a bit and we can always add any additional bling.”

“I love that idea! Then no one will have a dress like mine.”

“Exactly.” She laughed at Skylar’s mini-python hug—like father, like daughter.

“I’m going to take these with me to Becky’s house tonight. Do you think you can do the same thing for Becky’s dress too?”