Penmort Castle (Ghosts and Reincarnation #1)(101)
“Don’t,” he repeated, this time softly, his fingers flexing at her neck.
Abby was trying to avoid the look in his eyes and how it was making her feel but he was so close, she couldn’t escape it.
“I hope Moira’s going to be all right,” she whispered.
“She will,” Cash replied.
Abby’s eyes moved to the side away from his but something happened to her.
It was like she no longer had control over her actions, like something deep in her that she didn’t know was there surfaced and took command.
Her eyes closed and she heard her voice say so quietly there was nearly no sound, “I’m glad it wasn’t you.”
She felt his mouth on hers and before giving her a soft kiss, he said there, “I know, darling.”
Then her body, still not under her control, moved into him, closer, closer, until her head went under his chin, her h*ps connected with his, her hands curled into the lapels of his suit jacket, her cheek rested on his chest and his arms slid around her waist.
In her ear, she could hear his heart beat and against the skin of her cheek, she could feel it and all she could smell was the scent of him.
She let go of her breath and, also against her control, she felt for the first time in six years, at peace.
Chapter Twenty
Two Important Things Happen to Cash
Cash sat in the dark of his study on the ground floor, the moonlight streaming in through the windows he’d swivelled his chair to face.
His eyes were on the shadowy, bare branches of the trees he could see in his garden. His mind was on Abby, asleep upstairs in his bed, as well as on her foolish best friend who he was trying to find one good reason not to murder.
He didn’t want to murder her because she was foolish, he wanted to shake her for that).
No, he wanted to murder her because she’d pointed out something to Cash that evening that he’d not considered.
And something he couldn’t ignore.
After its dramatic start, the evening had progressed relatively well. The food had not been ruined and Abby recovered from her upset to be a gracious and amusing hostess. This was aided by Nicola and even, to Cash’s surprise, a far more relaxed, friendly and interesting Fenella and Honor. Mrs. Truman maintained her normal surly but hilarious behaviour and Cassandra was an unusual but amusing dinner guest.
Jenny, however, was quiet most of the evening, her face thoughtful, her eyes, Cash found, were nearly always watching Abby, Cash or the both of them together.
When Abby made tactful excuses for Cash to go to his study to work, he’d done so, gratefully, leaving the women to their conversation which had taken an alarming turn to some preposterous-sounding American television show about two “hot” brothers who hunted ghosts.
He was not in his study for long when there was a soft knock on the door.
He hoped it was Abby.
Why he hoped this, he didn’t know. So they could have a moment alone to talk about their dinner guests or to share a bit of quiet. Or, better yet, so he could put his hands on her, touch his mouth to hers, show her nonverbally how much it meant to him that she’d come rushing to the hospital in a panic at the thought he might be hurt.
However, it wasn’t Abby.
It was Jenny.
At his call, she put her head around the door and asked, “Can I have a quiet word?”
At this unforeseen turn of events, he went on guard but nodded.
Then Jenny came in, sat across from his desk and had her quiet word.
Or, more specifically, she had several of them.
And as she spoke, Cash’s hands itched to cup her shoulders and give her a good shake.
For, he found, she had overheard a conversation he had with James at a party some time ago, a conversation Cash remembered perfectly. She had not heard all of it, thankfully, but she’d heard enough of it for her, Jenny, to get the spectacularly asinine idea to pimp out her best friend.
Therefore she knew about Cash and Abby’s initial arrangement because she’d been the person who’d orchestrated it.
He also discovered Abby’s final secret, the reason why Abby sold her body and not her family’s possessions.
Jenny informed him about the enormity of loss Abby had endured the past six years (something he already knew). She also described Abby’s inability to cope with this as each blow landed one after the other (something he also had figured out). Further, she told him about the debt in which Abby had unexpectedly found herself (again, he’d already discovered this fact).
Finally, she explained how Abby had centred her attention on her house as the sole, remaining entity that represented her grandmother, mother, father and, lastly, and most especially, Jenny stressed, Abby’s dead husband, the dear, funny, caring, attentive, beloved, faultless Ben.
Then Jenny told Cash he had to back off, that Abby was clearly becoming confused. She explained to him, carefully, that whatever his agenda was, it was lost on Abby. Whereas he had some final purpose from which he’d move on without Abby, Abby was getting muddled and, cautiously, Jenny shared that she feared Abby’s heart was getting involved.
Therefore, Jenny told him, he had to have a talk with Abby to get her back on track or preferably wind up their agreement and let Abby get back to her “real” life. And, so Abby wouldn’t feel any harm from this, Jenny was perfectly willing to settle any debt that Abby might owe Cash or provide, through Cash, any further payment he might owe Abby.