The Game Changer - Chapter 5 (Patreon)

What, did you think I was going to leave you hanging for a full week into the month without the Abbie/Rose update?!

Not on my watch (not this month, anyway...)

I have a feeling - you might enjoy this?!

--------- The Game Changer ----------

Chapter Five

Abbie slowed her pace as she jogged down the stairs and into the kitchen Friday evening, before coming to a complete pause upon the sight in front of her. Even the hand affixing the clasp on her watch paused at the sight.

Of Caroline standing over the stove.

Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail, the dark waves streaked with gray in a way that gave Abbie conflicting feelings. On one hand, she thought Caroline looked cool as hell. In no way did the gray age her, and she’d embraced the change without hesitation. In no way did it detract from her looks.

On the other hand, it served as a physical reminder to Abbie that her parents were getting older.

And with her mom’s recent diagnosis, any manifestation of her parents getting older in any way did not sit well with her.

Something that also didn’t sit well with her was Caroline cooking.

“What’re you doing?” She asked, leaning against the doorway.

Caroline didn’t jump even though Abbie knew she’d surprised her. She’d spent so much time on the field, she was light enough on her feet that she was basically silent walking through the house. It had made eavesdropping the easiest thing in the fucking world.

Caroline shot Abbie an unamused stare as she stuck the wooden spoon in her hair into the pot and stirred. “I’m cooking, you little punk.”

“Yes, but for whom?” She questioned, arching her a look. “We’re trying to get mom to a clean bill of health, I thought.”

Caroline lifted the spoon out of the pot, pointing it in her direction. “Ohhh, you think that just because you’re thirty, now, you can be smart with me?”

Abbie held up her hands in her own defense, a cheeky smile tugging onto her lips. “Hey, I can’t help it if I’m just naturally wise.”

“I can cook!” Caroline insisted, before she paused, and shrugged, acquiescing, “I can cook some things. Like this lasagna soup.” She used the spoon to point down at the pot once more. “Which – for the record – your mom loves.”

Caroline turned her attention back to the pot, studying it closely, a frown tugging at her lips.

“And it’s her first day back at work, so I want to make sure she has the best possibly night when she comes home, which should be any minute now,” she murmured.

In spite of her teasing, Abbie melted into a warm smile, coming up behind Caroline to rest her forehead on her shoulder. At this point, Abbie stood several inches taller than Caroline, but there was always something about her stepmom that made Abbie feel littler. In the most positive way possible, there was no one that made Abbie feel smaller than Caroline Parker did. From the very first memory Abbie had of Caroline, she’d always felt safe when she’d been around. She’d felt like Caroline, with her five-foot-three stature, was strong enough to take on the world.

And she still felt that way. Honestly, she had no idea how she would have managed the last six weeks or so of her life if Caroline hadn’t been by her mom’s side. She certainly wouldn’t have made it through the Olympics. She’d have flown home, abandoning her team when they relied on her the literal most, because she’d have to see with her own eyes that her mom was getting the best care possible.

But, even though her entire world had been rocked, she’d managed to keep it together enough to figure out her plan, because she’d known Caroline was here. And she knew that Caroline would take better care of her mom than anyone in the world could, including Abbie herself.

She inhaled, breathing in Caroline’s so-familiar and comforting perfume, feeling – just as much as she felt when she hugged her mom and did the same thing – that this was home.

She felt Caroline’s hand reach down and gently clasp at Abbie’s wrist, squeezing tightly. Comfortingly.

With that, she cleared her throat, not wanting to devolve into the emotions they both had very close to the surface these days. Especially because Caroline was right, her mom would be home any minute now. And her mom’s request had been for everyone to start resuming life as normal, now.

Blinking her eyes open, Abbie straightened up to glance over Caroline’s shoulder into the pot.

“Well, Chef Parker?” Caroline asked, teasingly, a moment later. After she’d cleared her own throat, undoubtedly biting back her own hefty emotions. “What are your thoughts?”

She maneuvered to stand at Caroline’s side so she could study the array of ingredients Caroline had littered across the countertop, particularly the spices she’d pulled out.

“I guess – tentatively – it looks pretty edible.”

Caroline bumped Abbie’s arm with her own. “Brat.”

Grinning cheekily, she reached out for Caroline’s spoon and dipped it into the soup so she could have a taste.

And… “Hmm,” she sighed, tilting her head back and forth. “Really not bad. In fact, it is good. Maybe a little more salt.”

Caroline reached for the salt as soon as Abbie finished speaking, even as she rolled dark eyes up at her. “Just because you surpassed my culinary talents by the time you were a teenager doesn’t mean I’m incapable of cooking. I can follow a recipe.”

“Clearly,” she ribbed, gesturing to the soup.

Which really was good. Frankly, she just loved to tease Caroline about it. After all, it was the one thing Abbie could think of that Caroline wasn’t a superstar at.

“Look, if you had great culinary skills, you’d be too powerful.” Even though she poked jokingly at Caroline’s side as she spoke, it didn’t mean she wasn’t telling the truth.

She and her mom had discussed this many times over the years. Caroline had to have an Achilles heel, somewhere – what, she was supposed to have great instincts about everything? That wasn’t fair.

“Whether or not you can cook is kind of a moot point, also.” She frowned at Caroline, disapprovingly. “I was just upstairs, you know. I could have whipped something up for the both of you.”

Yes, she’d come home because of her mom, but Abbie felt very dedicated to the idea of taking care of both her mom and Caroline. And she loved cooking, which Caroline knew!

“First of all, you’ve been upstairs – getting ready to go out.” Caroline gestured at her, waving her hand up and down to encompass Abbie’s outfit, like clearly.

She wasn’t wrong; Abbie had come home from school, greeted Caroline who was working from home, and gone to shower and change.

Though Norah’s love of commenting on Abbie’s preferences about wearing comfortable clothing made her roll her eyes, her cousin wasn’t wrong. Most of her wardrobe consisted of sports bras, shorts, tees, sweatshirts, and joggers.

However, when she was going out, she presented like a real adult. Jeans and sweaters and button-ups for casual dinners, a myriad of suits and some dresses for Events.

Tonight, she wasn’t going to a dressy event, but she was going to a real restaurant, so she’d put in a little more effort than she normally did. A little bit of makeup, she’d used the blow-dryer rather than putting her hair up into a simple ponytail. She was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a light blue short-sleeved chiffon shirt that Norah – the fashionista herself – had given her last Christmas.

“Second of all, I wanted to make this for your mom, myself,” Caroline added, her voice far softer. “I know I tried to get her to take another week or two off from work–”

“Amen to that,” Abbie muttered in agreement. They’d both tried to get her mom to take more than two weeks off, but she’d refused.

She’d insisted that going back to work on a Friday was actually a great compromise, as she’d only go back for a day to start getting caught up, and then she’d have the weekend to decompress again.

“– but I don’t want her to feel unsupported,” Caroline finished, nodding decisively down at the soup, as if to say – voila, here we are.

“Okay, how am I supposed to give you shit, now?” Abbie shot back, just as softly.

But damn it if Caroline and her mom weren’t absolutely disgusting love-goals.

“I’m not sure you can,” Caroline returned, tsking playfully at her.

Abbie opened her mouth to razz her right back – she could always – make gagging noises at how in love they were, no matter how old she got – before she locked her eyes on the clock over Caroline’s shoulder. “Crap, I have to go.”

She had to drive back into the city, find parking near the restaurant – yeah, she was cutting it close.

“Drive safe,” Caroline called after her as she wheeled away, moving in the direction of the garage.

She waved over her shoulder in acknowledgement. “I’ll stay out a little later tonight…” she trailed off, turning to wiggle her eyebrows at Caroline, before she reached out to the hook with her keys hanging off of it.

Caroline folded her arms, amusement sliding over her face. “Aren’t you the one that would normally be making a fake puking sound at the idea of my ravishing your mother?”

Abbie exaggeratedly frowned and shuddered at Caroline’s choice of wording, for her stepmom’s benefit. “Lovingly, yes. But I also realize you two have had the house to yourselves for the last decade and my being here all of the time might be cramping your style.”

In fact, she was fairly certain that was true. Again: Caroline and her mom loved to be all over each other. She could only imagine how overt they were together after Abbie had flown the coop. Not that they held back their affection when she was home, but…

Okay, yeah, not an avenue she wanted to mentally go down.

Caroline scoffed, waving her comment away. “We love having you home.”

She tucked the keys to her Rav4 – her mom deeply enjoyed teasing Abbie for buying the same make and model Caroline drove – into her pocket. “And I love being here, but that doesn’t mean I don’t understand that you two might not want to have your thirty-year-old daughter accompanying every weekend date night.”

And, for the last few weeks, that’s exactly what she’d done.

Granted, with her mom’s surgery, it wasn’t like they were going out on the town. But Abbie had taken great enjoyment in grabbing a blanket and cuddling down on the couch with her parents on the weekends.

They’d, effectively, had little-to-no alone time since she’d been home, other than when they went to bed at night or woke up in the morning.

Abbie – no matter how much she loved her parents – would for sure be craving a little time alone with her partner by now.

Caroline chuckled, turning back to the stove; she’d learned over the years to be very mindful when cooking. “You can come and go as you please. We figured out how to have a fulfilling relationship when you were a kid, we can figure it out now.”

“I’ll stay out a little later,” she reiterated, wrinkling her nose as Caroline’s comment sunk in.

The difference was, when she’d been a kid, she hadn’t known she was potentially cockblocking her parents.

Caroline rolled her eyes, hard. “Tell Daniele I say hi.”

“Will do!”

***

If Abbie wasn’t so in shape, she’d have been woefully embarrassed at the way she hustled into the restaurant nearly an hour later.

Namely because she’d likely be huffing and puffing for air after running the mile-and-a-half toward the restaurant she was meeting Daniele at.

As it was, she skidded to a stop in front of her ex, slowing her speed at precisely the right time to avoid bowling into her. Her cheeks were flushed from the heat of the evening, and she kind of wished she had put her hair up into a ponytail, but – too late, now.

“Hey,” she greeted, taking in a deep breath of balmy evening air. “Sorry; I ended up getting caught in traffic. There was an accident on the highway,” she explained, waving her hand over her shoulder, vaguely. As if the highway were anywhere near the restaurant. “And then I couldn’t find any parking for, like, three blocks.”

Daniele laughed, shaking back all of her long, glossy dark hair. “You aren’t late. Actually, you made it with about two seconds to spare.” She held up her wrist, where she’d clearly been counting down the seconds.

Though Abbie knew Daniele wouldn’t have really cared if she’d run a few minutes late; her ex had just always been very precise, and extremely punctual.

She held her hands up. “What can I say, I couldn’t have timed it better if I tried.”

“I’d have expected nothing less,” Daniele murmured, before she held her arms open and leaned in for a hug.

Abbie returned the embrace immediately, wrapping her arms around Daniele’s waist, closing her eyes into the hug.

Breathing in Daniele’s perfume wasn’t the same kind of home feeling she got from her mom and Caroline, but it was adjacent to it. It was something… familiar. Something that brought her comfort whenever she and Daniele saw one another.

Yes, Abbie had been heartbroken when they’d ended their relationship, but she’d very much come to terms with the fact that they were never going to work out, back then. Not when Daniele was in one of the most grueling medical school programs – then residency – while Abbie was moving across the country to go pro. During soccer season, they would have quite literally never had time to talk, with the way their schedules were.

It was the right thing, even if it had been the hard thing.

And the truth was that Abbie was so grateful they’d broken up when they did. Before their relationship had been snuffed out, full of resentment.

Instead, they were able to have this – grabbing a meal when she was in town, having the occasional text or phone call to catch up.

Abbie didn’t want to have a bad relationship with anyone in her life; if she did, she’d still be in contact with her father.

“How’re you doing?” Daniele whispered, gently rubbing her hand over Abbie’s spine.

The touch brought her comfort in a way that made tears prick at the backs of her eyes.

Which made sense, she supposed. Yes, she’d talked – and cried and lamented – with her parents and Norah and the other members of the Parker clan. But their concern and fear was all interlocked, taking comfort and comforting each other all at once. In this moment with Daniele, it was someone completely removed from the situation, asking about how she was faring.

An offer to give comfort without Abbie needing to give her own in return.

As nice as it was, though, she wasn’t about to let herself fall apart on the sidewalk before dinner.

So she sniffled softly, taking in a deep breath as she gave Daniele another squeeze and pulled back. “I’m… good.”

They remained close enough to hold each other’s elbows, as Daniele arched a disbelieving look at her. “You’re good? With everything going on with your mom, plus you’re in the midst of an unexpected retirement, started a new job, fresh off the Olympics… you’re good?”

She breathed out a thick laugh, gripping Daniele’s elbows a little tighter in reproach, rolling her eyes. “I’m good – enough. I’m getting somewhere good.” She settled on, and that felt like the truth. “Things are… they’re okay. I think.”

It was what all of the doctors were saying, though Abbie was still reluctant to fully buy into it.

“Okay, I’ll take that,” Daniele returned, squeezing Abbie’s arms back. Her dubious stare melted into a wider, brighter smile. One that very much reminded Abbie of why she’d thought Daniele was so magnetic, she’d fallen over her feet at the sight of the smile. “Ready to go in? I cannot wait to hear everything about your triumphant return to Elliston.”

Abbie dropped her head back on a groan, much to Daniele’s obvious amusement.

“Coach Abbie!” She heard a voice – a child’s voice – call out before she could respond.

Snapping her head up in confusion, she turned in the direction of the voice.

And nearly felt herself fall the fuck over, despite the fact that she was standing perfectly still. Because the very last thing she’d expected to see was Rose, Cassie, and Nathan walking toward them.

What a cute little family picture they made, her mind snarked.

Okay, kind of snarked, because it was painfully true. Cassie was cute as hell, Nathan had always been very classically handsome, and Rose…

So painfully, frustratingly beautiful.

Everything inside of her froze, then sank, her stomach tying into tight knots. Especially when she locked onto the exuberant smile on Nathan’s face.

God. She hadn’t seen him since high school, and she’d been so fucking grateful for that, after… everything with Rose. Even though Abbie hadn’t known that she’d enabled Rose to cheat on him that night, it didn’t change the fact that she had.

It hadn’t been her fault. It had been eight years.

And as she was faced with Nathan – Rose at his fucking side – for the first time, she found that those truths didn’t matter.

Biting intently at her cheek, she averted her gaze, unsure of how to look at either one of them.

“Coach, huh?” Daniele asked, dropping one of her hands from Abbie, so that she could turn to face the approaching Schiff family. Which made it so Abbie also automatically turned, given that they were still touching, their elbows now sort of interlocked. Daniele leaned down a bit to put herself more on Cassie’s level, as Rose’s adorable doppelganger came to a pause in front of them. “Are you the team’s secret weapon?”

Cassie let out one of those adult-sounding sighs. “I wish.” She tilted her head, frowning up at Daniele. “Who’re you?”

Daniele extended her hand down. “Daniele Garcia. Who are you?”

“Cassie Schiff,” Cassie returned, reaching her hand out to shake Daniele’s.

She used the same firm grip she’d used with Abbie, and it was no less entertaining to Abbie now than it had been last week.

“I’m Coach Abbie’s friend,” Cassie continued, after she’d let go of Daniele’s hand. “Are you?”

Daniele nodded the affirmative, straightening up to lightly squeeze their interlaced arms. “I’m one of Abbie’s friends, too.”

Rose hummed that almost growly-timber sound, and it gave Abbie goosebumps, even as she resolutely refused to look at her.

Whether Daniele noticed or not, she didn’t let on, as she continued to inform Cassie, “We met all the way back in high school at Elliston.”

Cassie’s eyes went wide as she pointed at herself. “That’s where I go! And – and my mom and dad goed there, too!” She gestured behind her at both of her parents.

Daniele chuckled, looking directly at Nathan and Rose then, as they came to a stop a few feet away, having caught up after Cassie had clearly ran forward. “On that note – crazy to see you here.”

“Really crazy,” Abbie muttered, deliberately continuing to not look at them.

“That’s exactly what I just said to Rose!” Nathan proclaimed. “I mean, at first I wasn’t sure, right? We turned around the corner and saw you two hugging, and I thought it might be you, but what are the odds?”

“And then my mom said, oh, that’s them!” Cassie added on, perfectly mimicking the acerbic tone of Rose’s voice. “I knew it was you, too, Coach Abbie.”

Even though she still felt faintly sick to her stomach, she gamely did not look up at either Rose or Nathan, focusing on Cassie. She even managed a small smile for her. “You can just call me Abbie; we’re friends, now, like you said.”

Cassie absolutely beamed up at her, which was nice. If Abbie could ignore the fact that Cassie’s parents were right behind her, anyway.

“Were you just passing by, or…?” Daniele asked, quirking an eyebrow up at them.

“Oh, no, we’re going here for dinner. Best pasta in the city – in our humble opinions,” Nathan answered.

“Us, too. Both about having dinner here tonight and believing it’s the best pasta,” Daniele confirmed. “Small world.”

“No way!” Nathan clearly was about to say more, before –

Rose pointedly cleared her throat, the loudest sound she’d made since this interaction had begun. Not that Abbie could blame her, because Rose knew what she’d done. Abbie just supposed – if anything – she was surprised Rose felt as upset about it as she did.

Gritting her teeth, Abbie looked up at Rose, actually taking her in for the first time tonight.

She was dressed more casually than Abbie had seen her in weeks at work, wearing high-waisted jeans with a t-shirt tucked in at her hips, all casual-chic. She looked good, unsurprisingly.

No, she looked great, and that bothered Abbie even more at this moment.

“We should go in; we have a reservation,” Rose stated, icily.

And – huh. What?

Confusion cut through some of Abbie’s discomfort, because… why the hell did Rose sound like she was aggrieved, here? She was the only one here that had really done anything to make this uncomfortable!

Maybe that was why, then. Maybe she was afraid that Abbie would tell Nathan about their night together, and she wanted to end this as quickly as possible.

“So do we,” Daniele returned in a much more measured tone than the excited one she’d just had when chatting with Nathan. It was a tone of muted exasperation and amusement, something Daniele had always felt regarding Rose. At least, back in their teen years, when Daniele had told her about her thoughts on Rose Elliston.

“Hmm,” Rose hummed back at her, narrowing her eyes as she crossed her arms tightly over her chest.

Nathan looked between them, unbothered. “Hey, why don’t I ask to combine our tables? I’ve been wanting to swing by Elliston to see you, Abbie, to catch up. So, this works as a great impromptu reunion, right?”

Daniele’s amusement was now fully in view as she arched her eyebrows up at Rose before turning to Nathan and answering, “Sure, I’d love that.”

“Me too!” Cassie jumped in, still standing between them.

Everyone’s attention swung to face Abbie, then, and she found all of her words stuck in her throat. On one hand, no she fucking did not want to sit across the table from Nathan over dinner! So she could be reminded of the worst thing she’d ever done to another person?

But on the other hand…

She slowly shifted her attention to Rose. Whose jaw was twitching with how tightly it was clenched. It was so incredibly clear how much she did not want this to happen.

There was a part of Abbie – not a part of her that she liked, honestly, but it still existed – that was driven by that look on Rose’s face. A part of her that had always been ignited by Rose. Something driven forward by that challenging expression.

Maybe Abbie didn’t want to sit with Nathan and Rose over dinner, but the look on Rose’s face told her that Rose might want it even less.

And because of that, Abbie curled her lips into a thin smile. “Fine by me.”

“Yes!” Cassie cheered, before commanding, “Come on, I’m hungry.”

Nathan laughed, reaching out for the door. “Me too.”

He opened the door, gesturing for them all to walk by. Cassie led the way, followed by Daniele – who shot her a gleefully what the fuck? look – and Abbie looked at Rose once more.

Her dark eyes were narrowed, lips pursed, as she studied Abbie closely. Like she was unable to make sense of what was playing out.

Well, that made two of them, didn’t it?

Slowly, Abbie arched a look right back at her, before she tilted her jaw up and walked in behind Daniele.

And she felt Rose immediately follow behind her.

As Nathan chatted with the host about their seating arrangement, Abbie felt Cassie’s small hand reach up and grasp around her fingers. “Abbie! I, um, I just came from a soccer game!” She announced.

Maybe if she just focused her energy on Cassie, she’d get through this with minimal issue. Seemed like the best possible plan she could think of.

Yeah, focus on the physical proof of Nathan and Rose’s long-lasting relationship. That had essentially begun – at least, in the final, most serious, committed permutation – the week after she and Rose had sex.

She herself to smile back at Cassie, though, because whatever Rose’s transgressions were, they weren’t Cassie’s fault. “That’s great! Did you do your best?”

Cassie nodded up at her, proudly. “Yep! I, I blocked a goal.” She pointed at her stomach. “The ball hit me right here.”

“That’s awesome,” she effused, absolutely meaning it. Cassie being so genuinely excited and proud of herself was fucking adorable.

“And I kicked the ball at Warren’s head!” She followed up with, gleefully.

Daniele let out a peel of laughter. “That is awesome.”

She felt Daniele reach down and squeeze her hand, leaning in to whisper quickly, “She is her mother’s daughter, apparently.”

Abbie couldn’t help but grin.

Rose cleared her throat from beside them. “I’ll elaborate that Warren picked up the ball and threw it at Cassie during their last game.”

“Ah, so he deserved it,” Abbie surmised, as they started walking over to their table.

“I’d say so,” Rose confirmed, a dark glint in her eyes.

If Abbie could remove all of the other context here, that glint would be… appealing. As it was, she firmed her mouth into a thin line, looking away from Rose as they all sat.

Daniele sat on one side of the table, pulling out the chair next to her for Abbie. She dropped into the seat immediately, relieved that she wouldn’t find herself seated next to Rose, somehow.

Only to realize a moment later that maybe sitting next to Rose would have been preferrable. Maybe.

Because the way it was now, Rose quickly stepped over to take the seat right across from Abbie.

What would be worse? Sitting next to Rose, feeling her body heat and inhaling her perfume, inevitably thinking about the time they’d had the best sex of her life all the while cheating behind Nathan’s back, while Nathan sat – unaware – chattering at this very table? Or this –

Sitting across from Rose, so every time she glanced up, she’d lay her eyes on Rose’s face. Which was illuminated by the candles on the table, and Abbie wished – deeply – that the candlelight would wash Rose out or something. But it didn’t. It made her look… luminous.

And how she was going to have to look at her all throughout dinner. Ugh.

While Rose’s husband sat next to her, and their child between them. Cool. Awesome.

She accepted the menu Daniele passed to her with a smile, wondering how weird it would make her look if she turned in her chair in order to look at Daniele the whole time?

Fine, okay, she wasn’t going to be that childish. Especially because she didn’t want to bring about any questions in front of Cassie.

“I love how much this place hasn’t changed,” Daniele commented, as she opened her own menu. “Abbie and I came here the summer after senior year, for one of our first real dates,” she informed everyone else at the table, before turning to share a small smile with Abbie.

She returned it, thinking back to that summer. They’d been so… young, then. She could only imagine, as she looked around now, how different they’d looked compared to the mostly adult – or adults with their children – clientele.

Rose cleared her throat, garnering everyone’s attention, Abbie’s included.

Well, everyone’s other than Cassie, who had accepted the coloring book and array of colored pencils Nathan had clearly come prepared with. She’d decided to bow out of the conversation in the last thirty seconds, obviously deciding her own activity was better than whatever the adults were doing.

Abbie wished she could join her.

Rose didn’t open her menu, and instead folded her arms over the hard exterior, aiming a narrow-eyed stare right across the table at Abbie. “So, your wife is fine with you two getting dinner together, alone, at the restaurant you’d gone to when you’d been dating?”

The intensity in her eyes gripped Abbie, even as confusion clouded in. Her wife? What the hell?

Rose slowly directed her gaze away from Abbie, landing on Daniele as she arched up an eyebrow. Gone, then, was any hint of lightness, the look cutting over her face razor-sharp.

And Daniele choked on her water – more at the question than Rose’s look, Abbie knew – spluttering, “Your wife?”

She whipped her head around to look at Abbie, eyes wide and full of complete and utter shock.

“I’m sorry – what? How did I miss that?”

From her periphery, she could see Rose’s expression devouring this interaction. No, Abbie had no clue what Rose was thinking or what her aim was in this, but she seemed to be taking in every second like it was oxygen to breathe.

Feeling her cheeks burn, Abbie was hit with the memory of that fucking comment in Rose’s office the first day they’d reunited. The one-off comment from Rose, that Abbie had side-stepped purely because she’d refused to give Rose any satisfaction of knowing anything about her life.

She’d forgotten about that moment in time, but apparently Rose hadn’t.

“You didn’t miss anything,” Abbie quickly explained, throwing Rose a glare.

Even if it was true, though, Rose had no fucking business bringing it up! Maybe she should focus her attention on her own marriage? She and Daniele weren’t together in any sense of the word, and they’d had more physical contact than Rose and Nathan had thus far. Even outside when they’d been walking down the sidewalk, they hadn’t held hands or even stood close enough for their arms to brush.

Abbie hated that she’d noticed that, but she had.

She dropped her hand to Daniele’s thigh, rubbing quickly in assurance, “Obviously if I was going to get married, you’d have been on the guestlist.”

The hurt expression that had crept up on Daniele’s face faded into relief, and she dropped her hand down above Abbie’s, squeezing. “Thank god; I honestly was so confused. I mean, since Lana, you haven’t mentioned anyone.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Rose’s eyes narrow once more, her expression crinkling in confusion. Good. Served her right.

Nathan cleared his throat. “Ah – sorry if it’s none of my business, but to clarify: so, Abbie, you aren’t married?”

Taking a deep breath, Abbie turned to look at Nathan. Whose hazel eyes were wide and curious and made her stomach hurt. She pushed through it, giving him a tight smile. “Nope. Not married. Not even close.”

She was more than relieved when their waiter stopped by to take their drink orders, and she hoped it would lead to a different avenue of conversation. Anything else, honestly, seemed like it could be preferable.

Her hopes were dashed, because as soon as the waiter turned to walk away, Rose spoke again.

“What about you, Daniele? Married?” She asked, sharply. Almost sounding like she was hopeful for it?

Daniele breathed out a laugh, shaking her head. “Nope, not me, either.” She gestured between herself and Abbie. “Two different career paths, but both super busy. How is everything with you two?” She leaned in as she effortlessly turned the attention back to Nathan and Rose. “Obviously you still live in the area?”

Cassie didn’t look up from where she was coloring as she informed them, “Well, mom moved out.”

It was Abbie’s turn to choke on her own sip of water, the shock of that statement coursing through her.

Her eyes watered, open wide as she snapped her gaze over to Rose.

Whose cheeks were flushed, even as she evenly held Abbie’s stare. She reached her hand up and gently stroked back a strange of Cassie’s hair that had fallen over her cheek. “That’s correct.”

Rose moved out. Rose moved out?

“Yes, Abbie, I can see your mind working overtime,” Rose murmured in confirmation. “We’re in the process of getting a divorce.”

I’m working on it, Rose’s comment from the other day regarding her happiness popped back up in Abbie’s mind.

So… her working on being happy… meant getting a divorce from Nathan. Apparently?

Blinking widely, trying to make sense of all of the information coming her way, she slowly nodded.

“Sorry to hear that,” Daniele commented, giving them a soft smile/grimace. “That can be tough. But, it seems you’re handling things okay?”

She gave them a slow look that subtly encompassed the whole family – did they still count as a family? Abbie had to wonder, because, after all, she would have hated if people referred to her, her mom, and her father has a family after their divorce. But Nathan and Rose didn’t seem like her parents had. They were calm. They’d exchanged a handful of looks. They were both effortlessly managing Cassie with silent communication, in terms of helping her up in her seat, situating her with an activity.

Appearances could absolutely be deceiving, though, and Abbie… she just didn’t know what to think, at this point.

“You know, yeah, actually. It’s been okay. In a lot of ways, there have been some positives,” Nathan answered.

Abbie studied him – it looked like he was being sincere. Thoughtful. Also like he was keeping his response understandably vague, given Cassie sitting between them. Yeah, definitely not like her own father.

Cassie spoke again, “Yeah, there’s lots of fun stuff, actually. At my mom’s house now, I have a bunk bed, and I always wanted a bunk bed, since I was really little.” Before anyone could react, she looked up, giving every single adult at the table a pointed look. “And don’t say I’m really little, now.”

Somehow, this pint-sized person managed to sound downright threatening, and Abbie’s amusement cut right through any of the other ugly, messy feelings she’d been feeling. At the very least, enough to put them on the momentary back-burner as she chuckled.

A kernel of warmth bloomed inside of her as she regarded Cassie. Even though her attention had, ostensibly, been on her coloring, she’d been listening and aware of the adult conversation – a girl after Abbie’s own heart.

“We would never,” Abbie assured her, emphatically.

Cassie’s gaze locked onto hers, so serious, as she nodded, accepting Abbie’s promise, before she turned back to her coloring.

“Good answer,” Nathan stage whispered at her, sending her a wink.

And just like that, the warmth she’d felt dissipated, and she felt her small smile freeze on her face.

Nathan, the person she’d wronged the most in her adult life. Even if it was unknowingly. Nathan, a person she’d desperately wanted to never see. Rose’s husband.

Rose’s… ex-husband?

Yeah, this was all a lot. So much, in fact, that Abbie needed a minute.

Even though she saw the waiter heading their way, she quickly turned to Daniele. “Can you order me what I always get?” She asked. “I have to go to the bathroom.”

She knew there was an urgency in her tone that likely didn’t make sense to anyone else. Well, maybe Rose – then again, Rose seemed really fucking confused as to Abbie’s feelings on that night, so…

Daniele looked at her with confused concerned. “Sure?”

She nodded tightly, quickly standing up and walking quickly to the bathroom.

More than grateful that there was no one inside of the small, pristine brightly lit area, Abbie walked up to the sink, placing both of her hands on either side of the cold porcelain. Closing her eyes, she breathed in the smell of the cleaning products.

How did this catching up dinner with Daniele devolve into this so fucking quickly?

God, everything in her life had devolved so fucking quickly, she felt like she’d barely gotten a handle on it. This was just the icing on the cake, and… and…

Abbie took a slow, deep breath in through her nose, holding it for several seconds. Before exhaling just as slowly. Inhale –

She startled, blinking her eyes open when she heard the bathroom door open behind her.

Any and all hope she’d had that it would be another customer that would give her a small, polite, passing smile dashed in moments. As she locked eyes with Rose in the mirror.

Abbie didn’t turn around to face her, but she didn’t close her eyes again, either. Something about that – about the very idea of closing her eyes while Rose’s attention was on her – felt far too vulnerable. Like she’d be the world’s dumbest gazelle offering herself to a preying lioness.

Rose’s dark eyes dipped, and Abbie knew she was looking at the way Abbie was gripping the sink, before she frowned, deeply. Slowly, those eyes lifted again, meeting Abbie’s in the mirror once more.

“Are you okay?” Rose asked, taking a step closer.

Not close enough to be right in Abbie’s orbit, but close enough.

“Do you care?” Abbie shot back, deliberately echoing the same words Rose had used on her a few days ago.

“Well, I wouldn’t have followed you in here if I didn’t,” Rose answered smartly, but… there was that hint of softness there. Something honest, something Abbie had started hearing from Rose in the last few weeks but still wasn’t used to at all.

“How would I know that you followed me in here? For all I know, you were coming in here to go pee.”

Rose’s eyes rolled, hard.

And with that – a familiar look – Abbie exhaled deeply, releasing her grip on the sink. Enough of standing with her back to Rose, close enough for a knife to stab, either physically or metaphorically.

“I’m telling you that I came in here to check on you,” Rose muttered in that aggrieved tone.

Again, something familiar. Something Abbie found comfort in, as she turned around and leaned back against the sink.

“Well, I’m fine. Thanks for all of your concern,” she dryly shot back, affixing a fake smile to her mouth.

One that made Rose narrow her eyes at her, before she asked, “What are you doing here with Daniele? Are you two rekindling now that you’re back in town?”

Of all the things that could have come out of Rose’s mouth? That had been one of the last Abbie would have expected. She stared, incredulously. “I can have dinner with anyone I want to have dinner with,” she answered, again deliberately not answering the question about her personal life that Rose had no business asking. “I’m not married, as we’ve established.”

Abbie rolled her lips as her stomach churned, and she couldn’t keep the angry words from bubbling up, “Even if I was involved with someone? I’d still have dinners with Daniele. Because she’s my friend. And I’m a trustworthy partner.”

She’d meant that to be a barb at Rose, but it didn’t seem like Rose got the memo. She didn’t wince or flinch or show any outward reaction.

Other than her face pinching as if she’d eaten something far too sour. “Isn’t that lovely,” she muttered, crossing her arms. “And what is Daniele up to these days, anyway? I don’t think we’ve covered that yet.”

Abbie stared at Rose, not comprehending that tone. It sounded, actually, exactly like the one Rose had in high school where Daniele was concerned, which was so fucking ridiculous. “She’s a pediatric oncologist,” Abbie informed her, proudly.

Reveling in even more of a victorious feeling when Rose’s eyes narrowed and she clearly bit at her inner-cheek. “Well, then.”

“Yeah. Well, then.” No, Abbie didn’t enjoy using that slightly snotty tone that escaped her. And for a moment, she felt a little ashamed of it.

Before Rose snapped her gaze back to Abbie’s a fire in her eyes, offense etched into her face. “What in the world is your problem tonight? I know we are obviously not friends. But… after the Board Meeting, I thought–” She sighed, heavily, tossing her hands up in a baffled shrug. “I thought we were on better terms? Didn’t you just tell me, only a few days ago, you hoped I was happy in my life?”

“Yes, I did,” she evenly returned, stepping closer to Rose to ensure she’d keep her voice down. “And that was true. It – it is true.”

She thought, anyway.

“But it’s one thing to think about in the abstract, and it’s another to be confronted with my biggest mistake over dinner,” she snarled in a whisper, narrowing her eyes at Rose.

Whose mouth fell open in obvious confusion, her eyes searching Abbie’s. “What are you talking about?” Rose asked, softly, her warm breath washing over Abbie’s jaw.

She shivered at it, even as she hated it. And she couldn’t believe Rose was acting like she didn’t know what she was talking about! “The night we spent together,” she elaborated. “The last time we saw each other.”

The deep furrow between Rose’s eyebrows went flat, and she shook her head. “That night… is the biggest mistake you’ve ever made?” She repeated, and it wasn’t in one of those snotty little tones. Her voice was quiet and thoughtful and… vulnerable?

“Given what you did afterwards, I have to imagine you felt the same way.”

Like, what was Rose playing at? Abbie was so baffled at the way Rose was staring at her with big, doe eyes.

“Abbie–” Rose started, and Abbie was so torn between wanting to know everything Rose could possibly say and also – as she’d stated to Rose before – not wanting to hear a single word.

Luckily, she didn’t have to make the decision herself, as the door to the bathroom opened, and another woman walked in. She stumbled to a pause, giving them a confused look, as she din of conversation from the restaurant reached them as the door gently swung shut.

Tightly closing her eyes, Abbie school her head and took a step back. Out of Rose’s orbit completely.

Everything was okay. It was fine.

She’d played soccer on the world’s stage. She’d had her entire country’s – the entire world’s – eyes on her, and she’d succeeded. She could have a single dinner with Nathan and Rose. Bonus – Cassie.

Just because Nathan was here didn’t change the facts of the past, anyway.

“We should get back,” Abbie muttered as the other woman that had entered walked into a stall.

Rose’s lips were tightly pursed, her face flushed, before she finally nodded. Her voice was tight as she agreed, “Fine."

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