‘Is it true?’ Ella said, excitement ringing in her voice. ‘Luke actually went with you to the ball?’
‘Yes, I finally got him to—’
‘It was a rhetorical question, silly.’ Ella laughed. ‘I’ve seen the pictures of you from last night. They’re all over Twitter. Don’t you make quite the stunning couple?’
Abby wasn’t sure she was ready to tell her friend everything about her and Luke. Like how her body was still humming from his lovemaking like a struck tuning fork. ‘It was a fun night. Your brother is a surprisingly good dancer.’
‘Oh. My. God.’ Ella gasped. ‘You got him to dance? Really?’
‘Yes. We had heaps of fun and we even went out and had supper afterwards.’
‘Are you serious?’ Ella’s voice was rich with delight. ‘What else did you two get up to?’
Abby retreated into a protective silence. How could she just blurt out what had happened between her and Luke, even if it was to her best friend?
‘Oh. My. God,’ Ella said when the silence went on too long. ‘Don’t tell me you actually slept with my brother?’
‘We—ell…’
‘But that’s marvellous!’ Ella’s voice wasn’t far off a squeal. ‘He hasn’t slept with anyone since Kimberley. I’m sure of it. He hasn’t even been on a date that I’m aware of. Well done, you.’
‘You mean you…you don’t mind?’
‘Why should I mind? It would be a dream come true if you and he—’
‘Don’t get too excited.’ A strange little pang struck Abby in the belly. ‘We’re just having a one-week fling.’
‘Fling, schming,’ Ella said. ‘You’re not the type of girl to have a fling. If you were, you would’ve had one by now. You certainly haven’t had one since I’ve known you, otherwise I would have known about it. Are you sure you’re doing the right thing? I mean it’s great Luke’s getting back out there, but a week isn’t long enough for either of you to—’
‘Ella…there’s a lot of stuff you don’t know about me…’
‘You mean stuff about your childhood?’
Abby’s heart missed a beat. ‘What do you know about my childhood?’
‘Just that you don’t like talking about your family. You always change the subject or get me talking about myself instead. I see you doing it with other people too. You shift the focus off you.’
‘Why haven’t you said anything about it until now?’
‘Because I figured you’d tell me when you were ready,’ Ella said. ‘You’re not close to your family, are you?’
‘That’s because they’re not my family.’ Abby filled her friend in on most of what she’d told Luke. And, just like when she’d told him, a little more weight went off the burden she’d been carrying for so long.
‘I wish you’d told me earlier,’ Ella said. ‘Poor you—having such a horrible childhood. But I can see why it would have been difficult for you to talk about, even to me. It’s kind of nice you told Luke first, though. He’s always been a good listener.’
‘He’s good at lots of things.’
‘Speaking of which, fling or no fling, I think it’s brilliant you and he are getting it on. It’s what you both need.’
‘Are you sure you don’t mind?’
‘Why should I?’
‘But what if it makes things uncomfortable in the future?’ Abby said. ‘Like when I’m with you and Luke is present once this week is over. It could be awkward for everyone.’
Most especially me.
‘Think of it this way,’ Ella said. ‘Your fling with Luke will be a positive thing, no matter how it works out. It will help him move on.’ There was a tiny pause. ‘But you have to be careful, you know. Don’t get your hopes up in case—’
‘You don’t have to worry about me,’ Abby cut in with far more confidence than she felt. ‘We’ve agreed it’s only going to be for a week. No one is going to fall in love in that time.’
‘I’m not so sure you can predict that with any certainty because—’
‘Enough about me,’ Abby said. ‘How’s school going? How were the parent teacher interviews?’
‘I know what you’re doing, Abby, but this time I’m going to let it slide,’ Ella said. ‘You don’t want to talk about it, so fine. We won’t talk about it. But please be careful. Luke has a thing about commitment. I think it comes from having a father like ours.’