“I’m fine,” the spunky girl replied, cocking a hip as she glared at Scott. “Looks like you’re doing just peachy yourself. Victoria and I saw you hanging out with your new girlfriend.”
At Victoria’s name, my curiosity peaked, and I leaned back, taking a swig of beer as I watched their exchange.
“Victoria’s here?” Scott asked, looking around the bar before bringing his eyes back to Abby. “How is she?”
I knew that things hadn’t ended well with Scott and Victoria. Shit … when things ended, it usually wasn’t well, but Scott had never said anything derogatory about his ex-fiancé. At least not in my presence.
“She was here,” Abby explained. “But she left once she saw you and your friends. Victoria may act tough, but my sister has feelings, just like everyone else. Maybe you should consider that before you go flaunting your relationship with the woman you left her for.”
Sister? I looked at the tiny, spirited woman in front of me and tried to imagine her and the straight-laced Victoria being hatched from the same parents. I couldn’t see it.
“First of all,” Scott began, his nice-guy expression no longer in residence. “I didn’t leave Victoria for Gaby. Second, there is no way in hell I would have ever imagined that Victoria would be here, so I wasn’t flaunting anything in her face. And third, I’m sorry that I hurt Victoria, but neither of us would have been happy if we’d gone through with the marriage. I know you’re just looking out for her, Abigail, but you know me. I’m not the kind of guy that would hurt your sister maliciously.” Scott turned to me, obviously eager to get out of this situation and back to his friends and Gaby, “I’ll see you back over there.” Then he turned and gave Abby a small smile. “It was nice to see you again, Abby.”
Abby watched him walk away, emotions flitting over her face, before she turned to me and her demeanor changed. She smiled saucily up at me,” So … You’re one of Brendan’s brothers.”
Oh, boy … here we go, I thought, but flashed a grin at her.
“Yup.” I looked down at her shirt pointedly. “You a fan?”
“I am,” she responded, her hands coming to her hips as she leaned in to me. “I’m meeting up with him later, but, I’m not doing anything now, if you’d like company.”
Although my stomach churned, I kept the smile on my face and ignored her offer.
“When did Victoria leave?” I asked instead.
Confusion crossed her face for a moment, but she answered, “Just after the show started. Why?”
I shrugged and took a pull of my beer, trying to appear nonchalant, but wanting info. “I talked to her before we went on. We talked about meeting up … But I’ll just catch her later. Where does she work again?”
Abby narrowed her eyes at me, obviously not inebriated enough not to see through my bullshit.
“She doesn’t.”
Shit. How was I going to bump in to her if she didn’t have a job?
I decided to cut the bullshit and turned my body toward Abby, looking down into her face and asking flat out, “What does she do during the day?”
“Why do you want to know?” Abigail asked, her arms crossed, all pretense of flirting gone.
“Look, we ran into each other earlier, and things transpired,” I explained. “I want to see her, talk to her, see what happens. She’s not going to listen to me if I call, and if I show up at her house, she’ll just get defensive, but if we run into each other on accident, she may actually give me the time of day.”
Abby kept quiet for a moment, and I knew she was considering what I said, and, knowing her sister, she must have decided that what I said made sense, because she finally replied, “She goes to yoga three times a week. At that new place on Beaumont Street. You can look up their classes and address online.” I knew she wasn’t going to offer more when she turned on her heel to leave.
“Thanks,” I called after her.
She turned to look at me over her shoulder and replied sharply, “Don’t fuck with her.” Then she sauntered off to where my brother was sitting. A few groupies were still hanging around him. I chuckled softly as I watched her bypass the other women, walk straight to my brother, sit on his lap, and kiss him enthusiastically.
Chapter Four – Victoria
I loved yoga. I always felt relaxed, refreshed, and happy after each class. I didn’t know anyone in the class, didn’t have to talk or put on a façade. I could just follow the poses and let my mind clear.
So when I walked out of the building, yoga mat under one arm, my mind open and my body refreshed, I became a bit disoriented when I bumped into a hard surface and looked up to see Brock smiling down at me.
I just stood there for a moment, my brain trying to reconcile the fact that he was standing in front of me … again.
“Hey,” he said smoothly, pulling his sunglasses off to reveal his unusual green eyes.
“What are you doing here?” I asked after a few moments, finally coming out of my reverie. “Are you following me?”