“Oh,” she bit down on her lip. “I’m not sure. We haven’t set a date yet.”
“And will I get to meet him before then?”
“Of course,” Abby nodded, despite the fact her mom couldn’t see her. “Why don’t you come into the city for lunch this weekend?”
“Where?”
Abby thought about it. “How about that diner we always loved.”
“Harry’s?”
“Yeah, Harry’s.” Abby nodded. It was perfect. Comfortable, shabby, and the last place Gray would expect. “Saturday at twelve?”
Winona paused. “Abs?”
Abby waited.
“After Eric –,”
She didn’t need her mother to finish that train of thought. “He’s nothing like Eric.”
She looked around, but Gray had disappeared onto the enormous deck with its expansive views of the Manhattan skyline. Along the way, he’d lost his shirt, so she could just make out his bare back as he stood like a statue and stared out at the city, the neck of the beer bottle held between his fingers at his side.
“You loved Eric,” Winona said gently. “I saw how crushed you were after –,”
Abby toyed with the stem of her wine glass. “I can look after myself, mom.”
“I know you can,” Winona said fiercely. “But I also know that you have just about the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met. You’re a softie.”
Abby sipped her wine. “The thing is, Gray’s someone I’ve known a while. In fact, he’s –,” she held her breath, not sure how to explain, so she simply blurted it out. “He’s Charlotte’s dad.”
There was complete silence for several long, awkward seconds. “I see.”
Abby doubted that. She toyed with the stem of her glass.
“Say something.”
Winona’s sigh was audible. “What do you want me to say, pet?”
“I don’t know.” Abby couldn’t explain the bundle of nerves in her belly, only she suddenly felt that her mother liking Gray was incredibly important.
“I saw what he did to you.”
Abby flinched. “He didn’t do anything –,”
“He made you love him and then he walked away, disappeared into thin air. You think I bought that line about Charlotte being the byproduct of a one-night stand? Please. You’re my daughter, and I know you better than that.”
Abby’s eyes widened.
“You were distraught. And he left you, pregnant and terrified, stretched for cash, having to give up on your dreams to raise his child. While he was what? Floating around the Mediterranean on some mega-yacht?”
Abby laughed despite the seriousness of their conversation.
“This isn’t funny.”
“No, I know. It’s just…” She sobered, her eyes chasing Gray. He’d turned around now and was looking atherwith the same intensity he’d been using on the view a moment ago. Her heart twisted. She couldn’t look away. “I never told him about Charlotte,” she admitted quietly. “I know you’re probably worried that this is history repeating itself, that this is like you and dad, version two point oh; it’s not. Gray and I have a complicated history, but we both want what’s best for her. We both want to be a family.”
“Oh, darling.” Abby could practically hear her mom shaking her head. “That’s not a good enough reason to get married.”