Chapter 7

Abigail

I deleted yet another “thank you for your application, but” email, scowling at my computer screen. It seemed everyone was somehow more qualified than I was, no matter what I applied for. I didn’t know what it was. Was I looking in all the wrong places? Where else could you look for a job? I had applied for everything by now.

And yet, a month later, I still had nothing.

I was beyond the point of frustrated. At this point, I would take anything, even another job in retail or at a restaurant or something that had nothing to do with my degree. As much as I’d love to do something with counseling, particularly counseling for children, I had to accept that anything would do at this point if it meant I had a source of income again.

I just didn’t understand why my degree seemed so useless. I was a certified therapist, and I had a degree from a great university. I had work experience, too. Sure, none of it was in the field that I wanted to eventually have a career in, but how was I supposed to get that experience if no one would hire me in the first place? It was maddening.

On top of that, retail shops should have been bending over backward to hire me. I’d been an assistant manager at my previous shop. That should have counted for something. Instead, they all seemed to think I was overqualified for basic positions and underqualified for managerial positions. So that was no help either.

Frustrated, I called Brittany.

“Hey. What’s up?” she asked. I could hear her switch to talking to someone else, her hand over the phone. “Sorry. This is going to have to be kind of quick. We’ve got a party beginning in an hour—a wedding reception—and we’re missing key things like, I don’t know, chairs.”

“Shit,” I said, instantly feeling bad for having bothered her at work. “I just wanted to check in and see if you’d heard anything back from the catering company regarding some part-time work for me.”

“Still working on that. Sorry.” Brittany sighed. “And I’m still brainstorming other ways I could get you involved here. You know I’d love to work with you, just as much as I’d love for you to just have a job again, anywhere.”

“I know, and thanks for trying,” I said.

“Still nothing, huh?” she asked sympathetically.

“Not yet, but I’m sure I’ll find something,” I said, trying to sound cheerful when, really, I felt more like tearing up all the copies of my resume I had printed. They clearly weren’t doing me any good anyway.

I wished we could keep chatting, but I knew Brittany had to get back to work. “We should get drinks sometime soon,” she said.

“Yeah,” I agreed.

“Maybe with Ian and Zach,” Brittany added. Then I heard her pull the phone away again. “I really have to go.” She sounded apologetic. “I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“Yeah. See you,” I said, hanging up.

Not for the first time, I wished we could go back to a time when things were simpler, but I wasn’t sure when, exactly, I wanted to go back to. I liked who I was now, and I was happy to be living with Ian. I just wished I had a job and could support myself. That was the only thing I wanted to be different.

And maybe to be sleeping with Ian, whispered another part of my mind. I grinned.

Maybe I wanted that as well. Even though I knew I really, really shouldn’t do anything about it. Ian wasn’t the kind of guy I could just mess around with and forget about, even if I was the type of girl who did that. Which I wasn’t. I cared about him, first of all, as my brother’s best friend. What was more, for as long as he and Zach were friends, I was going to have to deal with Ian. I could move out of this apartment if things got awkward, but I couldn’t avoid him forever.

I had to get out of the apartment, I decided, so I got up and headed for the door. As I passed the kitchen, I tried not to think about Tuesday night. That had been totally unexpected. I didn’t know when I had decided it was okay to flirt with Ian, but there had been something hungry in his gaze that morning when he’d caught me on my way out of the shower. I’d mainly just been curious to see if he was actually interested in me.

From the way he had kissed me, I had to conclude that yes, he was interested. Now I just had to figure out what to do with that information. I could tell he was holding back, and I was sure Zach had something to do with it. To be honest, I wasn’t sure I should be kissing Ian, all things considered.

But I couldn’t seem to help it. He was sexy and he was nice and he cheered me up, and I’d had a crush on him for years now, whether I wanted to admit it or not.

I shook my head and headed out to the coffee shop on the corner, bringing my old laptop with me. I could at least get a change of scenery while I kept searching for jobs, right?

I had just sent off another job application when someone dropped into the seat across from me. I blinked over at him, immediately frowning. Jason.

“What do you want?” I asked him, trying to make my tone hostile. I folded my arms across my chest, hoping he understood that my body language said I didn’t want to have a conversation with him.

“Is Ian really your fiancé?” Jason asked.

“Yeah, he is.”

Jason shook his head. “There is no way Ian is a better guy for you than me,” he said.

I gave a harsh laugh. “Well, he doesn’t cheat on me. That’s for sure.”

“You still haven’t forgiven me for that?” Jason asked. “That all happened ages ago, Abigail. I’ve spent the past year working on myself, and I’m ready to be there for you. I’m ready to be the perfect man for you, just the way you need me to be.”

I shook my head, not buying it. “Just go away and leave me alone, Jason. I’m engaged to someone else.”

“I don’t believe you,” Jason said.

I stood up, shoving my laptop back into my bag. “I don’t really care what you believe,” I told him flatly, leaving the coffee shop. But Jason followed me.

“Come on, let’s at least get a drink. Let’s have coffee. Let’s talk. You owe me.”

“I don’t owe you a damn thing,” I snapped. “Leave me alone.”

I turned and stalked off, but Jason still followed me. I started to feel a little panicky, wondering what he was planning. At least it was the middle of the afternoon in broad daylight. That meant that if I started screaming, people were bound to notice.

What if they didn’t do anything, though?

I walked quickly, aware of Jason still lurking behind me. Every time I glanced back over my shoulder, he was there. I wanted to run, but I didn’t want him to know I was afraid of him. Instead, I went as fast as I could toward the gym where Ian worked.

I walked inside, blinking after the bright sunlight outside. My eyes quickly scanned the place for Ian. Fortunately, he was still here, just finishing up with a client at the front desk. I went immediately to his side, putting a hand on his arm.

Ian glanced down at me with a quizzical look and then looked back at his client. “Melanie, it was good to see you again. Glad you’re feeling better, and hope I get to see you again on Saturday.”

“You will,” Melanie said, smiling at him and flipping her hair back. She gave me a look, mildly interested, and then bounced off toward the locker room.

“What’s up?” Ian asked me. Then he caught sight of Jason. His face hardened in anger, but then he glanced around. I wondered if he was checking to make sure Zach wasn’t here. I knew my brother usually came to the same gym. I hadn’t even thought that he might be here.

Ian brushed back a lock of my hair and then kissed me soundly. It wasn’t like the kiss we’d shared in the kitchen. This was much more PG with no tongues involved and definitely no groping. It only lasted a matter of seconds, but I still felt breathless when he pulled away.

He gave Jason a dirty look. “Get lost and quit bothering Abigail,” he said sternly.

Jason scowled, but he left. Unfortunately, I had a feeling it wouldn’t be the last time I saw him.

My knees felt weak with relief when he left, though, and I leaned into Ian’s arms for a second. “Thanks,” I said quietly.

Ian wrapped his arms around me, kissing my hair. “Anytime, sweetheart.”

I snorted at the term of endearment and pulled away. “Are you done for the day?” I asked. I didn’t want to admit it, but I was worried that if I walked outside by myself right now, Jason would be right there waiting for me.

Fortunately, Ian glanced at the calendar behind the counter and nodded. “Yeah. That was my last client for today,” he said. “Let me go shower and change. I’ll meet you out here in fifteen minutes.”

“Take your time,” I told him, flushing at the thought of him showering.

Ian smirked at me, like he knew exactly what I was thinking, but he opted not to tease me. Instead, he headed off toward the locker rooms, emerging a little while later in fresh clothes, his keys in hand. “All right, let’s go,” he said. As we walked home, he put an arm around my shoulders. I leaned into him, thinking about how safe I felt.