Abby nodded slowly. Balance was something to which she’d aspired, too. “You’re lucky to have figured that out. Most of us go the all or nothing route in one direction or another, and forget how important it is to have balance in our lives.”
“Are you one of those people?” Lesley Ann asked.
Abby nodded. “Surprisingly, I thought I had it for the longest time. I had my restaurant and my marriage, after all. What more could I possibly want?”
“What happened?”
“I realized my marriage was a one-sided empty shell of a relationship,” Abby said with candor. “Not my husband’s fault, by the way. I hadn’t known enough to ask for more. After I inherited my parents’ land back here and came back for a visit to check on things, I started remembering the old me, all the hopes and dreams I’d had, the fun I’d had. Do you know, I don’t think I’d had a really good laugh in years? Life was always so serious with Marshall.”
Lesley Ann gave her a commiserating look. “We all need to laugh,” she said quietly. She hesitated, then said, “I’ve seen you laugh a time or two with Seth.”
Abby smiled. “I have, haven’t I?”
And that, even more than Hannah’s encouragement, was why she was determined not to give up on him just yet.
* * *
It was nearly dusk by the time Seth went for his run. He could have avoided Blue Heron Cove entirely, but wasn’t quite ready to pin the label of coward on himself. He simply hoped that Abby would be inside and he wouldn’t have to face all these crazy, conflicted feelings of his.
Instead, she was on the porch, a soft light coming from inside to wash over her and what appeared to be a baby. He heard the baby talk she was using as she lifted the child up and drew giggles. He doubted she knew he was there observing her, so he stepped out of the shadows and walked toward the house.
“Have you borrowed A.J. again?” he teased.
“I have,” she said, laughing as the baby gurgled with delight above her head. She lowered him, blew kisses on his belly, then lifted him into the air again.
Seth shook his head at the sight. Abby had been born to be a mother, that was clear. He wondered why she wasn’t one. The question, though, was far too personal to ask outright.
“I didn’t expect to see you tonight,” she said as A.J. quieted down in her arms.
“I try to get in a run every day. If I miss it in the morning, I usually make up for it at night.”
“I thought you might be avoiding me.”
Seth grimaced at having been so obvious. “Why would I do that?” he asked, trying to seem as if avoiding her had been the furthest thing from his mind.
“A question I’ve been asking myself,” she said, her gaze directed straight into his eyes. “Especially after what you said to me the other day.”
“What I said?”
“About sleeping with me,” she replied.
He gave her a startled look, then gazed at the baby. “We shouldn’t be talking about this now.”
Her lips curved. “I doubt we’re scarring the baby. He’s a little young to have a clue what we’re talking about.”
“Why is he here with you, anyway?”
“Lesley Ann was exhausted. I offered to help out for a couple of hours so she could catch a nap. She called a while ago and asked if I’d mind keeping A.J. till she can finish her evening shift at the restaurant.” She tickled the baby till he was giggling. “So, A.J. and I are entertaining each other for a little while longer.”
She directed a look into his eyes. “You ducked my question a minute ago.”
“I did,” he admitted.
“Any particular reason? Do you regret telling me that?”
“It was probably a little premature,” he said. “Or arrogant. I don’t usually go around telling women I plan to sleep with them.”
“Did I seem to be offended?”
“No, but...” He studied her serene expression and wondered how she could discuss this so calmly. Talking about sex wasn’t something he usually did. It either happened or it didn’t. He didn’t sit down with someone and reason out the pros and cons. Abby seemed intent on doing just that. “Why are you so determined to talk about this?”
She grinned, apparently amused by his discomfort. “Hey, you were the one who introduced the subject the other day. I’m just following up, trying to figure out if something’s changed. Has it?”
“I can’t tell you how uncomfortable I am discussing this while you’re holding a baby in your arms,” he said.
She laughed aloud at that. “Admit it. You’re uncomfortable talking about it at all. A.J. here is just a convenient excuse.”
Seth bristled at the accusation. “Like you said, I was the one who brought it up in the first place. Why would I have done that if the topic embarrassed me?”
She held his gaze. “You tell me. To be honest, you didn’t seem all that embarrassed the other day. It’s only now that I’ve called you on it. Are you one of those guys who’s all talk, Seth?”
“Excuse me?” he said, shocked. The desire to drag her out of that rocker and kiss the stuffing out of her was almost overwhelming. The presence of the baby precluded that, so he was left with his blood pounding through his veins and no way to express his annoyance at the unfair accusation.
She smiled, proving that she’d intentionally provoked him. She winked. “Two can play at that game.”
His gaze narrowed suspiciously. “Are you flirting with me?”
Her expression was all innocence. “Could be.”
“It’s a dangerous game,” he warned her.
“So is making promises you don’t intend to keep,” she replied.
They were back to his claim that they were inevitably going to sleep together, apparently. Given the way his pulse was pounding right now and desire was slamming through him, it seemed he’d gotten it exactly right. Sooner or later, for better or worse, they were going to
