To her surprise a smile tugged at Luke’s lips. “Are you asking simply as a concerned friend of Seth’s or is something more going on with the two of you?”
“Something more,” she said, then amended, “Maybe.”
“You used to be more certain of things, Abby.”
“I’ve never been in a situation quite like this before,” she responded. “I didn’t expect to be in so deep with someone I’ve known such a short time.”
“You do know that the person you should be talking to about this is Seth.”
“I do know that. I just wanted your insights. You’ve known him a long time. Surely you have a sense about whether this is something he’ll ever forget.”
“Forget, no,” Luke said candidly. “Move beyond? I certainly hope so.”
The words were barely out of his mouth when the door to his office burst open and Hannah stepped inside, her expression unapologetic.
“What sort of personal mission brought you by to see my husband?” she asked heatedly, her gaze on Abby.
“Hold on,” Luke said at once, crossing the room to put his arm around Hannah’s shoulders. His voice calm, he added, “I assume we can thank Kelsey for getting you over here, but you’ve got this all wrong, Hannah. There is nothing personal going on between me and Abby. You know that.”
“She’s here, isn’t she? Behind a closed door.”
Abby winced at the hurt behind Hannah’s words. It didn’t matter that her reaction was unreasonable. This was a consequence of this visit she definitely hadn’t anticipated.
In an attempt to set Hannah’s mind at ease, she explained, “I came to speak to Luke about Seth. I had questions that I thought an old friend could answer.”
Hannah looked toward Luke, clearly seeking confirmation. He gave her a reassuring nod.
Abby added her own firm declaration. “That’s the honest-to-God truth, Hannah. I’m sorry if you thought otherwise.” She stood up. “Obviously I shouldn’t have come.”
Hannah seemed to wilt at that. “This was about Seth?”
“And Cara,” Luke confirmed.
The mention of Cara seemed to convince her as nothing else had. Hannah sank into a chair and covered her face, which was flaming now not with anger, but unmistakable embarrassment.
“I’m sorry, Abby,” she whispered when she finally dared to meet Abby’s gaze. “I should never have barged in here like this. I’m an insecure idiot.” She turned to Luke. “Forgive me.”
“You don’t need to shoulder all the blame,” he told her, glancing toward Kelsey who was hovering in the doorway, her protective gaze focused on Hannah. “Your insecurities were obviously fueled by your daughter.”
“You’re absolutely right, Luke. I owe all of you an apology,” Kelsey said, her expression chagrined.
“I appreciate that you were willing to fill in on short notice, but obviously that was a bad idea,” Luke said, clearly not ready to let her off the hook. “What goes on around here is supposed to be confidential, no matter what extenuating circumstances you might think you see.”
“I know that,” Kelsey said, sounding miserable. “Mom, Luke, I am so, so sorry. What I did was completely wrong.” Her gaze shifted to Abby. “And again, I owe you an apology, too, for misjudging you. This was obviously not the way for us to meet.”
“You thought you were protecting your mom. I get it,” Abby said. She regarded them all hopefully. “Maybe we can put this behind us once and for all. All of it. I didn’t come back to Seaview Key to cause trouble.”
Luke looked to Hannah. “Can you accept that now? You have to let this go.”
Hannah nodded at once, then gave Abby a look filled with regret. “You’ll still be at the house for Thanksgiving on Thursday, won’t you? Don’t let this keep you away. I swear I’ll be sane by then.”
“Me, too,” Kelsey promised.
Abby drew in a deep breath. As hurtful as the past few minutes had been, she wanted her old friend back in her life. That meant not letting something like this get in the way.
“If you want me there, I’ll be there,” she said. “We’ll forget this ever happened.” She glanced at Luke. “All of it. I’m sorry for putting you in an uncomfortable position by asking about Seth. It won’t happen again.”
“No problem,” Luke responded.
A faint grin tugged at Hannah’s lips. “Or you could come to me. I probably know Seth almost as well as he does.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I think my belated instinct is correct,” Abby told her. “Just as your husband suggested earlier, the next time I have questions, I’ll go right to the source.”
It might take longer to ferret out information Seth didn’t want to share, but it was far less likely to cause all this drama.
* * *
Seth realized that Luke was studying him curiously. “What?” he demanded. “Did I forget to shave or something?”
Luke shook his head. “You told Abby about Cara.”
“Just the basics,” Seth said. “How’d you find out?”
“She came to me to see if I’d fill in the blanks,” Luke told him.
Seth sighed. “I probably should be furious about that, but I guess I’m not surprised. I told her how Cara’s death affected me, then I clammed up.”
“What surprises me is that you got into it at all,” Luke told him. “You usually avoid any reference to Cara.”
“It was fair warning,” Seth said. “I owed Abby that.”
“Because the two of you are getting serious or because you’re not and she is?”
Seth sorted through the options Luke had suggested, then shrugged. “It’s not that easy to explain.”
“Okay, maybe this is none of my business, but since Abby came to me and since you’re my friend, I’m making it my business. Be careful, Seth. I don’t want to see either one of you get hurt.”
“That’s certainly the goal,” Seth agreed.
“But emotions have a way of getting out of hand before you know it and then things can get messy in a hurry.”
Seth frowned at him. “I thought you were all for Abby and me hanging out. You are the one who pushed us together and then pushed me
