Cabin Glow: A New Adult and College Romance (The Billionaire Romance Redemption Series Book 3) (8 page)

ANDREW could watch her for hours. After their run, which Abby was beginning to enjoy with him, they did some stretches in the weight room. Well, Abby did stretches. He just lifted his arms above his head and enjoyed the view. Watching her was becoming a hobby of his. She was so free spirited. It was liberating to see her in action.

Given she had seen him during and after a nightmare, and didn’t run for the hills the next day, Andrew felt it was a good omen. She didn’t ask him about it that morning, either. And she didn’t ask him why he had not come back to bed. She just kissed him when he had returned to his room to get his phone, and suggested they go for a run.

“Hey,” she said, looking up from some kind of sexy downward dog yoga pose. “I was thinking, I’d like to go see John and Trina today.”

“Sure. When do you want to go?”

“Now?”

“Now like right now?”

“Yeah why not? We can have a nice, relaxing drive down there.”

“Um. Sure.” He felt his body tense up as he thought of an answer. “I’ll call my local driver and see if he can come on short notice.”

“Driver? Come on, you’ve got all those cars outside. Let’s take a drive, Andrew.”

Oh God. She was not asking to take a drive with me, was she? Think Andrew. Think.

“The thing is,” he stumbled over his words as he thought of a reasonable explanation, “I’ve got to take care of a few things with my staff this morning. Let me get those done first, and we can go afterward.”

“Okay. That could work. I’ll use the time to make some more headway on my independent study.”

“Perfect. And I might as well set it up with the driver, then.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. Think of it this way. We can both enjoy the drive there and back. It’s a beautiful scenic route.”

“Alright,” she answered, continuing with her stretches.

Andrew excused himself and went to his office. He made a phone call to request the local limo service driver who worked on standby for him and his dad. When finished, he stayed in his office and answered some emails on his desktop. That question from Abby came from left field. It was a close call. He looked down at his hands. They were shaking. And his body had practically frozen up back there. He couldn’t remember ever reacting this way to the thought of simply going for a drive. He suspected it had everything to do with the accident, and with Abby.

Had her friends not been in the Jeep when he had dropped them all off in Reno a few days ago, he may have reacted that way too. But even that was different. It wasn’t the same as him and Abby getting into a car, sitting side by side, alone in the car, with him driving. The image alone was disconcerting. No, it was not disconcerting—it was downright terrifying.

He could kick himself for not laying it on the line right there and then with Abby. It was the perfect opportunity to mention it. Maybe not perfect, but it beat springing his past on her out of the blue. When was there ever a right time to talk about something like this? He couldn’t imagine where he would start, and how his lips and brain would recall the bloodcurdling chain of events. He had to do it soon.

Yes. Soon. That fleeting, non-committal and abstract time in the future. Soon was convenient. It could be pushed forward ad infinitum. But that was also the problem with soon.
Soon easily becomes too late
. That was something his mother would tell him every time he procrastinated with chores in favor of games, homework, or playtime. He should have told Abby everything before he said those three words on the plane. She deserved to know—he just had no idea how to tell her. He took a breath and continued typing. He resolved to do his best to tell her this weekend, before she went back to San Francisco.
But not today.
He wasn’t ready to face that yet.

***

ABBY noticed Andrew stiffen up when she asked about going to see John and Trina. To be precise, he didn’t react to the visit itself—he reacted to driving. His nervous reaction was as clear as day. His hand instantly slid along his scar, he averted his eyes, and his body shifted from one leg to the other, until they agreed to go later.

Driving? What was it about driving that made him act so weird? She wondered if this reaction had anything to do with how he had sent the driver to pick her up each of the three times they had gone out in San Francisco. Yes, they had driven together in the limo more than a few times too, but there was something to it.

She thought back on the other times he had reacted this way since she met him. There was their conversation about why he left the practice. He had also gotten that way when they skirted the question of relationships and family. And he had a similar look during the impromptu procedure on John’s arm. Maybe he was in a car accident with someone important to him—but who? And how bad was it?

She was onto something. It was a gut feeling, and she had nothing to go by—even less so as Andrew continued to be tight-lipped about his trauma—but she trusted her gut implicitly. She sighed, finishing up her stretches to head for the shower. She was not going to ask him just yet. It would be too easy for him to shut down. She would wait. He would tell her soon, she hoped. Having to guess and come up with her own theories was no fun though; not when he could simply tell her.

***

ABBY looked over at Andrew as they sat at the back of the limousine. He held her hand, and looked pensively out the window.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

“Yes,” he answered, looking over at her. “Sorry, I tend to get sucked into how beautiful around Lake Tahoe is. I’ve been down this route countless times; yet that view out there gets me every time.”

He ran a finger down her cheek, and tucked a stray lock of hear behind her ear. “How about you? Doing alright?”

“Yes,” she answered, leaning on his arm. “It’s gorgeous outside. I can see why you love it. It’s serene, and lovely on an immense scale. It makes problems seem so small, taking in that expansive view. I guess it puts life in perspective.”

“Wow.”

She looked up at him. “What,”

“You could have read my mind verbatim just now.”

“Yeah?” she said, turning to look at him more closely.

“It’s uncanny.”

“Just don’t get too used to it, big boy,” she teased.

“Used to what?”

“To me trying to read your mind.” She kissed his lips softly. “Talking works. Remember, you can tell me anything. I won’t judge you. I promise.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“Promise?” She hoped she was getting her point across without pushing the issue.

“Yes. I promise.”

She undid her seatbelt and slid up to sit in his lap, and held him close.

***

Abby made a point of making a big entrance into John’s recovery room. As she slipped in the door, she shouted, “How is the big teddy bear who slayed one of Lake Tahoe’s most vicious predators!”

Trina and John jumped. Trina was sitting in a chair beside John, playing cards with him on his good side.

“Hey!” Trina said first, and got up to accept Abby’s hug in her already outstretched arms.

“That’s one way to scare a patient,” John said cheerily. “How are you doing?”

“That’s for me to ask you, isn’t it?” she joked.

“Nah. I wasn’t the only casualty of Lake Tahoe, was I? Last time I say you, you were skipping around on one good leg, remember?”

“Don’t remind me,” Abby answered, getting serious as she held Trina around her shoulder. “So how are you feeling, John?”

“Still not great, but very grateful. It could have been a lot worse. I get to keep my arm, plus a few pins inside for good measure.”

“Great to hear. You must be relieved.”

“Very. Thanks to you and Andrew. Speak of the devil, where’s the big guy?”

“He’s grabbing something in the store downstairs.” She turned to Trina. “And the staff here, they’re taking good care of you two?”

“The best,” she answered. “The ones who have worked here for years all rave about Andrew.”

“Really? How do they know him?”

“He worked here in his late teens during college, or maybe it was over the summer. Definitely before med school. They said he was the hardest working orderly the hospital ever hired. The nurses on the floor said they’d fight over him during their shifts. Not the way you think, of course.” Trina laughed.

“Well that’s good. There’s so much to learn about the humble and quiet Andrew Carrington.”

“There isn’t that much to learn,” Andrew said, walking in with flowers behind her.

“Ahh. See, this I why they say never to turn your back to a door,” Abby said. When Trina took the flowers from Andrew, Abby moved to him and snuggled into the crook of his arm, looking up at him. “How did you sneak in here so easily?”

“Same way you did,” Trina said from the corner of the room. “Thanks for the flowers, Andrew. They’re beautiful.”

“You’re welcome,” he answered, moving closer to John with Abby beside him. “So, feeling better?”

“A bit every day. I’ll be over the hump soon.”

“Good. Just remember to let them know if you need anything at all.”

“Thanks, Andrew.”

“Don’t worry, Andrew,” Trina piped up, smiling. “The nurses have been pampering him so much, he’ll be a needy boyfriend when he gets out of here. I can see it now; he’ll have a dinner bell beside him, to summon me when he needs stuff.”

“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea, Trina,” John joked, reaching out his good arm to invite her closer.

“You wish,” she said. She feigned a grimace and sat on the edge of the bed, then leaned on his chest lovingly.

“Before I forget, did you get things worked out with SFSU for the semester?” Abby asked.

“Yes we did, actually,” Trina answered. “The timing couldn’t have been better, otherwise we would have lost out on some tuition, and possibly course credits, had it been even a week or two later. We had a serious talk, and got some advice from John’s head doctor. We withdrew from school for the semester. We’ll either go back for the last semester, or wait until September, depending on how he responds to physiotherapy.”

“That’s great. You can support each other. It must be hard on you too, Trina. Not that you were hurt, but the uncertainty and worry can take its toll.”

“Yes,” Trina answered, looking up at John briefly. “So true. We’ll be there for each other.”

Abby noticed Trina doing her usual. She was staring; looking intently at her, then over to Andrew. She was assessing, evaluating, as though she saw more than what was on the surface.

“Hey, are you two going to hang around for a while?”

“Not exactly,” Abby answered, guessing this would be a short visit. “Why? Do you need anything?”

“No, we’re good. After our card game, the nurse will be here to change John’s dressing. Not pretty at all, although you and Andrew are probably used to it.” She looked up at John. “No offence, honey.”

John kissed her hair and smiled. “None taken, dear.”

Andrew spoke up. “We should actually be going. But I’ll pop by during the week or next weekend to check in again.”

“Actually,” Trina said, pulling gently from John’s hold to stand up. “Do you fine men mind if I have a private chat with Abby for a minute? We’ll just be at the vending machine. I won’t keep her for long.”

Andrew nodded. “Sure. I have to make a call, but I’ll be at the main floor entrance. Take care, you two.” He shook Trina’s hand and nodded at John before leaving.

Trina took Abby’s hand and left the room in the opposite direction. “So what’s going on? I thought you went back to Frisco?”

“I did. Andrew came out there. On some business. And to see me. I flew back with him for the weekend.”

“Very nice. So how has it been? Not that I want to be nosy, but something’s different. I figured I check to see if you felt like talking about it. Girl talk is good sometimes, you know?”

They sat in a corner of the reception area at the end of the hall. “It’s been great. A whirlwind. He’s a great guy.”

“Good. And?”

“And what?”

“And what’s wrong?”

“Seriously, Trina. It’s all going well.”

“You know, you couldn’t fool me with the kiss-blush. You think you can fool me with this? Look, I know we’re not close friends, but you can talk to me. I can see you two staying together. I just see something different this time.”

“Something like what?”

“You tell me. I can’t read minds.” She laughed.

Abby was hesitant at first, but she could trust Trina. “I’m not sure either, to be honest. He’s amazing, you know? And I enjoy being with him. I think everything’s just happening so fast. There’s something he’s not telling me. Something big. I think he’ll tell me eventually, but you’re right. It’s a little wall I can’t seem to get him to climb over.”

“Do you love him?”

“It’s barely been a week, Trina.”