Abel (5th Street 4)

The drive home from the zoo was a quiet one except for when Gus got fussy. “He’s tired,” her mom explained as he squirmed in his car seat next to her, whining.

Nellie handed Roni her phone. “Find the app on my second screen that looks like a big bouncing ball. He likes playing with that one.” She turned back to Gus as she reached the stop light. “You wanna play with auntie’s phone, Gus?”

Immediately, he reached his hand out. “Fom!”

She smiled as Roni turned around and handed it to him. “Here you go.”

Glancing up in her rearview mirror, she could see that, unlike Gus, Jack wasn’t the only one who’d dozed off; so had her dad. Her mom’s eyes were beginning to droop as well. She frowned, feeling terrible that she’d been so busy that she’d hardly been able to help them with Gus.

“So Logan just disappeared?” Roni asked as she straightened back out in her seat.

“Yeah,” Nellie nodded as the light turned green. “I didn’t hear from him for a few days, which was weird because he was supposed to be doing the financials for the mixer and from day one he was all about communication, constantly calling and texting.”

“I remember you saying he was kind of pushy even.”

“Exactly,” Nellie could admit it now. He was on the pushy side. “Then suddenly he emails me that he’d finished the work he was supposed to be doing and said he’d gotten an offer out of state and couldn’t pass it up.” She shrugged. “When I interviewed him initially, he did say he’d been in a real financial bind for months. So I guess if he got offered something permanent and with more pay, I can see why he’d just up and leave, but now I’m stuck doing it all alone, and this is a huge project. I’ve been up to my eyeballs with it.”

Roni frowned, shaking her head. “Well, that sucks. Is it too late to get a replacement?”

“No, I’ve actually interviewed a few more people that the temp agency sent over. I think I finally interviewed one that’ll do. She’s a retired accountant looking for some temporary work and seems to be real good about what she does.”

The monitor on her dash went off, announcing an incoming call. The screen flashed Sam’s name and Roni smiled. Nellie was too tired and wasn’t about to have a public conversation with him anyhow since her phone was hooked up to her speakers. She’d ignored his earlier calls and was about to do the same when the ignore button on the screen disappeared and now read: Connected to Sam.

Glancing back at her nephew, she figured out the culprit immediately. Even though he too was now dozing off, his little fingers were still hitting the screen on her phone.

“Nellie?” Sam voice came over the speakers.

Roni turned around and took the phone out of Gus’s hands, muffling her giggles with her other hand.

“Hi, Sam,” she said, scrunching her nose, but one look in her rearview mirror and she could see his voice hadn’t woken anyone.

“I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all day. I’m in town and was hoping we could get together.”

“Oh . . . Yeah, I spent the day at the zoo with my family. I’m on my way home now, but I’m exhausted. I think I’m gonna have to pass.”

“You sure?” he asked, sounding very disappointed. “After tonight, I’m going back home again. I was really hoping to see you, even if it’s just a few minutes. Any chance we can do just coffee maybe, or if you’re in the mood to just relax, the hotel I’m staying at is on a private beach. I’ve stayed there before. The sunset is beautiful. We can chill on the beach, watch the sunset, maybe have a little wine, and then I can take you home.”

Nellie thought of Abel’s call last night. I need you there with me. I miss you, Nell. As much as she wanted to put more weight on those statements, she’d seen the photos of him and the girl at the gym. Her mind had been made up a week ago that this understanding with Abel was not going to work. Then she got that one text from him with those three simple words, and that was all it took to have her rethinking things. After seeing more photos of him and Rachel spending time together, she’d gone back to her original thoughts, and then he called her last night.

She had to stop letting a few words from him melt her so completely that she’d be willing to overlook the obvious. He wasn’t spending every waking moment working out as he made it sound. He was enjoying his downtime with the touchy-feely little fitness model—someone he had an intimate past with and very likely a present one too. And from what Nellie could tell, he was enjoying it. This entire time she’d been away from him, she’d forced herself to look at the photos, and every day there were new ones. Even today, the day after what felt like a genuinely heartfelt call, there’d been new ones of the two of them spending more time together than she had with him in over a week.

Glancing at Roni, who zipped her lips like a good girl but lifted a very telling brow, she smirked. She knew what Roni must be thinking. Since Abel had gone into workout lockdown, she’d only left her place to work. After taking the entire day off today, she’d be back in the office working long hours to try to get the mixer completely coordinated before she’d have to leave for Vegas. Her social life was on hold again for more than one reason. “Actually, Sam, that sounds nice. It’d be a perfect way to end the only day I’ve had off in over a week.”

“Excellent. Text me when you’re ready for me to pick you up, and I’ll be there.”