Always in my Heart (The Subzero Series, #2) (18 page)

“Talked to her when? When did you talk to her?” I cut him off.

“Right before her bakery opened. I popped in to see how she was doing.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this? What did she say?”

“If you would stop interrupting me I would tell you!” He exclaims.

“I’m sorry I’m just...never mind, carry on.”

“I asked her if you were broken up and she said sort of. She said you guys weren’t really speaking but no one had actually said it was over or something along those lines. I told her you weren’t going to be the one to end it and I asked her if that’s what she wanted – for things to be over between you guys.”

“What did she say to that?”

“She said no Tyler. She didn’t want things to be over between you two. I think Chloe’s right. I think right now Abby is just scared.”

My head was spinning with this information. It wasn’t much but it was something to confirm that Abby still wants me. At least she did anyway. It’s not like I haven’t messed up since then.

“I have to go.”  I say.

“What are you going to do?” Chloe asks.

I shake my head. “I haven’t the slightest idea but I’ll figure something out. Dean,” I turn and give Dean a slap on the back. “Happy Birthday mate, I have to go.”

If Abby needs proof that I am in this with her than I shall show her. I go back to our flat and walk into our spare bedroom which, thankfully, doesn’t really have anything in it. First thing I need to do is turn this into a baby’s room.

Item number one on my agenda is painting. I don’t know if we are having a boy or a girl yet so I’m staying away from gender specific colors. Now, if it were up to me, I’d paint the room black with blue stripes but that doesn’t seem very baby like and somehow I don’t think Abby would be very happy with it.

As soon as I get up the next morning, I pull on a pair of jeans and a black Henley shirt and go to the home improvement store to buy some paint. After doing some research online last night I decide I want to paint the room green. The only problem is there are about two hundred shades of green. After staring at paint samples for at least an hour I finally decide on prairie sage because it is light, subtle and calming.

Two coats of paint later, I stand in the room pleased with my work. Step one is done, for now anyways. I don’t want to pick out any decorations without Abby. She’s upset with me enough as it is. I don’t want to get myself in more trouble by picking the wrong nursery theme.

Pulling my cellphone out of my pocket, I scroll through my contacts list and press on my mum and dad’s number.

“Hello?” My mum’s voice sings through the receiver.

“Hello Mum. How are you?” I ask her.

“Tyler! I’m good dear. When are you going to stop around? I haven’t seen you in almost two months and I don’t live that far from you. Surely you have a few minutes to spend with your mum.”

“I know, I’ve been a bad son but there’s actually something I wanted to tell you. It’s about me and...”

“Will this be a long call dear?” She asks cutting me off. “I want to talk to you it’s just that I have gardening club today. We’re getting together at Bea’s house to discuss the proposal for putting in a fairy garden at the children’s museum and we also have to discuss Sue Trishke’s membership in the club. She’s a nice woman but how can we have someone in the gardening club that has such dreadfully awful looking hydrangea bushes. We can’t afford a scandal like that...”

Lord help me.

I pull the phone away from my ear, place my fingertips to my forehead and shake my head.

“Mum, I’m terribly sorry about Sue Trishke’s horrid bushes but there is a reason I am calling. It’s about me and Abby...she’s expecting.”

“Expecting what?”

I roll my eyes, thankful that she can’t see the look on my face right now.

“A baby mum. Abby and I are having a baby together.”

“A baby? A BABY? I’m going to be a granny? Oooh I can’t wait to tell that Millicent Simpson. She is always bragging about how great her kids are and she was just saying the other day she wishes one of them would settle down and make her a granny and now I am going to be one before her!”

I laugh. “Well I’m glad I was able to up your status in gardening club.”

I hear mad click clacking through the phone and my mum is humming and hawing.

“Mum what are you doing?”

“Oh I’m just on this website ordering something for the baby’s nursery.”

“What are you ordering? We don’t even have a theme yet.”

“Oh it’s okay. You don’t need a theme for this.”

“What is it mum?”

“Oh it’s just a crib and a Moses basket with a stand in case you want the baby to sleep in your room.”

“Mum!” I exclaim. “That’s too much! You don’t have to do all of that.”

“It’s nothing really. Plus it’s for my grandbaby. My first grandbaby.”

“Alright, well thank you just...nothing else okay? You’ve been generous enough in the whole ten minutes since I told you.”

She hesitates. “I won’t buy anything else.”

I sigh and shake my head. “What else did you order?”

“Muslin swaddles and a onesie that says
Future Drummer Just Like Daddy
.”

“Thanks mum, but no more, at least not until we find out what we are having or when the baby is here. You’re going to be one amazing granny.”

“Thank you Tyler. You are going to be a great daddy. I have to go, it’s time for gardening club but I love you.”

“I love you too mum. Have fun kicking out Sue Trishke and her hideous hydrangea’s.”

––––––––

I
t isn’t very often I get out of the kitchen and work in the bakery but today I just feel the need to be around people. I want to interact with the customers and find out what they like and what they would like to see us offer. Plus, Marci’s husband wanted to take her to lunch so I told her I would cover her if she wanted to take a little bit longer than an hour.

I am writing up a list of suggestions when I hear the front door ping.

“Hi, how are you?” I let the sentence die out as I glance up at the woman standing in front of me.

For a moment I can’t speak so I just stare at her. Her long legs, her trim, tiny waist, her silky, pink curls. The anger boils inside of me. I point to her and then point to the door.

“You can turn around and walk back out the door you just came through.”

“We need to talk.” Cath says.

“I have nothing to say to you. Please leave before I get customers.”

“He loves you, you know.” She says.

When I don’t respond she sighs loudly and I can just imagine the eye roll that surely went along with it.

I bend down to straighten the pastry case. I need something to keep me busy. I really don’t want to talk about Tyler with her. I don’t want to talk to her at all but there is something I need to know. I stand up just as she is about to walk through the door.

“Why?” I ask.

She turns back around, one hand remaining on the door.

“Why what?” She asks.

“Why him? You are absolutely gorgeous. I’m sure you could have any man you wanted. You knew he wasn’t available so why him?”

Without hesitating she says. “Because he’s hot. Because he’s everything I want and because I am better for him than you are.”

“You don’t know anything about our relationship.”

Cath walks over to the cases, puts her hands on top of the counter, leans in and says. “I knew enough to know how to come in between you two.”

I ball my hands into fists so tight that they hurt. I couldn’t let myself loosen them up though. If I did I’d hit her.

“You aren’t the reason we broke up. We broke up because Tyler kept what you did from me.”

“Maybe not, but I am the reason he didn’t make it to the opening of this crappy little bakery.”

“Excuse me?”

Cath smirks. “It was simple really. All I had to do was pretend to be afraid of that schmuck that follows me around and Tyler was putty in my hands.”

“Wow,” I say. “I really feel bad for you.”

She laughs. “For what?”

“Because you can want him all you want but he will never, ever be yours. He is my boyfriend. He is going to be my boyfriend until the day he becomes my husband. I love Tyler and he loves me and if you ever think about putting your lips on him again, I will become your worst nightmare, got it?”

Cath rolls her eyes and nods her head.

“Good now get out of my bakery.” I point towards the door again.

“You know there was a reason I came here today and it wasn’t to go all mean girls on you.” Cath says.

I sigh. “So what did you come here for?”

“To apologize to you.”

Okay...I didn’t expect that.

“What?”

“I came to apologize. To tell you I’m sorry. I’m not going to bother Tyler anymore. I’ve...I’ve actually met someone or I guess more accurately I sort of already knew him and we started talking at Dean’s birthday party and he’s really great.”

I’m not sure what to say to her. I’m not in the mood right now to be nice to her but I guess I should be since she was apologizing. She turns to leave and I call her name. She spins around.

“Thank you,” I say. “For apologizing and I hope you’re new relationship works for you.”

She nods her head. “Thank you and again...I’m sorry.”

“Okay, my favorite part of that was when you told her you would be her worst nightmare if she ever put her lips on Tyler again.” Caroline says, walking behind the counter to give me a hug.

“I said if she even thought about doing it! Have you been standing there the whole time?”

“Sort of. Juan P told me to come see how the case is looking and I heard you two. I figured I’d wait in the wings in case you needed some back up.”

Caroline jumps into a boxer’s shuffle and throws a couple of punches into the air. I laugh and shake my head.

“No, I can handle girls like her.”

“Clearly!” Caroling laughs. “Seriously though, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I’m tired and feel so disgusting but, you know, I’m fine.”

The front door opens and Chloe walks in and I can tell by the look on her face that she knows. Tyler must have told her after I left. I’ve sort of been avoiding everyone for the past few days. I’m not really sure why. I just didn’t feel like talking I guess.

“Tell me how it is that you are living at my place and I haven’t seen you in close to a week,” She says. “I want to talk to you for a sec. Can you take a short break?”

“I’m covering for Marci until she gets back.” I say.

“Go ahead,” Caroline says. “We’re caught up in the back. I can watch the front.”

I nod. “Okay, we’ll be right out front.” I turn to Chloe. “Do you want anything from the case?”

“No, I’m good.”

I turn back to Caroline. “Okay, Marci should be back any minute. Mrs. Tomkins is coming in for a cake. It’s in the big fridge with her name on the box. She already paid for it. I’ll just be out front if you need anything.”

I follow Chloe out the front door and we sit down at one of the bistro style tables in front of the bakery.

“Before you say anything, I’m going to take a wild guess that you already know?”

Chloe presses her lips together, looks down at her hands and nods. “I get why you didn’t tell me when you found out. It was only right for Tyler to be the first to know but I can’t believe you still haven’t said anything to me until right now.”

I sigh. “It wasn’t like I was intentionally keeping it from you. I’m not ready to tell mom and dad. To be honest I wasn’t ready to tell anyone. Did Tyler happen to tell you that I yelled the news to him while we were arguing?”

“No but speaking of him...” She trails off.

“My answer to anything pertaining Tyler is I don’t know.”

“You have to make a decision Abby. It’s only fair to the both of you. What exactly is it that is keeping you from getting back with him?”

I look down at my feet and chew on my bottom lip. “I’m scared.”

“Of what exactly?”

“That he’ll do it again, or worse, do more next time. It was so easy for him to kiss someone else and keep it from me. What if next time it is more than a kiss? What if he sleeps with someone else?”

“Abby take a look at that boy for five seconds. I’m fairly certain he isn’t even going to consider looking at someone from the opposite sex.”

I shake my head. “I’m serious.”

“So am I!” She laughs. “Look, guys make mistakes. They do stupid things. Jack broke up with me because he thoughts I was still engaged without even asking me if it was true. He acts on impulse. Let me ask you something. Are you more upset that Tyler kissed someone else or that he didn’t tell you.”

“Both!” I exclaim. “It’s not okay that he kissed someone else. It’s not okay that he decided to keep it from me. It’s not okay that I had to read about it in that weekly joke of a magazine. Ask him what he would do if the situations were reversed and I did those things. Do you think he would be in any rush to take me back?”

“I’m not trying to upset you.” She says cautiously.

“Then don’t! Look, I want to be with him. I want to spend the rest of my life with him and maybe I will but how can I be with him if I am afraid he’s going to do it again?”

Chloe smiles and sucks in her top lip.

“What are you smiling about?”

“Because that is the first time in a month that you came out and actually said that you want to get back together with him.”

“No, I didn’t...that’s not...”I trail off and sigh. “That’s the second time today I admitted that.”

“When was the first?”

“About twenty minutes ago or so when I was arguing with Cath.”

“Seriously though Abby, you can’t live your life being afraid he is going to get with someone else or leave you for someone else.”

“Can I ask you why you are on his side?”

“I’m not on anyone’s side but he was a good friend to me when Jack and I broke up and I am just returning the favor. I don’t think anything happened between him and Cath aside from that kiss. I don’t condone what he did at all but I believe him when he said that it was a mistake and he won’t do it again. Obviously you need to do what is best for you and the baby but I think you should give him another chance.”