‘Oh, I’d love it. Thanks, Abby.’
‘Jake is going to take me to see his uncle’s grave as well,’ she blurted out before she could think better of it.
The silence at the other end of the line was telling.
‘Oh, is he?’ Megan said at long last in one of her knowing voices. ‘And why is he doing that?’
‘Because I asked him to,’ Abby said, angry with herself. ‘And, before you jump to conclusions, we’re just dropping in at the cemetery on the way to the car yards at Parramatta. It’s hardly out of his way. And you are so wrong about his fancying me.’
Megan laughed. ‘We’ll see, hon. We’ll see.’
‘Oh, for pity’s sake.’
‘You’ve always underestimated your looks, Abby. Even when your teeth were not great, you were gorgeous. Now that you’ve had them fixed, you’re a knockout. And your figure is to die for.’
‘Oh, go on with you!’
‘No, I mean it. Your fantastic figure was one of the reasons Wayne was so possessive of you. And why he didn’t want you to work after you were married. Because he didn’t want other men lusting after you.’
Abby’s first reaction was to hotly deny what Megan said. But in her heart of hearts she knew it was true. Wayne had been very possessive of her. Right from the start, he’d wanted her all to himself. Which had suited Abby fine. All she’d wanted back then was to be Wayne’s wife, plus the mother of his children. She’d been only too happy to stop work and not have to face the world every day with her horrible teeth. Not so happy, however, as the years had passed and the nursery remained empty.
‘That’s probably the reason he wouldn’t pay for you to get your teeth fixed,’ Megan continued. ‘Because he was afraid you’d be too beautiful and he’d lose you to another man.’
‘That’s ridiculous!’ Abby protested. ‘The reason I didn’t get my teeth fixed back then was because it’s very expensive and we had a huge mortgage. Besides, Wayne already loved me, even with my horrid teeth. As for being too beautiful, please don’t make me laugh. Even if by some miracle I’d become the most beautiful woman in the world, I would never have left Wayne, no matter what. I loved him.’
‘Did you, Abby? Or did you just love that he loved you with the kind of crazy obsession which can be oh, so flattering?’
‘I did so love Wayne,’ she insisted. ‘Very much. We would have been happy together if we’d had children.’
Megan sighed. ‘If you say so, Abby.’
‘I do say so. Now, I do not wish to discuss Wayne any more, thank you. I didn’t realise how much you disliked him.’
‘I didn’t dislike him. I just didn’t think he was good enough for you. You deserved someone better.’
Abby didn’t know whether to feel flattered or frustrated. ‘Such as who, Megan? Prince Charming?’
‘Yeah, why not? And let me tell you something else, kiddo. If you bought some new clothes and put on some make-up occasionally, you would be so hot that every man you met would be drooling. And that includes your handsome hunk of a boss.’
Abby didn’t like to tell Megan that she was being delusional—about Jake at least—so she just laughed.
‘Yeah, you can laugh if you like. Just you wait and see. Speaking of your boss, did you happen to watch his show today?’
‘Hardly. I was too busy cleaning his house.’
‘He interviewed Maddie Hanks. You know, the latest Aussie actress who’s made it big in Hollywood?’
‘I know who you mean. She was in that biblical epic. Played a slave girl.’
‘Yeah, that’s the one. Well, she was flirting with Jake big time. And brother, she is stunning. He seemed very taken with her. Couldn’t keep his eyes off her cleavage. Though I don’t think her boobs are real. Anyway, I wouldn’t mind betting they get together in the near future.’
Abby rolled her eyes. Truly, her sister was so addicted to gossip that she saw scandalous behaviour everywhere. ‘Jake already has a gorgeous girlfriend,’ she pointed out. ‘That newsreader. Remember?’
‘Huh! That won’t stop him getting into Miss Hanks’s pants.’
‘He’s not like that,’ Abby said sharply.
‘Oh, really? And how would you know, Miss I-Know-Nothing-Personal-About-My-Hunk-of-a-Boss? Did something else happen today that you didn’t tell me about?’
‘No,’ she denied, blanking the hug out of her mind. ‘Look, I’m not overly fond of the man, but he’s not some sleazebag.’
‘Wow. He’s sure got you fooled. All men can be sleazebags if the right temptation comes along.’
Abby just shook her head. ‘Truly, Megan, you are such a cynic when it comes to men.’
‘I have good reason to be.’
This was true. Timmy’s father hadn’t been the first man in Megan’s life to treat her badly. She’d met a few since becoming a single mother who’d wined and dined her till they got what they wanted before dumping her as cruelly as the cowardly creep who’d got her pregnant then disappeared once he discovered fatherhood was too much commitment for him.
‘I hope you’re going to make yourself presentable when your boss takes you out on Saturday,’ Megan said.
‘It’s not a date, Megan.’
‘You still want to look a bit nicer than you do when you clean his house.’
‘I will do my best.’
‘Good. Gosh, wait till Jan hears all this. She’s going to be green with envy.’
Jan was Megan’s next-door neighbour, a single mother like Megan. She was one of the reasons Megan wouldn’t come to live with Abby, because she didn’t want to leave her best friend. Abby wasn’t overly keen on Jan, but she’d been a good friend to Megan and had a similar personality. Both were very easy-going but extremely untidy. Abby had been somewhat relieved when Megan knocked back her offer for her and Timmy to come live with her. Their messy lifestyle would have driven her mad within a week.
‘Jan’s sure to think I did something suspect with Jake’s uncle,’ Abby said drily.
‘Nah. Now if it was me.’
Abby smiled. ‘Come on, Megan, you’re not as bad as you pretend to be.’
‘Yeah, I am. Not everyone is as saint-like as you, sweetie. Though, to give you credit, being a goody-two-shoes got you somewhere this time. I dare say you waited on that rich old bastard hand and foot. You probably even baked him those delicious peanut butter cookies of yours.’
Abby fell silent with guilty embarrassment. She had made a fuss of Jake’s uncle. But, at the time, it had been ages since her nurturing side had had an opportunity to flourish. Looking after Jake’s house was a rather impersonal job. It had been so satisfying to bake cookies for a real man and, yes, watch him eat them with relish. She’d enjoyed it all immensely.
‘You did, didn’t you?’ Megan said with laughter in her voice. ‘No wonder he thought of you when he was dying. Those cookies of yours are super-yummy. Though way too fattening. I refuse to let you make me any more. Though Timmy wouldn’t mind some, when you have your next baking session. I have to go and get the little devil himself now. He’s been playing next door. Ring me tomorrow night.