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“Come away with me,” Abagail murmured.

“What?” Nicola frowned and shook her head.

“Let’s go on a trip, just you and me. I want time alone with you.”

“I can’t leave Alanna.” Nicola stepped away from Abagail, putting some space between them. She pulled the strap off and tossed it into the sink before stepping back into the shower with Abagail. She wasn’t even going to entertain the idea.

“You can. You’ve done it before.” Abagail pulled a bar of soap from the edge of the shower and lathered her fingers up. “We could come back immediately if something went wrong.”

Abagail didn’t know, did she? How could she? She probably just paid the bill and didn’t dig any deeper than that. The facility wouldn’t have given out any medical information to her anyway. Frowning, Nicola ducked her entire head under the spray and let the water run over her.

When she stepped out again, Nicola furrowed her brow. “What do you know about Alanna?”

“I know she was badly injured in a car accident.” Abagail rubbed her hands over her skin.

“She’s paralyzed from the waist down, has limited movement in her upper body. She’s mostly bedbound. She has epilepsy now, plus a slew of other issues. I don’t leave her.”

“You’re not leaving her,” Abagail reiterated. “You’re taking a trip. We won’t go far. I have a house at the Cape that we can go to.”

“Yes, I know. I’ve been there before.” Nicola ducked her head back under the water. Why was she being so resistant to this idea? It wasn’t like her. She’d left Alanna for trips before, but she hadn’t expected this to come from Abagail. “I thought we were just fucking.”

Abagail paused, standing naked with suds slipping down her wet skin. “We are fucking.”

“But is it just fucking?” Nicola asked again, and this time, she really needed an answer.

“I don’t know.” Abagail moved to stand under the water, putting Nicola out of the warmth of the spray. She rinsed off, getting her hair wet as she looked deep into Nicola’s eyes. “But I can’t stop thinking about you or wanting you.”

“I’ll take that,” Nicola murmured, though it still didn’t sit fully within her chest. It was like the lid had been closed but not quite all the way, and she didn’t know what lid she was closing or if she even wanted it shut all the way. “How long would we be gone?”

“A week or two. However long you want.” Abagail washed her hair.

Biting her lip, Nicola mulled it over. She was still unemployed, and she could spend some of that time setting up interviews. If they were going to be that close, then she could always come back if she found a job and needed to start it immediately.

“We have to talk to Alanna first.”

“What?” Abagail asked, scrunching her face up.

“We need to talk to Alanna first,” Nicola repeated.

“We?” Abagail furrowed her brow. “I don’t think you understand that I’m not very good with those types of situations.”

“Then no deal. I won’t go.” Nicola raised an eyebrow in defiance, making sure that Abagail understood exactly how important this was.

“Fine.” Abagail’s lips pressed into a thin line. “We’ll go later this morning.”

“Perfect.” Nicola kissed her loudly. “Now, round two?”

Abagail laughed, but it was quickly muffed by Nicola’s mouth. She was going to take full advantage of this opportunity. Trip or no trip.

eighteen

“It’s this way,” Nicola said proudly.

Abagail tried to relax her muscles, but she couldn’t. The drive to the rehabilitation facility had been longer than she’d anticipated, and when Cal had dropped them off, she wasn’t sure she should be there. But Nicola had that smile on her face that drew her in and she couldn’t resist.

They walked down a long hallway, past a very nice reception desk, a nurse’s desk, and down another hallway. Abagail would probably get lost in here for days if she let herself roam without supervision. It was a good thing Nicola was leading the way.

“Hey sis!” Nicola’s grin grew from mildly amused to full-blown joyful.