Page 32 of Don’t You Dare Marry Me (Love in Massachusetts #3)

twenty-five

“When were you going to tell me that you got a job at my bar… again?”

Nicola froze at the sound of Abagail’s voice coming at her from the library. It seemed to be Abagail’s preferred place to hang out in her home, and Nicola had almost walked the long way around to avoid it, thinking Abagail wouldn’t be home.

Guess she was wrong.

Now she really had no choice except to talk to her.

Last night, Nicola had eyed Abagail every chance she got, their eyes locking on more than one occasion from across the room while she and Elia had talked.

And Nicola had watched as she’d walked out the door to get in the car and have Cal take her home.

“Nicola, I expect an answer.”

She couldn’t escape now. Nicola plastered on a smile as she slipped into the library and found Abagail with reading glasses perched on her nose and a book on her knee. Was there ever a time that woman wasn’t reading?

Right, when she was getting her brains fucked out—which they hadn’t done in a while. Nicola slid into the chair right next to Abagail and crossed her legs. She’d slept in after coming home late, and she still needed to get to work early that day.

“I did go back to the bar and ask for my job back. After some explanation of Warren, they were willing to try to work with me again.” Nicola folded her hands and put them in her lap.

“Without talking to me first?” Abagail pulled her glasses off and pressed the earpiece to her lower lip, locking her gaze on Nicola.

“You don’t own me.”

“No, I don’t, nor would I want to. I have enough unwanted baggage I have to deal with.”

Nicola’s heart sank at that. Was that what Abagail thought of her? As a weight she had to carry around because Nicola was too stupid to take care of life herself?

“I needed a job. I need to start getting my life back on track.” Nicola clenched her fingers together tightly, and she could barely bring herself to look up at Abagail, but something drew her attention there.

“Yes, you do need a new job. I just thought… Well, since it’s my bar, I thought you’d tell me.” Abagail plopped her glasses back on and focused on her book again. “We’re going to have a guest for a few days.”

We?

What was Abagail getting at? Now she was talking like Nicola actually lived in the house when twenty seconds ago, she was calling Nicola a burden. Nicola glanced toward the door. “Oh?” It was the only thing she could think to say that might get her more information than Abagail was giving.

“Greer. You remember her from the bar that night we…” Abagail trailed off, and her cheeks reddened. She looked up from her book, turning to face Nicola full on. “The night we decided revenge tasted sweet.”

Nicola’s heart jumped. That’s right. That’s what she was here for. Revenge and fucking—she wasn’t really useful for much else in life. Even bartending, which she was fairly decent at, wasn’t panning out for her in the long run, was it?

“It did taste sweet.” And Nicola would give a whole lot to go straight back to that night and make different choices.

She didn’t want revenge. What she’d wanted was to forget, and Abagail had been an easy target to help her along with that goal.

And they’d both run away with it, and it had landed them here. In this odd push-and-pull relationship that neither was satisfied with. Nicola sighed and then bit her cheek. “I can quit the bar if you’re uncomfortable with me working there.”

“Why would that make me uncomfortable?” Abagail frowned slightly.

“Because…” Nicola had no idea what she was saying. She was grasping at clouds. “Because it’s your bar? Because it means you’re not paying me enough for my work here? Because Warren might come in and cause issues again?”

“Warren.” Abagail spat his name out like it was a curse.

Nicola jumped at the crack in her voice. She wasn’t sure she’d ever heard Abagail that angry before. “Yeah, I mean, he caused issues last time.”

“Warren’s known for causing issues.” Abagail dropped her book onto the side table and pulled her glasses off. Immediately, she stood up and wandered to the window and crossed her arms, staring out of it. “He never knows when to stay out of a problem.”

“Problem?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Abagail spun back around. “I’m not going to stop you from having a job, Nicola.”

“But you seemed so mad about it.”

“I’m mad you didn’t tell me about it.” Abagail pursed her lips before shaking her head. “I won’t pay you anymore.”

“I-I’m not asking for that.”

“But that’s why you’re working, right? Because you need the cash.”

“Well… yeah.” Nicola curled her toes in her shoes. “I don’t like relying on you as my sole income, and I have to pay for the next month for Alanna.”

Abagail crossed her arms tighter. “So work.”

“I am working. I’m trying to get out on my own again.

I don’t want to be a weight that you just can’t shake.

” Nicola stood up then, energy coursing through her.

She had no idea what to do next. To stay or go, or just get the hell out of dodge.

She shook her head in disbelief and then started toward the door to the library.

Abagail caught her wrist and dragged her back around, staring at her in confusion.

Well, good, because Nicola was confused too.

“What are you doing?” Abagail asked.

“I don’t know,” Nicola whispered, the confession falling from her lips before she could stop it. “I’m so lost.”

Abagail nodded slowly. “I know you are.” She reached up and cupped Nicola’s cheek. “I’m not kicking you out, Nicola. I’m not putting you out on the street. You’re free to leave if you want to, but I… don’t want you to.”

“You don’t?” Nicola blinked harshly, tears stinging her eyes. Where the hell were those coming from? She hated this.

“No, I don’t.” Abagail moved in and brushed their lips together gently.

Did Abagail only want sex? Because Nicola could do that, at least for a while, but at some point, she was going to want more.

No, scratch that, she wanted more now. That’s what this entire thing was about.

Nicola wanted more with Abagail, and it was very clear from the beginning that Abagail wanted anything but.

“Then I won’t leave.” Nicola would take every advantage she had.

She needed to save all of her tips so that she would be able to pay for Alanna’s rehabilitation facility at the end of the month and prove to them that she could do this.

And sleeping in an actual bed with an actual shower attached to it meant that she could get better tips.

Moving in swiftly, Nicola pressed their mouths together. She pulled Abagail to her, tightening her grasp in Abagail’s clothes to hold her firmly. She made sure that the kiss felt possessive, that Abagail would know exactly what Nicola was after.

Sex.

Nothing else, right?

She could play the role that Abagail was asking of her for a little bit longer.

At least long enough that she could formulate a plan for how she was going to get out of this.

But she certainly needed to be a better fuck-for-hire than she had been in the last few weeks.

She’d need to plan a better evening together between them.

Abagail moaned, leaning back slightly and pushing her chest and hips into Nicola’s body.

Nicola trailed her hand around Abagail’s stomach and up over her breasts, squeezing and pinching her nipple through the material before sliding her hand up even higher.

She nipped Abagail’s lower lip, right where she’d pressed the end of her glasses, and circled Abagail’s neck with her hand and tightened her grasp just enough to get her point across.

“I’m off tomorrow night,” Nicola whispered against Abagail’s mouth. “I expect that you’ll be mine then.”

Abagail gasped and shuddered. She answered with a kiss, one that was feverish and brutal.

One that meant Nicola had to work hard to bring her brain back around to the entire point of why she was there.

It was so easy to forget why she was there when they were naked and wrapped up together, when those soft moments happened between them, when Abagail wasn’t this hard, icy person that she wanted everyone to believe she was.

Or was Nicola making that all up?

Was she wanting to see that Abagail had soft spots when she actually didn’t?

Was Abagail exactly who she said she was?

A bitch with an ego and a heart that no one could break.

Abagail whimpered, and the sound sent shockwaves of pleasure through Nicola’s body and straight between her legs.

If she had the time now, she’d push Abagail to the ground and fuck her.

But she wanted the anticipation to be built up.

She wanted Abagail to be thinking about what Nicola was going to plan for them next, because then she couldn’t be thinking about how she needed to kick Nicola out of the house and put her on the streets again.

Because while Abagail had paid to have her car fixed, Nicola really didn’t want to go live in it again.

She’d been spoiled in the last month, and she wasn’t sure she was willing to go back to what she had before.

Nicola ran her hand down Abagail’s body, sliding her fingers between Abagail’s legs and rubbing against her hard.

“I do hope that at whatever point this ends, you remember me fondly.”

Abagail’s breath hitched.

“I’d hate for you to think anything else of me,” Nicola continued as she rubbed even harder against Abagail.

On a moan, Abagail answered, “I could never.”

“Good.” Nicola moved her hand from between Abagail’s legs and immediately put their mouths together again.

She put every ounce of energy and passion that she had into that kiss.

Nicola knew she needed to end it, but at the same time, she couldn’t make herself pull away.

Her heart hammered hard against her ribs, threatening to break them.

Nicola tangled her fingers in the short hairs at the back of Abagail’s head, scraping her nails against her scalp and pulling Abagail into her again.

She used the moment to slide the perky, happy mask that she was so used to wearing back on, but it felt so wrong at the same time. She hadn’t needed to be that person around Abagail in weeks, and for some reason, now, she felt like she had to hide who she really was under it.

Abagail stepped forward, pushing Nicola back.

They started to walk, moving across the library toward the door, but Nicola pulled back fiercely as soon as they reached the doorway.

She gasped for breath, putting a hand between them to make sure that Abagail knew this wasn’t going any further today.

Her lips tingled from the touches, from the anticipation, the arousal.

“I want you to write out a list of every single thing you want me to do to you tomorrow night. I want you to rank them from one to whatever, starting with what you want to do the most.” Nicola’s underwear was so wet already.

She shifted her stance and knew she was going to have to change before she went to work.

She should just let Abagail do whatever right here and now, but that would put a crimp in what she needed to plan.

“Anything?” Abagail asked, leaning forward and putting her hands on Nicola’s hips to hold onto her.

Nicola had to hold back a groan. “Yes, anything. I won’t guarantee that I’ll make it happen, but it’ll give me a good place to start when it comes to planning our night together.

” Nicola flicked her fingers against the tip of Abagail’s nose.

“I also want a list with everything you don’t want to do tomorrow night. ”

“Ah, so there are limits.”

“There’s always limits,” Nicola answered, looking Abagail dead in the eye. “And I feel like we’re going to find a few tomorrow that we haven’t explored yet.”

Why had she said that? Because she hadn’t meant sexually.

Something about the anticipation felt off, and she was trying to make everything sexier than it actually was, but it wasn’t working.

She just kept coming back to the fact that she knew she wanted more, and she knew at the same time that Abagail didn’t.

They would never have their priorities aligned on this one.

That was a fact.

Abagail was unmarriable.

And Nicola secretly longed for the white dress, for the family, for the relationships that she knew she’d never have without finding someone else to share them with. She swallowed the lump in her throat and focused back on Abagail.

“Understand?”

“Yes.” Abagail cocked her head to the side and looked Nicola over carefully. “Is everything okay?”

Nicola started to shake her head before she caught herself and stopped. “Just peachy.”

Abagail brushed the backs of her fingers across Nicola’s cheeks so softly, so tenderly. “Will you talk to me about whatever it is that’s bugging you? Because something is.”

Nicola stuttered. She didn’t know what to say or do.

This was the side that was so confusing to her.

Was Abagail interested in more or not? Because everything said no except for these sweet moments, and before now, Nicola had clung to them.

She’d praised herself as being the only one to have a little bit of insight into who this woman was under all her masks.

Because Abagail hid, just like Nicola did.

They were two peas in a pod, weren’t they?

Instead of saying anything, Nicola leaned in and kissed Abagail hard. “I don’t want to be late to work. I expect those texts by five.”

And then she walked away.

She couldn’t answer Abagail. She had to keep this as professional as she could. Because that’s what this was—a working arrangement between them. Abagail paid her for sex, and Nicola was going to make good on her end of the deal.

She wouldn’t let feelings get in the way.

Not again.