Hearts on Fire (The Hunter Family) (18 page)

“
You
are amazing.”

His eyes searched mine and they were gentle and sincere.

“I have really missed you, Abby.  I kept replaying our last conversation before we broke up over and over and I wanted to kick myself for breaking things off the way I did.  I am so happy that we are getting a second chance.”

I smiled at him.

“So am I.”

Suddenly he was quiet and I could tell that he wanted to say something, he had a serious look in his eyes.

“I love you, Abby.”

I couldn’t have wiped the grin off of my face if I wanted to.

“I love you too, Zane.”

He leaned in and gave me a tender kiss and then I heard his belly growl.  We looked at each other, laughed, and spoke at the same time.

“I guess it’s time for dinner!”

           
Thanksgiving was 1 ½ weeks away, and as I was practicing in the studio the next day I thought about asking Zane to go home with me.  My family had Thanksgiving at our Hamptons house every year and I really wanted him to meet the rest of my family.  My aunt, uncle and cousins would be there and I wanted them to meet the man I loved.  I felt really good about my decision and I couldn’t wait to call Zane that evening to invite him.  I knew that my parents were not going to be happy that we were back together because they saw how hurt I was when he broke up with me, but they would just have to get over it.

            I was close to finishing up around 9:30 when my sister walked into the room, leaned against the wall and watched me with the same critical eye she used the last time she watched me.  I didn’t understand why she was taking such a huge interest in me all of a sudden because we had not talked for months and for the second time in a week, there she was, to critique me.  I finished my routine and turned to look at her, as I blotted away the sweat with my towel, unable to hide how annoyed I was.

            “What is it now, Claire?”

            “I just wanted to see the progress you’ve made and if you listened to the suggestion I gave you last week.  You looked really good, Abby.  I can tell that you’ve been practicing really hard.”

            I stared at her with cool eyes, my hand on my hip, and I raised an eyebrow at her.

            “I have, and I’m going to get the lead in Swan Lake.”

            “Good luck, Abby.  I really mean it.” 
Were those tears I saw in her eyes?

            That’s all she said and she walked out.

            I hated that we were in such a bad place, and even though her ego was too big for her own good, I missed my sister.  She would have been the first person I ran to about getting back together with Zane and him telling me he loved me.  But I couldn’t do that, at least with the way things were between us.  Things were getting ridiculous and I would have to figure out a good time to talk to Claire, it was time for us to fix things.  

            I glanced at my phone and it was almost 10:00 so I grabbed my stuff and rushed out.  I couldn’t wait to call Zane.  I was home 10 minutes later and I had barely dropped my bag on the floor before my phone was in my hand.  I curled up on the couch and waited to hear his sexy voice.

            “Hello?”  His voice was so deep and rich.

            “Hi, Zane.”

            I could hear him smile through the phone.

            “Hey baby, did you just get home?”

            “Yeah, just now.”

            “How was practice today?  Do you feel that you were a little bit better today than yesterday?”

            I loved how he
got
it.

            “Yep, I do.  It was a good practice day.”

            “Good.  I believe in you Abby, I know you can do this.”

            It really made me feel good and warm inside to know that he was rooting for me.

            “That is one of the many reasons I love you, Zane.  You are so encouraging and supportive.”

            “You’re my girl and I will always be here for you.”

            “Thank you, the same goes for me.  I’m here for you whenever you need me.”

            “I need you in my bed right now.  Does that count?”  His words were filled with desire.

            My belly flipped and I giggled to try to hide the burning lust I was feeling.

            “You’re silly.  I’ll give you a rain check.”

            “It was worth a try to ask!”

            “Okay, okay.  I have something to ask you.”  I needed to change the subject fast, because if he had asked me again I might have rushed over to his place, and I had a really early morning the next day.

            “I’m all ears.”

            “Do you want to spend Thanksgiving with me and my family?”

            He was silent for a minute and I immediately worried that I had asked too soon. 
He probably has plans with his family and now he’s going to think that I’m too needy.

            After what seemed like a lifetime he answered me.

            “I would love to.”

            “Are you sure?  I don’t want to intrude on plans you already have with your family.”

            “Yes, I’m sure.  I had to think about it because I know my parents are going to Florida to visit my aunt, but I don’t know what my sister is doing.  She’s probably going to her husband’s family’s place.  She hasn’t mentioned anything to me yet so I’m assuming that’s what she’s doing.”

            “The sister I didn’t get to properly meet because I made a fool of myself?”

            He hesitated for a second and then I heard him chuckle.  “Well, yes.  She got married a couple of years ago.  I still want you to meet her, she an incredible person and my best friend.”

            “I can’t wait to meet her Zane and apologize for my horrible behavior.”

            “It’s all good, don’t worry about it.”

            “Okay, but I’m still going to apologize.  Wait, so you were going to be alone for Thanksgiving?”

            “No, I usually spend it with Logan and his family if I’m not with my own family.”

            “Oh good, I hate the thought of you being alone on a holiday.  I’m happy you can make it.  By the way, we have Thanksgiving at my parent’s house in the Hamptons every year, so we’ll have to go out there.”

            “Okay.  Is it going to be a big crowd or just a small group?”

            “It will be somewhere in between.”

            “Wow, so I’m meeting quite a few people, huh?”

            “Yes, but they are harmless.  You’ll have a good time.”

            “Do your parents know we’re back together?”

            “No, but they’ll be fine with it.  Oh!  I can’t believe I didn’t tell you this!  My brother Jonny followed in your footsteps and he’s in a band, and they are really good!”

            “Oh yeah?  That’s awesome, good for him!  What’s the name of the band?”

            “Sonic Blaze.”

            “I’ve read about that band, they are really creating a following.  It’s a bunch of college guys, right?”

            “Yep, and they’re blowing up.  My dad’s not too happy about it, but hopefully he will come around.  Jonny is living his dream.”

            “That’s really great, Abby.  I hope they make it all the way to the top.”

            I hesitated and didn’t know if I should ask the question but I had to know. 

“Do you miss it, Zane?”

            “I miss the rush you get from the energy of the crowd sometimes, but I don’t miss being on the road all the time.  The band was cool but it wasn’t in my blood the way it should have been.  When we broke up I was relieved to have time to focus on my business.  Actually, the talk your dad had with me really hit home and I took what he said about the importance of having a business to heart.  I’ll have to thank him for that.”

            I couldn’t wait for daddy to see Zane because I knew he would be happy that he went the business route.  Hopefully that would help him give Zane a second chance since we were back together.

            “He’ll be happy to hear that.  You’ll have a chance to do that in about a week.  I can’t wait for you to meet everyone.”

            “I’m looking forward to it also.”

            “Well, I better get to bed, I have a really early day tomorrow.”

            “Okay, good luck with practice.  When can I see you this week?”

            “I will be practicing like crazy so maybe we should just plan something for the weekend.”

            “Okay, how about Saturday night?”

            “Sure, that works.”

            “Perfect.  Try to get some sleep and I’ll give you a call tomorrow night.”

            “Okay, sounds good.”

            “I love you, Abby.”

            “I love you too, Zane.”

I called my parents the next day to tell them we were going to have one more for Thanksgiving dinner.  My mom didn’t have a problem with it.