An Unexpected Proposal

Chapter 9

One month later...

"You did what?" Shelly's voice was grating on Abi's already frayed nerves. "No wonder you've been avoiding me for so many weeks. What the hell is wrong with you, Abigail?"

Abi felt the sting of those words. Something was wrong with her. She was broken inside.

"I just kept thinking about Thomas and what he'd done..."

She heard Shelly exhale loudly next to her. "Stop it, Abi. Andreas isn't Thomas. Thomas was horrible from the beginning but you were too naïve to see it. You told me Andreas was perfect. That was the word you used to describe him."

Abigail cringed inwardly. She had used that word, but it was stupid of her. "Nobody's perfect, Shelly," she retorted trying to cover for the silly error of her words.

"Of course not," Shelly replied. "But it showed how much you liked Andreas, if not felt more for him," her friend said. "You had something that you obviously wanted and you didn't even give the guy a chance."

Abigail began to feel sick to her stomach. Had she just made the biggest mistake of her life? "Andreas has made no move to come after me," she said trying to excuse her behaviour.

"Would you?" Shelly asked in return.

No, she wouldn't have. She wouldn't have chased after a man who had slept with her and then told her he had to leave the very next day. Oh my God, the more she talked about it with Shelly, the more she realised what a total and utter fool she had been.

"Oh God, Shelly," Abigail cried, "what have I done?"

Shelly's arms came around her as Abi wept uncontrollably in her arms.

"I screwed up the best thing that has ever happened to me," she wailed. "Andreas was kind...and understanding... and gorgeous..." Abigail said in between hiccup sobs.

A little while passed while Abi let out all her pain in Shelly's arms. After her breakdown, Abi sat on the couch in front of the window looking out over Central Park. It was beautiful in autumn; the leaves orange and yellow and red. She had calmed herself now, all the emotions she had bottled up had finally been released. Now she had to figure out what she was going to do. She would have to see Andreas within the next week. There was the annual meeting to attend for the International Children's Appeal.

She sighed deeply. She had played this all wrong, had allowed the past to cloud the present and was sure she had ruined the future and any chance she might have had with Andreas. But she would take responsibility for what she had done. There was nothing else she could do.

***

In his London office, Andreas looked out at the dreary clouds rolling quickly over the horizon. A storm was coming. How ironic, he thought. The storm that had been brewing within him for a month now had to find a release somewhere. Exercise didn't help. Women tried, but he wasn't interested in any of them. His work was the only thing that had kept him from flying to New York and demanding answers from her.

Abigail. The one woman he thought he might have a chance with, a serious chance. But she had disappointed him, let him down badly, and in the worst possible way.

A sharp knock on the door brought Andreas out of his thoughts. "Come in," he growled.

The door opened and his cousin, Kostas walked in. "My goodness," he said. "Still in a foul mood after all these weeks?"

"Give it a rest, Kosta," Andreas said walking back over to his desk.

"Cousin, you've been moping since you got back from Greece weeks ago. I've never seen you like this. I know it's because of that model you were photographed with in New York."

"I haven't been moping, Kosta. I just thought we had something...different," he said.

Kostas whistled. "Wow, are you telling me you were ready to settle down?" He asked incredulously.

Andreas looked up at his cousin, who was also legally his brother, being the son of his uncle who had adopted him after his parents had died. The foul expression on his face must have matched his mood because Kosta put his hands up in an 'I'm sorry' gesture.

"It's not that," Andreas said. "I just thought we were building something, Abigail and I. She was so different to any other woman I've ever met, and we had so much in common – or so I thought."

Kosta remained silent for a moment, just regarded Andreas. "Is it fixable?" he asked.

Andreas laughed mirthlessly. "Ever the romantic, eh Kosta?"

Kosta moved closer to Andreas' desk and sat down on the chair in front of him. "Relationships – real relationships," Kosta clarified, "aren't easy. And they're never smooth sailing, especially at the beginning."

"I really don't need a lecture from someone who is happily married with a baby on the way," Andreas shot back.

"That's exactly what you need, cousin," Kosta said. "Do you remember how much to-ing and fro-ing Athena and I had done before we finally locked it down? All our fears come up when we're with someone we really want, when our feelings are real. And then we either deal with them or run."

It was then it hit him. That's what Abigail had done. Her past was painful, he knew that. And yes, now that he thought about it, Andreas did remember what his cousin and Athena had been through.

"I'm not saying this Abigail woman is the one for you," Kosta continued. "But it's obvious you're miserable without her, so find her and figure out exactly what happened. If there is something that is a deal breaker, then at least you know. But right now you don't know what happened. And I'm guessing for a man like you, that's gotta be difficult."

Andreas thought about Kosta's words for a few moments. "Perhaps you're right," he said. "Some answers would be good. Then I'll know if I should give this a second chance or let it go for good."