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"I don’t see it that way," Nellie explained "Gus is my nephew first--not Rick’s son I know technically he is, but that’s not Gus’s fault He didn’t choose to come into this world under these circumstances To me, he’s just my nephew He’s an innocent baby and a part ofwhat she would say next would possibly make her sound like the most pathetic and stupidest person on the planet, but it was the truth and she thought Abel, having a brother he was so close to, would understand "And despite everything that’s happened, I still love my sister Aside from my parents and my brother who’s always stationed in some far-out place, she’s the only family I have in this country, well, besides Gus now It’s why I offered to let them move in with me"

Abel lifted a skeptical brow "So why didn’t she?"

Nellie glanced away, unable to look at him when she told him this part "She moved to Seattle to be near Rick She said that even if they weren’t together she still wanted Gus to be around his dad"

She glanced back at hiht he would "She took her son away from the only real family he has to be near a man who tore your family apart and then just walked away? Awith another woot even usted, he’d be even more so if she went on, so she nodded and left it at that This time he looked away and cleared his throat "So are you really never gonnaat hi like that He said basically the saet into anything serious right now and all that Only Noah said you said possibly ever"

Taking a deep breath, Nellie sipped her tea She needed to be careful here He could be testing her--otten a bit heavier than she’d first anticipated they would When she’d put it out there for him on the cruise, she wasn’t even sure any of this would continue afterward And even when they did, she thought their booty calls would be maybe once or twice a month if she were lucky

She also never expected to be sitting here, talking to him about her divorce But she wouldn’t take his interest in it to be anythingti about it So she answered very carefully "First of all, I never say "never" But Iand le friends talking about traveling and doing all kinds of exciting things You know letting loose and really living during that ti adults" He was staring at her, focused on her every word now, and it , but since things worked out the way they did, I figure that this isinto a serious relationship hasn’t made my to-do list just yet"

Still staring at her very closely, Abel straightened out a bit before his next question "What exactly does thatloose?"

This ti she didn’t even knohat she meant when she said that She’d used the terh when she’d told Roni that it hat she was doing with Abel, she knehat she wanted Roni to think it meant to her It was likely what he wanted it to mean as well She remembered his apprehension on the cruise and the entireup to it when the sexual tension between theun to feel unbearable It wasn’t until she’d a because ive hied, she played it safe and ith that "Just enjoying uess I have no one to answer to now, and I’ain that beautiful Ada thick neck distracted her She’d expected a sht show of relief in his eyes But there was neither She sensed he had more to say or ask, but he didn’t Instead he finally pulled his penetrating gaze away and sat back, taking a drink of his water

It see tio of her hand, he laid his head back on his seat and closed his eyes

~~

They each checked into their respective roo alone that night, not for their entire stay for that hts, so it’d be the first ti loose together And if Abel got his way, it wouldn’t be their last

The young nized Abel i Abel wanted was for this guy to go spreading the word about hi into one roo her in no ti in separately for appearance’s sake

The moment the elevator doors closed, Abel pulled Nellie to hiainst her lips "Only reason I had them book two rooms was because of the daotten one"