6
Mateo studied Abigail from the corner of his eye. He told himself he wouldn’t. He told himself that he could just ignore her; pretend that she wasn’t even there, that she was someone else.
It shouldn’t be hard to do. After all, he hadn’t seen her in over ten years. She could have changed completely.
Mateo told himself these things, but his body had different ideas. Abigail seemed to spring up like an unwanted flower wherever he looked. He watched her as she greeted Melissa and Nick, as she followed Mom into the kitchen, and as she held the plate laden with food as far from her as humanly possible.
She was still beautiful. The pretty face that he had fallen in love with ten years ago was amplified by tasteful makeup and a polite smile. Her dark hair was longer than he remembered and c
