Sunshine Kisses

‘I’m sorry for making you feel like I didn’t need you,’ Abby said quietly, her eyes stinging. ‘But I was a child, and I felt like my parents didn’t want me. And as I got older, no matter what I did, it never felt like I was good enough. All I wanted was to make you proud.’

‘Of course we’re proud of you,’ her mother scoffed. ‘You’re exceptionally bright and hard-working. A PhD isn’t an easy thing to pursue.’

The tears Abby had just about held back slipped out the second she heard those words she’d been so desperate for. ‘I appreciate that. But would it have killed you to show it? Just once, could you have said that when I finished top of my English class, or won a creative writing competition? Instead of making me feel like my accomplishments weren’t worthwhile because they were different to what you wanted from me. The little comments like you made last night? How wonderful it would have been if I’d pursued medicine or any other science? How do you think nearly ten years of that has made me feel?’

Her dad looked surprised. ‘We hadn’t realised it came across like that.’ He reached to his right, taking her mother’s hand. ‘We love what we do. We met when we were both students and we bonded over our shared passion for medicine instantly. It’s part of the foundation of our relationship. And I suppose we assumed you’d share it too. We’ve never really known how to relate to you, Abby. It would have been nice to have some common ground in that way. Maybe sometimes we were blinded by our passion for work. But it wasn’t our intention to make you feel bad about what you had achieved. We thought it was obvious that we were proud of you either way.’

Abby thought back to the fight they’d had a decade before. The disappointment, the anger, the suggestion that she was wasting her intelligence. Maybe they’d forgotten the finer details of that night, and maybe…maybe she needed to let them. She’d been nursing so much hurt for so many years. And her parents admitting any fault was more than she’d ever hoped to get. Accepting what they had given her today felt like a good first step towards healing.

‘She needed to hear it.’ Erik’s voice was rough, in contrast to the gentle touches he left on her shoulders. ‘Words matter to her. It figures, right?’

Abby reached up to clasp his fingers. A silent thank you.

Another look passed between her parents. ‘We can work on being more supportive,’ her dad said slowly. ‘And maybe you can invite us to be more involved in your life. Erik is about to become more important to you than ever, if that’s even possible’—even through the maelstrom of emotion orbiting her body, that made her smile—‘and it stands to reason that he will always be your priority, but we’d like a little more of you. More of your time, more insight into your life. We’ll make an effort to carve out more time for you, but we need to make a commitment from both sides.’

Abby nodded. ‘I’m willing to put the work in if you are. But to add to what Erik said last night, when I do have kids, if you ever show them anything less than the utmost respect, you’ll be cutting yourselves off from them and from me. Because I won’t let them go a single moment of their lives feeling anything less than loved and secure.’

Her mum leaned forward, delight sparking in her eyes. ‘So there will be grandchildren?’

A slight shake behind her told her Erik was chuckling silently, and Abby smiled. It would take a while to heal things entirely with her parents, if it ever happened. But for now, this could be enough.

Chapter 26

Timeless – Taylor Swift

‘A

re you sure we can’t convince you to come home for a few days?’ Nora begged Erik as Peter navigated the twisty roads towards the train station. ‘Abby’s welcome to stay too.’

It was the third time she’d asked. Abby felt slightly guilty about their deception. As far as Erik’s parents knew, he was flying back to the Philippines in the morning. In reality, he was spending a further week with her in London while he finalised arrangements for his transfer with the office there. But since he’d made it clear that—aside from that admin—he wasn’t planning on them leaving her flat, he’d opted out of telling his parents he would be only a short train ride away from them.

Although her guilt was evaporating with every stroke of Erik’s thumb against her bare knees. He’d been staring at the spot her wrap dress separated, revealing a small stripe of thigh, for a full five minutes.

Abby raked her nails lightly over his arm to jolt him back to the present.

‘It’s too late to change my flight, mum.’ Erik sighed.

Biting her lip to hide her smirk, Abby tasted the red lipstick she had hastily applied before leaving their room. Upon their return from the beach, they had become slightly distracted with packing. And although it did match the silky fabric of her dress, the solid brick colour had been necessary to serve a more practical function: hiding the evidence of Erik’s extremely enthusiastic kissing.

‘At least tonight? We can drive you to the airport in the morning.’

‘Mum, it’s a two-hour drive and I need to be there by four. Abby lives twenty minutes away. It makes more sense for me to stay in London tonight.’

Nora pouted but gave up the fight, turning back to give Peter directions he didn’t need.

Seven years after he’d first left for university, Nora still cried each time she said goodbye to her son. It was a stark contrast to the more formal farewell Abby had shared with her own parents at the hotel. Despite their new promise to try harder, such unabashed affection would likely still be a long time coming for the trio.

She was standing to the side to give them some space when Peter appeared next to her. ‘You’ll want him to check what time that flight lands and make sure he calls her within the hour.’

‘Why would he need to check? He can just call her when he—oh.’ Abby felt her face flush as sly amusement sparked in Peter’s eyes. ‘Is it that obvious?’

He shrugged. ‘My son has many excellent qualities, and being a terrible liar is one of the ones I am most grateful for. Luckily, my wife would never even consider the possibility of her perfect little boy being anything less than honest with her.’

Abby laughed, loud enough that Erik looked towards her, a bemused smile on his face. Each time she saw that smile, it stole her breath a little bit as it struck her anew that she would spend the rest of her life chasing it. He winked and blew her a kiss over his tiny mother’s head just before she tugged on his ear and said something that brought colour to his cheeks.

‘I’m glad he stopped being an idiot and finally told you how he feels,’ Peter said. Like her dad, he’d never seemed as interested in their potential romance as her mum and Nora had. Surprise must have registered on her face, because a wry grin appeared, making him look even more like both his sons. ‘What? You think just because I haven’t been loudly planning your wedding for twenty-five years that I’m not invested? You know things haven’t always been easy for him, but with you at his side, it’s always been more manageable, and I’m exceptionally grateful to you for that.’ He paused, considering her. ‘Erik’s more himself when he’s with you. I don’t think you even realise the effect you have on him. Hell, I don’t know if he realises the full extent. Nora said earlier that we always loved having you around, and we adore you, Abby, truly. But the biggest gift you’ve given us is him. He was never an unhappy child, just…withdrawn. But it’s like a light comes on inside him when he’s with you. We’ve seen it dim in the last few years, with the distance between you. This week, it’s started coming back.’

‘Peter, I—’