Page 55 of Zane

"You will if you don't want champagne, a very pricey one, dumped all over you," Abigail warned.

"He can go for hours," she murmured, a secret smile touching her lips. "We started on Friday evening and never stopped until the early hours of Saturday morning. Then we went almost the entire day."

Abigail stared at her, her mouth open. "You're lying."

"No." She took another sip of her drink. "He took my virginity and was so sweet about it."

"You-" Abigail almost choked on her own saliva. "You were waiting for a wedding ring."

"I decided not to." She shrugged.

"Just like that. You ditched values and morals you had been holding on to for years." Abigail shook her head. "He must be quite something in bed."

"That and more." She smiled whimsically. "He's- he was-" She shook her head. "I don't have the words to describe it."

"Bitch," Abigail muttered. "So now what? You two a couple?"

"No." Tears threatened, and she had to concentrate hard to not let them fall. "He left."

"That son of a bitch! He just left after-"

"No!" Kara felt her heart tearing. "It's me. It's my fault."

"Honey, stop blaming yourself. What did I tell you about men? They're lice."

"No." Kara held up a hand. "You don't understand. I messed up."

And she proceeded to tell Abigail all about it.

Abigail drank champagne and shook her head. "That mother of yours is a piece of work. Well, what are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know what to do. It's for the best. We barely know each other anyway."

"You know each other well enough. And from where I'm sitting, you're in love with him. And from what you told me, I think he cares about you. No man is going to stand there and take that kind of abuse from a woman's family and stay after if he just wanted a roll in the proverbial hay. Trust me, I know," she added darkly.

"He was so angry."

"Can you blame him? You made him feel as if he wasn't good enough, and that's on top of what your mother said to him. Honey, what're you going to do?" she repeated.

"I need to think."

Abigail waved an impatient hand. "About what?"

"It's not easy for me," Kara said defensively. "She's still my mother."

"All right." Abigail poured more champagne for herself. "Spend the rest of your life living for your mother's approval. Drive away a man who seems to care about you. Or you can just go back to William, the dull and boring. Please your mother by marrying that jerk. And when you do, please, for the love of God, don't come complaining to me about how useless your life is."

"You're right." Pushing from the chair, Kara had to steady herself as the effect of the champagne swam through her blood, making her dizzy. "I have to stand up for myself."

"Honey, there's no other way."

"He's probably still upset with me." She worried her bottom lip and walked over to stare out the window.

"Well, of course." Abigail watched her closely. "You're going to have to convince him that you've changed your mind. Have you?"

"What?" Distracted, Kara turned to look at her friend.

"Have you changed your mind about him?"