Page 18 of Ravaged With You

She gets up immediately and goes into the kitchen, then pours two glasses of whiskey. It was one of the smarter moves in my life to marry a man who wanted to open a distillery, especially as I’ve always preferred whiskey to wine. She brings them over, hands me one of the glasses, then reaches out as if to toast. “To Mel and the memories,” she says.

I nod, and though it’s simple, the toast seems completely appropriate.

She settles on the sofa beside me, then reaches for my hand. I take it eagerly, grateful for the comfort.

We haven’t known each other that long in the grand scheme of things. We met at a party at the distillery right about the time Renly asked her to marry him. It’s been less than a year, but Abby and I hit it off, and she’s become one of my closest friends.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asks.

I shake my head. “I really don’t. Right now, I’m trying to forget. I know I can’t—but just for a little while, can we pretend everything is normal?”

“Are you kidding? Of course. Whatever you need. Is it okay that I’m here? Would you rather be alone?”

“No, it’s great. But aren’t you in the middle of some big upgrade?” Abby’s a partner in a software development company with Nikki Stark, and it seems like they’re always in the middle of rolling out a new product or an upgrade.

“Nope. I’m golden. We got that finished over the weekend.”

Reality smacks me in the head. “I can’t believe I said that. Of course you’re taking the week off. And I’m really looking forward to the party.”

She practically glows, and I wonder if I looked like that in the days before I married Mel. Honestly, I don’t think so.

“The timing’s now kind of terrible,” she says.

“No,” I say. “Everyone will want to have a chance to celebrate. Take our minds off things.” Abby and Renly are getting married on Friday in front of a judge, but immediately after, Damien Stark is throwing them a party at his Malibu home. They’ll stay in his guesthouse that night, then head off to a honeymoon in Italy.

“My mother thinks I’m crazy not to want a big wedding, but that’s not us. I want to get married intimately, then have a celebration.”

“I totally applaud you. And I’m really happy for you both.” I mean it, too. Abby and Renly have been lifelong friends, and you can see their connection crackle around them. Honestly, it makes me a little jealous. Because that’s not something Mel and I ever had.

“Thanks. But I didn’t mean to hijack the conversation. You must be in shock.” As I nod, she continues. “Was there some sort of accident at the distillery, or—”

“He killed himself,” I blurt, shocking us both. And then, suddenly, all those damn tears are back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t—”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” she says. “Jo, my God.” She puts her arms around me, and I let her pull me close. “I had no idea.”

“He didn’t even leave a note. No explanation. Just sorry.”

“Do you want me to stay the night? Renly will understand, and we can hang out and get drunk and watch movies. I mean, it sounds as reasonable a plan as any, don’t you think?”

I laugh despite myself. “It sounds like an amazing plan, but all I want is to finish this whiskey and go to bed. What’s that saying? Even if tomorrow isn’t a better day at least it’s a different one?”

Abby rolls her eyes. “That’s not the way the saying goes, and tomorrow will be a better day.”

“Honestly, I think by default it has to be. The only way to go is up.”

“Cheers to that,” she says, and we clink glasses.

“Can you hang out for a little bit? Maybe watch some mindless television?”

“Of course. I can,” Abby says, and I turn on the television. I scroll through the streaming services until we come across The IT Crowd, and she squeals for me to stop. “It’s a hoot,” she promises, when I tell her I’ve never heard of it. And she’s right. It’s not only funny, but it’s clear why she loves it, what with working with computers herself.

“It’s great,” I tell her after we finish the third episode. “But I think I’m televisioned out.”

”Do you want me to go? Or I can stay and make you some food. Distract you. I can stay the whole night if you need me to. Truly.”

I shake my head. “No. Seriously. I’m fine. It means a lot that you came over. Tell Renly that I’m glad he was there today. I know that Red must be losing his mind. He was more married to Mel than I was, when you think about it.”

“There are all sorts of partnerships. And all sorts of friendships.”