Frey by Faith Gibson Page A

paled, but Frey didn’t let
up. “Let me rephrase the question. Why are you still married?”
    “ It’s not that simple. I…
He’s…”
    “ You what, love him? He’s
what? Sorry when it happens? Promises to never hurt you again?”
Frey was getting madder with each word he spoke.
    “ No,” she
whispered.
    “ No, what? No you don’t
love him, or no, he isn’t sorry?”
    “ Both.” Abbi walked to the
other side of the room. Even when she wasn’t dancing, her moves
were smooth and graceful. Frey would give anything to see her dance
again.
    “ Then I will ask you
again, why are you married to the bastard?” Frey asked, his voice
raising.
    “ It’s not that simple!”
her voice cracked as she yelled in response. Again, she turned her
back on him. And again, she wrapped her arms around
herself.
    “ What if it was?” Frey
moved closer to her. Even though she was just on the other side of
the room, the distance was too great. Taking care with her bruised
arms, he gently turned her body so she was facing him.
    Her blue eyes shined brighter because of the
tears. “Now it’s my turn to ask you why. Why are you doing this? I
know Matty is a great kid, and he’s told me all about how you’re
trying to help him. But why me? What do you want from me?”
    Forever. “Why? Because I see a beautiful woman whose light
doesn’t shine. I want to give her the sun. I see a talented dancer
whose song doesn’t play. I want to give her the music. I see a
loving sister whose brother is fighting for both of them. I want to
give him the lessons. I see someone who deserves the best life has
to offer, and I want to give that to her. I can’t explain it, Abbi.
I was drawn to you the minute I saw you walk into the gym. Yes,
you’re married, and normally I wouldn’t cross that line. I’m not a
homewrecker. But from where I stand, your home is already wrecked,
and it’s your husband who’s to blame. What I want from you is a
chance. A chance to show you how a woman should be treated. So,
I’ll ask you again, what if it was that simple?”
     

     
    Abbi couldn’t breathe. She’d been so lost in
her dancing she hadn’t heard him come in the room. He watched her,
saw her. He cried for her. Geoffrey Hartley, the big, badass boxer,
cried for her. She couldn’t wrap her head around that. Matty had
told her all about how nice he was. What if he could help her get
away from Troy, what then? She couldn’t jump out of one
relationship into another. Could she? Was it possible he really
wanted to be with her? She so desperately wanted a relationship
like the one her parents had, full of love and happiness. Would he
really give that to her? He didn’t know her, and she definitely
didn’t know anything about him. Except…
    The words, those beautiful words he spoke
with tears in his eyes, had her heart humming. There was something
inexplicably different about Frey. Some type of tether drawing her
to him. If Abbi closed her eyes, she could see the line between
them. It didn’t stretch from her heart to his. No, this went
deeper- soul deep. How could that be? When he kissed her, there was
an energy that started in her lips, traveling down through her
stomach, ending between her legs. If she wasn’t married, she would
have been tempted to do more than kiss. If she was honest with
herself, she was already tempted, married or not.
    Abbi spoke truthfully, “I’m scared,
Geoffrey. Honest to god scared. I left Troy once before. I ended up
in the hospital for a week. So, you have to understand if I’m a
little hesitant. It isn’t that I don’t want to leave him; I do. I
never really wanted to be married to him in the first place. After
my parents died, I was lost. My aunt gained control of my parents’
money. Mine and Matt’s money. If it hadn’t been for Matt, I would
have rather been dead, too. He was the only thing keeping me going.
He still is. Him and all the kids I teach.
    “ My aunt spent our money
on drugs and gambling,