Thanks for all the reviews thus far! Things will get worse before they get better. I love angst!

Chapter 3

She instinctively moved towards him and to her surprise and hurt, he jumped back seemingly listening to his own instinct. "Don't," he said. "Stay there."

Abby trembled with indignation. "God, Austin. Am I so disgusting to you now that you can't even bear to be on the same bridge as me?"

"Abby –" He started and then shook his head. "It's not that."

"Then what is? Why are you acting like I'm some kind of parasite who has latched onto you? We made love and as much as much as you would like to forget it, I can't, Austin. I can't!" she cried.

"Keep your voice down," Austin scolded her as if she were a petulant child. The whole time she had been his assistant, he had never treated as anything but an equal and now that they had had sex, it was like he was doing everything that he could to shame her for it.

Tears pooled in her eyes once again and she willed herself to hold them back but it was so hard looking into Austin's beautiful eyes and seeing regret and disdain there. She really had believed when they slept together that it would change things but not like this. She had stupidly believed that he would finally admit that he wanted to be with her. This all hurt her so badly.

Austin sighed. "Don't cry," he said. "I can handle anything but that."

"How can you ask me not to feel hurt after the way you are just tossing me aside like yesterday's garbage?" Abigail asked quietly. "You are treating me like I'm nothing."

"I don't mean to, Abby, I don't, but according to you we slept together. That means I cheated on my wife, Abigail. My wife. My soulmate."

She shook her head. "She's your wife, yes, for now but if she was your soulmate she would treat you with the tenderness and care that you deserve. She wouldn't go around kissing other men or –"

Austin leaned on the railing and stared out at the little duck pond. "I think sleeping with you trumps whatever Carrie did by leaps and bounds. A kiss is -"

"She obviously feels something for Rafe," Abby interjected. "Or she wouldn't have done what she did. And you must have felt something for me too or you never would have made love to me."

Austin's grip tightened on the railing until his knuckles were white. "I was drunk! I was –"

"You knew what you were doing, Austin. You said my name so many times while we were making love. You knew then that I was the one you were with. You know it now too. Maybe you just don't want to remember because then you'll know you love me and your marriage to Carrie really is over and -"

"Abby, dammit, Carrie and I have been together since she was just a teenager. I am not going to throw all of that away because we –"

"Say it, Austin. Look at me and admit the truth that you know we made love and it was beautiful." She walked over to him and he started to move away but he backed up right into the opposite railing. He was cornered and his eyes flashed at her. There was anger percolating in the liquidy gray depths but something else as well. Desire, maybe. She had to know if he still wanted her or if she was really wasting her time.

"Let me help you remember everything," Abby said, reaching for his hand and resting it on her cheek. "Remember how you touched me here and everywhere else. Remember how my skin felt and how my lips tasted and the things you said, and the way –"

"Abby –"

"Austin, remember everything so you know that I didn't trick you, so that you know I wanted it too, that you wanted me as much as I wanted you and still do."

"Abby!" He practically growled out her name as she took his hand and placed it on her slender right hip. She then snuggled into his chest, her head fitting perfectly under his chin. She moved her free hand up to his chest and placed it over his heart, feeling the stalwart, rhythmic beat underneath her palm. He was frozen in place, his eyes riveted on hers as she slowly got up on her tiptoes and softly pressed her lips to his.

For a moment she felt him begin to return the kiss; she could feel how much he wanted it, how much he craved it, and her, but then he was wrenching forcefully away from her. "Don't do that again!" Austin snapped. "Abby, don't! We may have slept together but I was drunk and it was the biggest mistake of my life."

Abby's hand flew to her mouth, cupping her bruised lips in shock. Then her eyes spilled over and she turned and ran away as fast as she could.

XoXoXo

Austin wanted to kick himself. He definitely wanted to do that. Instead, he sagged against the bridge railing and willed himself not to run after Abby. He knew what they had done was so wrong but in the moment she was kissing him again, it had felt anything but. He had only stopped because he was trying to do the right thing. As if he was so honorable.

"Yeah right," he muttered. "I'm a scoundrel. I'm a user."

But deep down what bothered him the most was that he had hurt Abby. She was a really good person - an amazing woman and he had devastated her today. Why did he have to go and break such a beautiful spirit all because he was too afraid to admit the truth?