Free What Might Have Been: Daniels Brother #4 (Daniels Brothers) by Sherri Hayes Page B

were. Abby grabbed hold of his arm and looked at him with wide eyes. “We’re going on a boat?”
    Trent nodded. “A dinner cruise.”
    She glanced at the paddleboat about fifty feet away. “I’ve never been on a cruise.” He wasn’t sure if she was talking to him or to herself.
    “First time for everything,” Trent said as he pocketed the keys and got out.
    Abby was already standing beside the truck by the time he reached the passenger side. She hadn’t waited for him to open the door for her. Trent tried not to let it bother him. He’d been taught to open doors for women, especially women he dated.
    He could still hear his dad’s voice in his head. “It’s a sign of respect. And if you don’t respect the woman you’re with then you shouldn’t be with them.”
    “Shall we?” he asked, offering her his hand.
    She hesitated for a moment, and then linked her fingers with his.
    They walked across the parking lot and joined several other couples who were waiting in line to board. “That fancy job in New York doesn’t send you on business trips?”
    Abby shrugged. “Sometimes. But I usually don’t see much outside of the airport and whatever we pass in the car getting to our hotel and the office building.”
    “Sounds rather boring.”
    “Oh, really?” Abby gave him a look that made him chuckle. She hadn’t lost her sense of humor.
    “Yeah, really. I mean there should be some perks to being stuck in an office all day.” Trent squeezed her hand and winked.
    “What about you, big shot? Have you ever been on a cruise before?”
    They moved forward in the line and Trent dug out their tickets. “No. But then again, I’m a simple guy.”
    Abby snorted and bumped him with her shoulder. “Yeah, right.”
    He grinned and handed their tickets to the man standing beside the ramp leading to the boat. The man punched their tickets and gave them back to Trent. “Enjoy your evening.”
    The cruise wasn’t scheduled to begin for another twenty minutes, but by the looks of it, most everyone was on board already. There were a few kids about, but most of the other cruise-goers appeared to be couples. Since his brothers had all gotten married, Trent often felt like the fifth wheel. Not tonight. Tonight he had Abby beside him.
    She leaned her back against the railing, the wind blowing her hair, and looked up at Trent. “You’re thinking really hard about something.”
    Trent chuckled and rested his forearms on the railing beside her. “I was thinking how nice it feels having you with me tonight.”
    “Oh.” She turned her head toward the back of the boat.
    He’d made her uncomfortable again and he knew he needed to fix it. “You remember Gage, right?”
    “Of course,” Abby said, looking at him again.
    “He and his wife just had their first child.” She shifted to face him, so he went on. “A little girl.”
    “Wow. It’s hard to picture Gage all grown up with a family.”
    Trent raised one eyebrow. “You do know that Gage is one of the best quarterbacks in the country, right?”
    “I know he plays football.” She blushed. “I-I saw him on the cover of a magazine once, posing in his uniform.”
    Apparently, Abby wasn’t immune to his baby brother’s charms any more than the rest of the female population seemed to be. Even though he was now happily married to Rebecca, Gage still had to fend off female fans from time to time.
    Abby looked down, playing with the strap of her purse. “What about Paul and Melissa? Are they still together? They used to be inseparable.”
    “No. She . . .” Trent cleared his throat. “She died in a car accident about five years ago.”
    “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize—”
    “It’s okay. You had no way of knowing.” He moved a little closer to her, their arms barely touching. She didn’t move away, so he counted that as a positive sign. “Paul had some rough years, but he’s much better now. He recently got remarried.” Trent grinned. “To