"No, you go home," Ellie insisted, taking the plates from him. "I can help her."

"Yes," Abby agreed, although not quite as adamantly. "You should get some rest."

Chase hesitated and then nodded. "Okay, well, I'll see you both later." His look lingered on Abby, but

then he nodded again and headed toward the driveway. With one final wave, he disappeared into the

darkness, Chester trailing along behind him. In silence, Ellie and Abby cleared the table and headed into the kitchen. Abby put the drain stopper in the sink and began to fill it with hot water. She then moved to scrape the remnants of food off the plates into the trashcan.

Ellie leaned against the counter and waited for her sister to speak.

Finally, she did. "What?"

Ellie widened her eyes innocently. "Nothing. Just watching you."

"No, you're thinking something."

Ellie couldn't contain herself any longer. "You're right. I think you two would be wonderful together."

Abby slid the plates into the foamy water and began to scrub them with more force than necessary. "I

don't know what you're talking about."

"You and Chase. Anyone could see you're crazy about each other."

Abby rinsed the plate and placed it in the dish rack.

After a full second of silence, Ellie thought she wasn't going to discuss it, when Abby said, "It's just

physical attraction. Nothing more."

"What I saw was a lot more than physical attraction," Ellie said softly.

"It's not. But even if it was, I have Nelson. Why would I end a relationship with a man that I've been

with for years? To be with my high school crush, who is attractive and amusing. Is that really a suitable reason?" "Are you happy when you're with Chase?" Abby stopped washing the cup she held and frowned. "What?" "Does Chase make you happy?" Abby shrugged. "I don't know. I guess."

"Then I can't think of a better reason to take a chance on him."

"Take a chance? You make it sound like I'm scared to be with Chase." Her voice grew defensive.

"Rather than the fact that I'm with another guy, and I happen to treasure that relationship. It has

absolutely nothing to do with taking chances."

Ellie nodded, but she must not have looked convinced, because Abby threw down the sponge she held

and put her wet hands on her hips. "What, do you think if I have some fling with Chase, you can live vicariously through me?"

"What?"

"I saw the way you watched Mason Sweet earlier. Just because you're pining for our old high school's

golden boy, doesn't mean I'm longing for the class's bad boy."

Ellie could feel the blood drain from her face. Without another word, she left the room.

"Ellie..." She heard the remorse in Abby's voice, but she didn't care.

Chapter 14.

Abby was still feeling like a huge jerk on Monday morning. Ellie had accepted Abby's apology, but she was quieter and more reserved than usual. Abby knew it would take a while for her sister to truly forgive her.

She also knew that a lot of what Ellie had said was true, and that was why Abby had gotten so riled. She did want to be with Chase. The fact that he could make her laugh and joke and even feel beautiful held a tremendous magnetism.

But Chase could make anyone feel that way. Charm was second nature to him, and there was no proof that he really had true feelings for her-because she was someone special.

Abby took a sip of her coffee, set it on her desk and started to read the report Harold, the resident expert on molecular phenotyping, had wanted her to check out She shared an office with Leslie and another coworker, Darren. They were both in the lab and that left her alone to think about the argument with Ellie. She put down the paper and picked up her coffee again.

If she didn't have doubts about the extent of Chase's feelings for her, would she call things off with Nelson? She didn't want to think she was fickle.

No, she wasn't fickle. She'd been with Nelson nearly twelve years. There was nothing capricious about that Twelve years. That was a long time. They had matured, started careers, and created their lives. And yet, on the whole, their relationship had changed very little. They just stayed in this odd frozen state of being "a couple." Not married, not a family. They didn't even live together.

Abby took another sip of coffee. She shouldn't be worried about a relationship with Chase. She should be worried about her relationship with Nelson. Nothing stagnant could survive. She had to make Nelson see their relationship needed to change.

Maybe she should go to Boston this weekend and see him. After twelve years, there had to be something there worth saving.

"Hey, Dancing Queen." Her officemate, Darren, wandered in. With his perpetually mussed hair and wire-rimmed glasses low on his nose, he looked like the stereotypical absentminded scientist. Despite his scruffy appearance, he was brilliant in his field of research, Large-scale Mutagenesis Informatics.

He had taken to calling Abby "Dancing Queen" after the CrabFest, which she didn't mind. It was certainly nicer than the nicknames from her youth. "Hi, Darren. Did you get the centrifuge working?" "Yeah, just needed a couple whacks on the side." "Very technical of you." He nodded with a pleased grin. "So, you ready for the shindig this weekend?" Abby paused with her coffee halfway to her lips. "What shindig?" "It's the big Rand Laboratories fund-raiser."

"What?" This was news to her.

"Yeah, it's when we get all gussied up and try to convince the community and, of course, investors that we aren't creating monsters from spare body parts. Or cloning sheep." He gave her a serious look. "As we know, no good can come from cloning farm animals."

Abby smiled, but then grew serious again. "Cecil didn't mention it."

"He will. And he'll likely want us to prepare a little dissertation on our work."

"Really? Well, that should be easy enough. Especially given the cool stuff we've just discovered about

Functional Genomics via Mutagenesis." David poured himself a cup of coffee and added a ridiculous amount of non-dairy creamer to it. "We could give a speech made up entirely of nonsense words. They don't care about the nitty-gritty of what we do here. Investors just want to be able to take some credit when one of us finds the cure for cancer or discovers the gene that causes crooked teeth. They'd be all over that. Zap the gene, and voila! A perfect smile." Abby shook her head. "Jaded, jaded." "Nope, realistic. So, make sure you wear something stunning. It's black tie. I even get my hair cut for the occasion." Abby looked duly impressed. "Okay," he saluted her with hisscientists do it HYPOTHETICALLY mug. "I'm off to spin some stuff." Abby absently watched him leave, her mind already on the fundraiser. This was the perfect opportunity to get Nelson to visit and for them to work on their relationship. He might not be willing to take a vacation, but he was always willing to network. And while she had him here, she could get their relationship back on track.

"Nelson. This is Abby."

"Oh, Abby. How's the great white North?"

"It's decidedly green. You do realize you are only in Boston?"

He sniffed. "Did you just call to chat or did you have something in particular to discuss?"

"Actually, I do have something specific to ask. Rand Laboratories is having its annual fund-raising gala

this weekend." Okay, Abby realized "gala" might be extreme, but she was trying to get his attention.

"And I would love for you to come up and attend with me."

"Rand Labs has a gala?"

Okay, maybe that had been a bit too much. "Yes."

There was silence on the other end of the line. Then he said, "I don't know, Abigail, let me check into a few things and get back to you."

"Great. I hope you can make it. I really want to see you."

He grunted in acknowledgment and then said his good-byes.

Abby hung up the phone, feeling good. Nelson would come. He couldn't resist the idea of investors

forced to listen to him.

By Thursday night, Abby was beginning to think even the lure of free money wasn't enough to get Nelson to come to Maine.

But when the phone rang at twenty past ten, she was there to snatch up the receiver.

"Abigail?"

"Hello, Nelson. I was starting to think you forgot."

"No. I didn't forget. However, I can't attend. I'm far too busy here to get away."

Abby bit the inside of her lip to keep from screaming at him. He was an intelligent man. Couldn't he see that their relationship was in a terrible state?

"Do you think you could make it up another time?" A pause. "Possibly."

"Maybe I'll come to see you soon."

Another pause. "Why don't you see how your schedule works out? I'm sure you are busy too."

"Yes. Well, I should go."

"Abby?"

"Yes?"

"I am sorry I can't make it."

Abby hung up the phone and clamped the tender flesh of her lower lip. Nelson had never been the

attentive type, but this was absurd. Was he really that obsessed with his research that nothing else mattered? And why hadn't she seen it before?

To be honest, she had seen it-all the time. So why hadn't it bothered her until now?