"Antonella?" Abbie echoes huskily, looking pensive, and Toni shoots her a smile.
"If you're my mom or the District Attorney, yeah. Otherwise it's Toni."
"Toni," she repeats. "Well, then Toni it is."
xXx
Abbie blusters into her job at the narcotics division as if at the helm of some terrific storm, coolly brokering plea agreements, delivering threats and making remarkably shrewd appraisals before anyone can say boo. There's something about her, this tough Texan transplant with a head for law and balls of steel, and Toni can't wait for the two of them to work more closely.
xXx
Abbie's is a strong accent but not an annoying one, and Toni wonders how long she's been away from the homeland given that it's still so pronounced. She wonders if it takes effort to hold onto or flows as naturally as it always has – and then Abbie knocks on the door to her office, so she stops wondering anything at all.
xXX
Abbie catches her staring once. She's not normally the staring type, but they've been combing through files for hours looking for one particular sheet of paper that could turn their whole case around, and when she glances up to make a comment her words die on her lips. Abbie has her glasses on, a sheath of lustrous dark hair cascading down across her face as she pores over her work, and Toni takes a few moments to drink the sight in.
"Cat got your tongue, counselor?" Abbie drawls without looking up, and Toni's eyes snap back down to her files as she tries in vain to keep the blush from staining her cheeks.
"Actually, yes," she bluffs, doubting Abbie will buy it. "I was about to ask you something, and then…" She spreads her hands. "Gone."
Abbie smirks at her. "Maybe we should take a break."
xXx
Their first kiss is a lot like Abbie herself: sensuous, intense, and an unexpected breath of fresh air. Toni's almost scared to look at her after it's over, but Abbie's eyes are warm and there's a slight smile playing across her lips.
"I've liked you for a long time," she admits in that accent of hers, and Toni's heart sings.