Chapter 14

Jed found himself back at the campus art museum, making his way through the exhibit rooms with a critical eye.

Donna watched him with concern, chewing on her thumbnail. "So? What do you think?"

He turned to her with a curious look. "Why are you so convinced that I have an opinion with any authority at all? I mean, aren't you the Art History professor? I model international economies for a living. What insight could I possibly give?"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh don't give me that! You have been to every museum in a hundred-mile radius more times than anyone could count, and you've never not had an opinion on how it was set up. You notice this stuff. And your opinion matters to me. In this and in everything."

"Donna, you are a very skilled curator, and you should have confidence in your abilities and your instincts."

"Does that mean you like it?"

Jed laughed, "Yes, I like it. Every room has a very nice flow. The pieces are well-placed in the space and in relation to each other. And I see that you took my advice by placing sculptures in the open areas." He took one more quick scan around the room before adding, "If they don't give you a permanent curator position, they're crazy."

Donna's face lit up. "You really think so?"

"Would I lie to you?"

She shook her head with a big grin and came to give her a big hug. "Thank you so much!"

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Alright, can we get coffee now? I was up late last night and I'll be dead on my feet by the time I have to teach my afternoon seminar if I don't get some caffeine."

They made their way to the campus coffee shop and took their cups to a cozy table in the corner. Donna caught Jed up on the recent goings-on with Josh, and he listened intently. She paused in the middle of a sentence. "What's that look on your face?"

"What look?"

"I don't know. It's like a smile but not really. Anything you want to say?"

"I'm just so proud of you, Donna. Getting to watch you grow up from a shy student to the strong woman you are now has been a great blessing to me. I know I'm not really old enough to be your father, but I'd like to imagine that this is similar to what it feels like to have a daughter."

Donna's eyes welled up and she huffed, "You're gonna make me cry!"

"No, none of that," he said, slightly insistent. He knew he needed to change the subject. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

She blinked back her tears. "Of course."

"How did you know you were in love with Josh?"

That was not what Donna had been expecting. "Oh. Um. Wow, okay, well, I think…Gosh, I don't really know. I knew I liked him from the first moment. Something about how he ran his fingers through his fluffy hair and the way his mouth kind of falls open when he's paying really close attention to someone talking. And when we talked for the first time, I was asking him a question and he launched into this long-winded explanation. He knows so much and he wants so much to teach and help others understand. He pretends like he's so tough, but he cares really deeply about every single one of his students. And I somehow saw that in our first interaction. After that, I couldn't get the image of his smile out of my head. I just knew I wanted to spend as much time with him as I could. We talked for hours on our first date. And we laughed a lot. I don't know if I can exactly pinpoint how I knew, but I think I knew I was in love with him when I realized how well we fit together. We just…fit. And now I can't imagine spending my life with anyone else, or without Josh a part of it."

"When did you know?"

"I saw the potential immediately. And I guess after a couple weeks, nothing had happened to make me change my mind. It still hasn't," she replied.

Jed gave a small smile, his eyes looking a little sad. "You're very lucky, both of you. But I guess when you know, you know."

"Can I ask what this is all about?" Donna asked curiously.

"I don't think I ever fully recognized, until very recently, that I never loved my wife. Not like how you're describing with Josh. I should have never gotten married without that," Jed realized aloud.

Donna tilted her head slightly to the right. "What made you think about that?"

Jed took the last few swallows of his coffee, using the pause to consider whether or not he wanted to answer truthfully. "Abbey," he said finally.

Donna gasped happily, "Oh my god, we did it!? Our setup worked!?"

"Yours, Leo's, Charlie and Zoey's, you were all throwing us at each other!" he replied with feigned bitterness.

"For good reason, it looks like." She beamed at him. "This is so great. This is amazing. You deserve this."

"You're feeling pretty pleased with yourself, aren't you?" he teased.

"Well yes, but also I'm just so happy with you! We all thought you two might like each other, but I honestly didn't predict that it would be anything serious. It is serious, right?"

"I'd like it to be. We'll see." Jed didn't want to say anything more on the subject. He was working very hard to be aware of his own feelings, but he didn't have a clue where Abbey stood on all of this. He hoped she was on the same page, but he just wasn't sure.

Jed checked his watch and realized he'd stayed far too long at coffee. He had slightly less than an hour before class, and he wanted to go over his lecture notes to make sure everything was organized.

Donna rushed back to her office to grab her things and go home to tell Josh everything.

A knock came on Jed's office door. He grumbled to himself at the interruption. "Yeah, come in," he called out resignedly. The door opened hesitantly, but the visitor was not a shy student, as Jed had suspected. "Abbey!" he greeted in surprise.

"Is this a good time?" she asked.

"I have a seminar at four, but I'd love nothing more than to spare a few minutes for you."

She nodded, happy with that answer. She closed the door behind her and walked to his desk. Jed had stood up from his chair, but she made him sit back down so she could sit on his lap. She leaned in for a searing kiss.

Jed held her by her waist and thighs, his heart beating fast from having her on him this way. They continued their passionate kiss for a few moments.

Abbey pulled away to catch her breath. "God, I've wanted to do that all day."

"Is that so?" he questioned with a smirk.

"Mhmm. I haven't stopped thinking about you since I left last night. I could barely get through teaching," she confessed.

He chuckled. "Well that is nice to hear. And I suppose I can tell you that I had dreams of you when I finally fell asleep."

Abbey grinned, her nose wrinkling joyfully. She gave him another quick kiss. "I came to see you earlier, but you weren't here."

"I was out with Donna."

"Yeah, that's what Leo said. He and I had a very nice chat."

Jed was suddenly nervous. "Yeah?"

"He loves you very much."

He nodded. "I'm lucky to have him."

Her expression turned gravely serious. "Jed, I think I can tell you that the things you said last night scared me a little."

"I'm sorry."

"No, don't apologize," she interrupted, cutting of whatever he was going to say. "I'm glad you told me. And after talking to Leo today, I'm not scared anymore. At all. I'm not going anywhere. As long as you want me, I'll be right here."

Jed didn't have words. He pulled her towards him and kissed her again. He didn't imagine that she'd say anything like that, especially so soon. But maybe in all the time he'd spent figuring out what he felt for Abbey, she'd been thinking through the same things. She must have. Because here she was, securely in his arms and on his lap. And if it weren't for the class he had to teach in fifteen minutes, he would have never let her go.