Hope, Sami, and Adrienne had also seen Abigail walk off and then EJ, as well, seemingly in the same direction as her. Each of them had a different opinion on EJ and Abby being gone at the same time. The only one of them who seemed to find it a cause for no concern was Sami.

Sami assumed that EJ intended to talk to Abby about Chad being back and hadn't he said something or the other about tying up loose ends on the Nick fiasco. Whatever it was, he would tell her about it later. A minute later, she spotted Chad going after them so it was obviously about Chad and his plans to get back with Abby. They must have decided to sway her with a two-front DiMera assault, she thought, as she smiled smugly in Adrienne's direction on how perfectly she had one-upped her. That would teach her to piss off Sami Brady.

Adrienne noted Sami's smug smile and, as much as she hated to admit it, Sami had pulled off the impossible without a hitch. She hadn't been fooled for an instant when Sami said that the party had been in the works for a few weeks and there had been a glitch with the group e-vites that she had originally sent out. Adrienne knew that was a lie as sure as she knew as soon as their lunch date was over Sami had gone into overdrive to get all the e-vites out and this party done so quickly. That wasn't her concern right now. Let Sami have her moment. For now, she was more concerned about why EJ always seemed to be in Abby's orbit. What did he want from her niece? She turned away with a troubled look on her face intending to get the bottom of it and, so, didn't see Chad follow them.

Hope had seen all three head off deeper into the gardens and experienced that feeling of unease she had gotten at Ariana's christening watching EJ and Abby together. She had a gut feeling that there was more there than met the eye, but, for the life of her, she couldn't put her finger on it. With Chad being back in town and here tonight with Abby, she remembered thinking before that whatever interaction she had seen between EJ and Abby must have to do with Chad. Still, even though this explanation seemed the most plausible, she couldn't quite get the nagging feeling out of her head that there was more to this story and it had nothing to do with Chad. The most outrageous thought entered her head on the true nature of their relationship, but Hope quickly dismissed it. It wouldn't be remotely possible at all that EJ and Abby were involved with each other. She would just remember to keep a watchful eye on Abby for the time being.

As Abigail walked back towards the party, she fought to get herself under control. Her heart was starting to slow down its wild pounding to a more regular beat. She discovered, as she tried, that her breathing was returning to normal and was no longer fast and shallow. She couldn't believe that she and EJ had made love with their family and friends only a few yards away from them. At any moment, they could have been discovered by anyone. There would have been hell to pay if that had happened, especially if it was Sami who had caught them in the act. The thought of that happening made her shudder. Abby didn't think that she would have been able to face an enraged Sami Brady. She knew that it would disappoint Will and Sonny, but, all of a sudden, she just wanted to go home. She couldn't stay here a minute longer and keep up this pretense. Abby took a firm grip on herself. What was she thinking? This was Will and Sonny's night and she couldn't disappoint them. She could hold on for a little while longer and then she would make up an excuse about feeling ill. She hated lying to everyone about that, but she knew she couldn't stay and smile and act like nothing had happened.

"Abby, Abby."

Abby was startled out of her thoughts by Gabby calling her name. She wondered how long she had been standing there, unaware of Gabby calling her. Judging from the worried look on Gabby's face, it must have been for awhile.

"Hey, are you all right?" Gabby asked as she laid her hand on Abby's shoulder.

"Sure, I'm fine. I was just thinking about how our bachelor party was going to stack up against this," Abby said as she waved her hands around at the party.

"It'll be a lot more wild and fun, that's for sure. Anyway, you know Will and Sonny will love whatever we do."

"Come on," Gabby said as she dragged Abby in the direction of the dance floor.

A temporary dance floor had been set up in the middle of the garden with a dj playing a mix of music that was likely to appeal to all the party goers. She could see Will, Sonny and T were already on the floor, dancing and trying to outdo the other with silly dance moves. Watching their funny antics, Abby's mood gradually started to change and she joined in the fun, laughing at T and his moves. Their little group seemed to be the center of the party and, first, JJ and then Chad ended up joining the group, too. For a moment, Abby had an odd feeling about Chad, when in the middle of swinging around, she caught him looking at her with anger, but when she looked at him more closely, she saw nothing in his eyes but laughter. Abby chalked it up to just her imagination. The music eventually slowed down and Abby found herself in Chad's arms. Remembering EJ's quiet warning to her about staying away from Chad, she looked up, searching for him and saw him dancing with Sami. He was staring at her and Chad and the look in his eyes should have scared her, but it made her furious instead. How dare he look at her that way when he was dancing with Sami, his fiancee? Still she didn't really want to encourage Chad, not when his brother was the only one she wanted. Abby was about to break away from Chad when, suddenly, they bumped into EJ and Sami. Before she knew what was happening, they had switched partners, with Chad saying he hadn't really gotten a chance to talk to Sami since his return.

EJ held Abigail's hand, slid an arm around her waist and started dancing to the rhythm of the music. She could feel the heat of his hand around her waist as they moved and how her heart was skipping madly because he was holding her. She stared at his neck, at first, afraid to look up at his face and see that same dark expression that she had seen earlier. Eventually, she lifted her eyes and, as always, the world around them drifted away. She could see that he was struggling to get his temper under control, but she could also see the breathlessness that she was feeling, too.

"I didn't want to dance with Chad," she blurted out before he could say anything.

"We were all dancing and then the music changed and Chad just started dancing with me. Anyway, I don't know why I'm telling you all this since you have a fiancee and a family and-" she got out before he stopped her rant.

"Abigail, shhh. Can we just dance without talking about anyone else? I just want to dance with you."

"Okay. Sure. Let's just dance," she replied happily, almost putting her head on his chest before she remembered where they were.

Abby knew her family would have something to say about her dancing with EJ, but she didn't care. This had been her wish, coming to this party. Abby had buried it deep down because she never imagined that she would actually get to dance with him. It was perfect; it was amazing and, if she closed her eyes, she could pretend that they were just a couple dancing at a party.

Chad never took his eyes off EJ and Abby the entire time they were dancing. He had purposely bumped into EJ and Sami and switched partners with the excuse of wanting to catch up with Sami. Sami being Sami, she was happily chatting away about the party, Will's wedding and also her own, completely oblivious to the fact that he wasn't paying any attention. He had engineered this whole thing so he could watch EJ and Abby together. At first, he could see that Abby refused to look at EJ while he kept looking down at her with a brooding look. Then she raised her face and stared into EJ's eyes and Chad was blown away. It was one thing to overhear them in the gazebo, watching their dark shadows as they made love, but quite another to see them as they were right now. He had never seen his brother look at a woman they way he was looking at Abigail right now, not even Sami. He looked at Abby with reverence and awe and an intense desire. How did they manage to fly under the radar as long as they had? Because as he watched them, he noticed other things as well, the way their bodies seemed so in sync with one another; the way their eyes talked to each other; and the way everything and everyone around them ceased to exist. The heat between them was so palpable. Chad guessed no one saw any of this because the idea of EJ cheating on his beloved Samantha with Abigail Devereaux, the good girl, would never enter their minds. The only reason why he could see all of this now was because he knew the truth about them and knew what to look for. They were so obvious, even when they thought they were being careful. It was written all over their faces and Chad realized that this was much more serious than he thought. EJ had strong feelings for Abby and she for him.

Chad and Sami strolled back over to EJ and Abby just as the dance was ending. Sami grabbed EJ's hand and, with breezy goodbye, headed in the direction of Adrienne and Justin.

"So, what do you want to do now? Eat, dance some more or what?"

"If you don't mind, I'm kind of beat so can you take me home, please," Abby asked Chad.

"I just need to say goodbye and let my mom know that I'm leaving and then I'll meet you out front," she said as she walked off to go find everyone she wanted to say goodbye too.

She wanted to avoid EJ and Sami, but they were still talking to her Aunt Adrienne and Uncle Justin when she went to say goodbye. Sami and Aunt Adrienne made a fuss about her leaving so early, as EJ stared worriedly at her, but she assured them all that she was just tired and Chad was going to take her home. Abby realized her mistake the instant the words left her mouth and she saw the tension in EJ's shoulders. Without looking at him, she gave her aunt and uncle a hug and went out front to meet Chad. The drive to her house was short and before she knew it, she was at her door and with a quick goodbye to Chad was about to get out when he insisted on walking her to the door. At the door, he asked if they could hang out for awhile since he wasn't ready to head back to the party just yet.

"As friends," he added when he saw the worried look on her face. It was really as a way to stick it to EJ because he knew the longer he stayed away from the party the more EJ would go crazy trying to figure out if he and Abigail were still together.

As if on cue, Abby's cell phone went off and after taking a quick look at it she put it down.

"Aren't you going to answer your phone," he asked as it rang again.

"No, it's nothing she said," as she turned her phone off.

Deciding that he had stayed long enough to irritate his brother, Chad said bye to Abby and left. After getting back to the mansion, he went upstairs to his room instead of back to the party. By now, EJ must be in a rage thinking he and Abby were still together at her house. Let him steam, he thought as sank down on his bed.