Nic looked at her then. “But it’s up to you. If you want to introduce me to your family, to your ex—who’s an attorney—as a landscape artist, I’m fine with it.”

Nic’s mouth twitched in a smile, and Abby laughed. “A landscape artist, huh? I love it.”

“Okay. So, I’ll tell the truth then. But is that something they’ll question?”

“What do you mean?”

“Who do you normally date? Will this be drastically different for you?”

“Oh.” She hadn’t thought of that. Yes, it was drastically different, all right. Had she ever dated anyone who wasn’t a professional of some sort? God, how snooty did that sound? But she waved it away. “It doesn’t matter. Maybe drastically different is what I need. I’ll tell my mother Holly drove me to it.”

“Drove you to the dark side? This could be fun.”

Abby smiled. “Yeah, it might be. It’ll drive Holly crazy, that’s for sure. She’s got this haughty attitude. She’ll probably go out of her way to prove her superiority and—”

“And try to get into your bed?”

“Judging by her text, isn’t that what you inferred?”

Nic nodded. “Yeah. But I think I’ve got dibs on your bed. Not her.”

Abby’s smile faded a little. Yes, Nic had dibs, didn’t she? Because they had an agreement. She pushed that thought aside as she leaned back against the seat, trying to relax. She pictured Holly’s face then. She could already see the scorn there. Holly would be perfectly dressed, as was her style. Since she’d been dating Aaron, she wore more makeup than when Abby had first met her. More makeup, longer nails, and higher heels. And while Holly would no doubt think that Nic was attractive, she would make it be known that Nic’s social standing was several rungs below hers. That, she could count on.

Abby turned and stared out the window, absently watching cars and concrete speed past as Nic maneuvered them along I-40. Was she any better than Holly? Or was she just as shallow? So Nic worked in the dirt. So she didn’t have a glamorous office job, as she called it. Abby would never call her mundane eight-to-five job on the sixth floor of Las Colinas Towers glamorous. It was just a job. It was her chosen career, she was good at it, she was comfortable there…but it was just a job.

She turned to Nic then. “I need to apologize.”

“For what?”

“You had dirty knees.”

Nic arched an eyebrow. “Yeah. That goes along with dirty hands. I usually start out with gloves on, but that doesn’t last.”

Abby motioned up ahead. “Take Highway 287 to the north, toward Dalhart.”

“Got it.”