Chapter 42：Ch 42: Who could blame him?

Abigail was precious to him, she always was, and he knew he had to take his time with her or he'd frighten her away. There was no other like her in the world as far as he was concerned and he didn't want to lose her.

He'd gotten her to agree to his proposal, but he knew that rushing her would chase her away. That's why he was holding back. People may have thought he had everything he ever wanted because of his wealth and his looks, but there was one thing he always thought was just a hair's breadth out of his reach.

Abigail. She was his best friend's baby sister and had his eye when she started growing into a woman. Joseph was due home in a few weeks from his tour overseas and Owen had every intention of talking to him about Abigail.

Only he'd been killed. Inside he was a mess over the incident. Joseph and he were as close as brothers, but he needed to be strong for Abigail.

He wanted her to need him and so far it seemed to be working. After she called him and that gut-wrenching feeling hit him from the news, he'd started putting his plan into action. It was wrong to manipulate her in such a vulnerable state, but she didn't seem to see how he looked at her.

How he always looked at her. Before that, he wasn't sure if she was interested in him. She was confident and independent and used to coping with things on her own, so when she reached out to him, he used it.

It was odd that Joseph never noticed how he looked at Abigail. Maybe he was a master at hiding his feelings that he even fooled his best friend.

Who could blame him? After his mother died, his father went a little crazy with publicized affairs and when he remarried, Alice came along and he needed to be strong for her because her mother had no interest in being a mother, so he'd spent most of his life hiding his emotions.

Abigail took a swallow of her wine and Owen thought even that slight gesture was incredibly alluring. Everything about this woman was downright sensual and attractive.

Amazingly enough, she had no idea how beautiful she was to the opposite sex, but he knew, and like hell, he was going to share. He considered firing Hudson after only touching her, one of his most trustworthy employees.

Then he weighed the consequences. This was something he had to get used to. Abigail was gorgeous and that body she possessed was what men could only dream about.