Stolen Identity: Mute Heiress

Jamal's eyes were soft as they moved over Abigail's face. His lips parted slightly, but no words came.

She frowned playfully. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

Slowly, he reached out, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. His fingertips brushed her skin, making her shiver. "Because I'm so happy to finally be with you this way. And I can't wait for everything to settle down so we can get married."

Her heart skipped a beat, but her smile spread. "Me too."

She stepped forward and embraced him. Jamal's arms went around her and he held her tight, his chin resting against her hair.

They stayed like that for a moment until Jamal shifted, pulling away quickly.

Abigail caught it, and the heat rising to his face then she burst into laughter.

Jamal's ears turned red. "Why are you laughing?"

She pointed, still giggling, at the obvious bulge pressing against his pants now.

His face burned hotter. "You can't blame me," he muttered, scratching the back of his ear. "It's been a long time since..." he trailed off without completing his statement.

Her laughter grew, soft and teasing. "Well, that makes two of us."

Before either could say more, Jamal's phone buzzed on the counter. He glanced at the screen, then smiled faintly. "It's Brenda, Lucy's daughter. I need to take this," he told Abigail.

"I remember. She called you at the airport and you called her baby," she said, and Jamal chuckled as he received the call.

He put it on speaker.

"Sweetheart!" Brenda's voice rang out. "How could you? You forgot about me!"

"Us! You forgot about us!" Another voice piped in. It was Bella.

"They were wondering why you hadn't been checking on them until we heard you found Dawn. How's she? She's prettier than these two ugly looking ducks, right?" Branden asked and Abigail covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.

"You're asking for it, Branden!" Brenda yelled and there was a little scuffle at the other end of the line while Abigail laughed quietly, wondering how a call could be so noisy.

"Jam, why haven't you checked on me? I thought you loved me?" Bella asked with a pout after they settled down again.

Jamal laughed, finally speaking. "I thought you all loved me. Why did you not check on me when you didn't hear from me? Huh?"

"We were busy with exams," Brenda shot back. "But you have no excuse."

"I hope you told Dawn about us already," Bella added cheekily. "That we're all going to share you. Because Jamal belongs to everyone."

Jamal chuckled. "Thankfully I don't have to tell her anything. She can hear you."

There was a gasp, then giggles before the line went dead.

Abigail burst into laughter. "How old are they?"

"Nineteen," Jamal said, laughing.

"Nineteen and they argue like that? They're adorable! Call them back," she said laughing.

Jamal called them back and when the call reconnected, Abigail leaned closer to the phone. "Hello, I'm Dawn."

"Hi, I'm Bella." Bella said, a little embarrassed that she'd heard all they said.

"I'm Brenda, and the male voice you heard earlier belongs to the family's donkey," Brenda said, making everyone laugh.

"Hello, Dawn. Do not listen to the family's duck. I'm Branden, and I'm pleased to finally meet you…"

"You've not met her, idiot. It's just a phone call," Bella corrected.

"I'm meeting her over the phone so I'm correct," Branden retorted and they began to argue about the dictionary meaning of meet.

"Guys! If you don't mind can we focus? It's almost midnight over here. We need to go to bed," Jamal cut in.

"Bed? Like you're both going to sleep on the same bed?" Bella asked.

"Of course. They had to have slept on the same bed to have the kid, right?" Branden pointed out in a matter of fact tone.

Jamal and Abigail stared at each other, amused and embarrassed at the turn the conversation was going.

It was clear to Abigail that everyone knew about everyone's business in the family.

"Well, Dawn, you should know that Jamal is very important to us, so we're all going to have to share him," Brenda said, and Abigail nodded.

"You know, I don't mind sharing Jamal… as long as I get to share your boyfriends with you if you have any. I can wait until then if you don't have one yet," Abigail said in a sweet voice.

"Hey, that's different!" Brenda protested.

"I don't think so," Abigail teased. "I let you have Jamal for years. Now it's my turn to have him. So you'd better go find your own boyfriends and leave him to me."

Jamal laughed so hard he was breathless.

Brenda groaned. "Jamal, I don't think I like her."

Abigail smirked. "That's fine. If my memory serves me right, I'm your grand-aunt. You don't need to like me."

Jamal hollered with laughter.

"She's got a mean streak. I like her totally," Branden said.

Abigail laughed too. "Well, I can't wait to meet you all."

"We can't wait to meet you too and see if you're really as pretty as Jamal always says."

Abigail grinned. "Nah! I'm actually prettier."

"She's mean and proud. I feel sorry for you, Jamal," Brenda said, and they all laughed.

They chatted a while longer before hanging up. When the call ended, Abigail and Jamal were both still laughing.

"You got along with them better than I expected," Jamal said, and Abigail grinned.

"I like them. I'm looking forward to meeting them," she said with a yawn.

"You need to go to sleep," Jamal said gently, still smiling.

Together they went back to Josh's room and Jamal opened the door wider for her to go in.

Abigail rose on her toes and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "Goodnight."

She turned to step inside, but Jamal caught her arm. He pulled her back, kissing her deeper this time, his hand cradling her face until they both pulled apart, breathless.

"Sleep well," he whispered.

Abigail's cheeks glowed as she slipped into the room. Jamal watched her go, his heart full.

Sleep came more easily to them both this time as they lay on their various beds, looking forward to seeing each other again came morning.