Page 45 of The Way Love Heals

“I can, Nyle. I see it all from now to the engagement to the wedding . . . I see life with you so vividly that sometimes it scares me.”

“Tell me. How would you want your proposal to go?”

That perked me up. I sat up on my knees with the biggest grin. “First, nothing can happen without permission from Lucah Abernathy. We’re old school around here, and with me being the only girl, he wants to give his blessing. As far as the actual engagement, I want all our family and friends around us to witness it. It doesn’t even have to be anything extravagant, but I do want it to be a surprise. It’s something I don’t want to see coming, something that’ll knock me off my feet.”

Nyle smirked. “Noted.”

“How do you feel about women proposing to men?”

“You better not even think about that shit.”

We both laughed, but I knew he was serious. Trust me, he didn’t have that to worry about. I wasn’t on that type of time.

Everything was going well. Nyle and I were in our own little bubble, talking about love and life. We hadn’t had a time like that in a while, and I was thoroughly enjoying it until his phone rang. At first, he didn’t look at it. He ignored it and tried to continue with our conversation, but it immediately rang again.

“You should probably answer it, Nyle. It must be important if they’re calling back-to-back,” I encouraged.

“Thing is, I don’t know who it is. It’s an unknown number, and I don’t answer them or call back unless they leave a voicemail.”

Instantly, an overwhelming sense of agony washed over me. It was as if my anxiety kicked into overdrive. I couldn’t help but wonder if he thought it was who I thought it was. Then again, maybe I was overthinking. Nyle was a busy man with a successful business. It could’ve been anyone, but deep down, I believed it was the one person who had been haunting him for the last two weeks.

When his phone rang for the third time, I held my hand out. He handed it to me without hesitation. I blew through the circle my lips formed before swiping my finger across the screen and putting it on speakerphone.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Hello? Who is this?” A woman’s voice came through the speaker, and Nyle’s expression dropped. His eyes widened as he slowly moved his head back.

“You called this phone, so who are you?”

“Is this not Nyle’s number?”

I glanced up at him, and he waved his hand in front of his neck.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not sure who that is. I think you have the wrong number.”

“Damnit. All right.”

Three beeps indicated the call had ended. I tightly held Nyle’s phone while watching him. His jaw was tight as he ran his hand over his beard. Wrinkles lined his forehead along with tiny sweat beads that weren’t there before. It was the confirmation I needed that it was her, but still, I had to ask to be sure.

“Was it her?”

He gave one simple nod before getting up and wiping his shorts off. I assumed he was about to take a stroll by himself, but instead, he pulled me up with him. Discretely, I breathed a sigh of relief. I just knew he was about to pull away from me for the rest of the day, so I was grateful he kept me close. Even in the silence, he let me know he needed me.

We didn’t speak one word as we took a lap around the park before going up under the waterfall. It was a stunning sight, and it felt even better with the mist washing over us. My arm was draped around his shoulder as I sat on his lap and massaged his scalp. He seemed distant, but not too distant to where I couldn’t reach him.

“Are you okay, babe?” I inquired.

“Kind of. I have comfort in you. I’m learning to lean on that more, but I’m trying to figure out how in the hell she got my number. And the audacity of her to call me.”

“Do you have your personal number on your website or anything?”

Nyle snapped his fingers. “I bet you that’s exactly where she got it from. Brielle has been on me about getting a work number, but it keeps slipping my mind. I’ll get it handled first thing in the morning and change my number.”

“I understand.”

There was a pause before he asked, “Would I be crazy to call her back and demand answers?”

“That depends on if you’re mentally and emotionally ready for it.”