Page 49 of Unspoken Love

“Hey, Faye,” Parker called without looking up.

“Hey.” She smiled, then turned to Nate. “Are you almost done for the day?”

“The sink’s going in now, then Parker’s guys will finish the connections. I should have water to the island today. Want to grab dinner after they wrap this part up?” he asked.

“Definitely.”

Fifteen minutes later, after there was water flowing from the sink, she followed Nate’s truck as they headed to Baked.

They sat outside on the patio near the side of the road, where they could just make out the docks.

They split a Hawaiian pizza and enjoyed cold root beer as the evening started to cool off.

“Are you going to tell me how it went today?” he asked finally.

She had been worried that she was sharing too much with him and didn’t want to just blurt out her medical problems. “I’m fine. It turns out I have an infection at my implant site.”

Nate’s brow furrowed immediately. “Is it bad?”

She shook her head. “No, it’s low-grade,” she assured him. “They’ve put me on antibiotics for ten days. It’s not serious unless it gets worse, but I have to go back next week for some follow-up tests.”

He reached across the table, his hand covering hers softly. “Why didn’t you call me earlier? I would have loved to hear this sooner. I’ve been worried about you all day.”

“I almost did,” she admitted, her voice soft. “But I didn’t want to overshare. I’m not good at this, remember?”

He tilted his head slightly, brow furrowed. “What’s this?”

She sighed, brushing her thumb along the edge of his hand. “Relationships. Letting people in. Trusting that someone actually wants to be there for me. Outside of my mom, my sister, and Max, I’ve spent much of my life being self-sufficient. Out of necessity. You grow up having to fight for every inch of normal and, eventually, you just stop expecting anyone else to stick around.”

Nate didn’t say anything right away. He just let her talk, his thumb now moving gently against her skin in return.

“I’ve had people walk away. Or say the right things but not show up when it mattered. So yeah, my first instinct is to keep things to myself. To handle it alone. It feels safer that way.” She looked up and met his eyes. “But then there’s you. And suddenly, not calling you felt worse than calling you. Which is new for me.”

He gave her a long, steady look, something unreadable flickering in his gaze before it softened again. “Thank you for telling me.”

“I’m trying,” she said with a faint smile. “But I might mess up. I probably will mess up.”

“I can handle a little mess,” he said, squeezing her hand again. “I’m pretty good with tools, remember?”

She laughed quietly. “Okay, that was cute.”

He leaned back in his chair, clearly pleased with himself. “You doing okay now?”

She nodded. “I’m tired. And a little annoyed. But yeah. I’m ready to get back to work tomorrow.”

“Are you sure?” he asked, his eyes scanning her face. “You don’t have to rush back in.”

“I’m positive. Besides, I know you’ve been juggling everyone’s schedule around in my absence.”

“You’re handling it better than I would,” he said with a grin. When she arched her brows in question, he continued. “I broke my arm one summer and busted off my cast three times. I’m not a very good patient.”

That made her laugh. “I can actually picture that.”

He took a bite of pizza and a sip of his soda. “I’ll add you to the work roster tomorrow. What day is your next appointment?”

“The tenth.”

“I’ll make sure you have it off,” he said with a smile. “You’re still coming with me on the Fourth, right?”