Page 73 of His Secret Gift

So, I just respond, “Nothing much. Callie is entertaining a man in our room.”

He slaps me, probably harder than he meant to, on the back. “Ah, man. That sure seems to be a pattern with you on this trip.”

I pretend to laugh. “Yeah. I guess so. Did you have a fun night?”

When he breaks down into hysterics it’s clear that was the wrong question.

“I just miss her so much, Kayla,”

He slinks down and rests his head in my lap.

Goodness gracious.He sure has strong feelings for a woman he’s known for less than a month.

He sniffles and wipes his nose with the back of his hand. “I know. You probably think I’m crazy.”

“No, not at all,” I lie.

“I don’t even know how to explain it. But it’s like, the first time I laid eyes on her, I knew she was the one.”

I just pat his head. “That’s nice.”

He sits up. “No, you don’t understand. I know that I’m going to marry that girl.”

“Okay, that’s great.”

He then holds his finger up in my face. “And she feels the same.”

“Good.” It would certainly be unfortunate for him if she didn’t.

“We want to get married as soon as I’m back.”

I choke on my own saliva. “Are you serious?”

“As a heart attack.”

“Wow.”

He brings his legs up and puts his elbows on each knee. “You think we’re insane, don’t you?”

I put a hand on his shoulder. “It doesn’t really matter what I think. Or anybody else, for that matter, who isn’t the two of you.”

He looks at me and smiles. “You’re right.”

“Of course, I am.”

And if anything, I’m so jealous of Maria. She has a man who knew his intentions with her the second he saw her. Whereas I’m dealing with Jack, and I feel like I encounter a different version of him every time we speak.Not to mention the complications that come with Harper being back in the picture.

“What about that guy you were dancing with tonight? He seemed fun.”

That makes me grin, at least. “He was. We’re going to try to meet up again tomorrow night.”

He lightly shoves my shoulder. “Good for you. Have fun playing the field while you can.”

He’s speaking like someone who has been married for fifty years, not a man who just recently met his “soulmate.”

“I intend to.”

“Good for you.” Then, he clutches his heart. “But once you find that special person, you’ll never want to lay your eyes on another.”

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