Page 123 of His Heart

I laughed. “She doesn’t have anything to worry about.”

“Why? Did you talk to him or something?”

“Yeah. I’m probably not supposed to tell you this, but he’s proposing.”

“Oh my god.” She covered her mouth with her hand and stared at me, wide-eyed. “Really? When?”

“Now,” I said. “She was sitting in the driveway talking to you and he was waiting for her inside.”

“That is so freaking funny,” she said. “Olivia was pissed because Charlie asked her to go run some errands earlier. And she didn’t want to, or something, and they got in a fight about it. She didn’t understand why he wanted her out of the house so badly.”

“That was why, apparently.” I’d known Charlie had planned to propose—I’d even gone with him to buy the ring—but he hadn’t filled me in on the details of when and how he was doing it.

“She’s going to lose her mind,” Brooke said. “I’m so excited for them.”

I started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. “Yeah, me too. Although does this mean I’ll have to wear a suit?”

“Probably.” She looked me up and down and licked her lips. “Oh my god, I can’t wait. You’re going to look delicious in a suit.”

I just laughed and handed her a lidded cup. “Here.”

“Did you get me a milkshake?” she asked as she took it from me.

I laughed. “Protein shake, baby. But I found a place that makes really good ones. Organic whey protein, low sugar, all the good stuff.”

“Mm, healthy,” she said with a wink, then took a sip. “Oh, this is good. Chocolate peanut butter?”

“Yep.”

“Yum.”

“I figured you could use some sustenance after your appointment,” I said. “How was it?”

She took another drink, then set it in the cup holder. “Hard. Really hard, actually. We decided to stop early, and she gave me some time alone in her office. That’s why it took me a little while to come out. I needed to recover a bit.”

Her therapist was amazing, but her sessions could be exhausting. She’d been going every week for months now, slowly working through all the trauma she’d experienced. It wasn’t always easy, but it was making a huge difference. Starting on the right medications had also helped her. It had taken a couple of months to get the dosages right, but they were another one of the tools she was using to get better.

The bottom line, though? She was doing the work. I had her back every step of the way, but it was her strength shining through. Her joy sparkling in her eyes.

I was just lucky enough to be the guy to enjoy it.

“You can always take your time,” I said. “I don’t mind waiting if you need some space to process or whatever.”

“Thanks,” she said. “Half an hour ago, I felt like crawling into bed and crying. But I wrote some things down and just kind of let myself feel it all for a while. I think I have to do that sometimes, instead of hiding from it. Even when it hurts.”

I caressed her cheek with the backs of my fingers. “How are you now?”

“Good,” she said, and by her tone I could tell that surprised her. “Really good, actually. I feel cleansed. Like I’m fresh and clean on the inside.”

We stopped at a red light, so I leaned over and kissed her softly on the mouth. “Good.”

“Thanks for picking me up today,” she said. “You didn’t have to. I could have taken the bus.”

“I love it when I can come get you. But I’ve been thinking maybe it’s time to get you a car. You have enough going on, I think it would make things easier for you.”

“Yeah, it would be nice,” she said.

“And I know a guy who’ll give you a great deal.” I winked at her.

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