My hand shakes as I hit the End Call button, something I should have done after the first question.
It trills almost immediately, before my finger has left the phone screen. A wave of anger emboldens me as I answer. “Do not call me again!”
“Abbi?”
“Oh, Miles. Hey.” I should have read the number before yelling like a maniac.
“I wanted to say congratulations,” Henry’s assistant continues. “What’s going on?”
“A reporter is poking around.”
“About what?”
I shake my head, though he can’t see it. “Nothing. So, what’s going on with you? How are things there? Does Henry have you running around like a headless chicken?” Miles and I bonded early on. As a boss, Henry isn’t the easiest person to work for, something we both know from experience. He doesn’t ask, he demands, and he expects perfection. And when he’s stressed out, he can be intolerable.
“No, actually. It’s weird. He hasn’t asked me for anything. And when I forgot to send the daily report off to the executive team? I expected him to tell me to get my head out of my ass like he normally does, but he didn’t say a word.”
“That is weird.”
“He’s been in his office for most of the morning, except for an executive meeting where I took notes for him, and he was completely distracted. It was noticeable. Like, everyone noticed it.”
“He’s been through a lot over the last few weeks.”
“I know. I mean, his dad and then his brother. And then he almost died! But still, it’s not like him. I thought I’d see if there’s anything going on that I should know about,” he asks tentatively, as if he might be overstepping.
I’d like to know the answer to that too. Maybe Henry got a call from Luca full of insinuations. How will he react to his new fiancée being painted a summertime whore, which is what I sensed from Luca’s tone and manner of questioning. Will Henry be embarrassed?
Too embarrassed to go through with the marriage?
I pace around the kitchen island, studying my ring, as a darker thought invades my mind. Is Henry regretting his hasty proposal already?
Damn, that asshole reporter. Now that he’s planted the idea in my head, it’s going to fester all day, driving me insane. By the time I see Henry tonight, I’m going to be an insecure mess.
I need to talk to Henry now. Better yet, I need to see him, to read his eyes and confirm that I have nothing to worry about. I check the time. “Does he have anything scheduled over lunch?”
“Hmm … nope. Nothing yet.”
“Okay, keep it open for me, would you?”
CHAPTER 4
“Marcello’s. Smart.” Miles’s green eyes widen with delight as he spies the paper bag in my hand. I stopped by Henry’s favorite sandwich shop on my way in and the guy behind the counter ran it out to the car. More sage advice from Raj.
I hope so. I’ve never surprised Henry at work before, and he’s not a big fan of people hijacking his calendar. I follow Miles into the elevator.
Miles waves his key card against the pad, hits the top-floor button, then flops back with an exhale. “I am so glad to see you.”
I smile despite my worries. Henry hired his lanky male assistant after our breakup midsummer when I transferred to Outdoor Crew and he left Wolf Cove. It was a smart move, given his history with female assistants. I can’t lie and say I wouldn’t have been insanely jealous had he replaced me with another. “Is he still being weird?”
Miles pushes a hand through his curly mop of brown hair. “I spilled a folder full of paperwork in his office, and he helped me pick it all up without a word.”
I burst out with laughter. “So, what you’re saying is he’s not his usual asshole self.”
“Exactly. But don’t tell him I said that.” His gaze flickers to my finger. “It fits.”
“It does.” I hold out my hand to admire the ring that apparently Henry sized on me one night while I was sleeping. Another sign that his proposal wasn’t hasty. But wait … “You knew he was going to propose?”
He grins. “Who do you think was fielding all the calls between the jeweler?”
“And you didn’t warn me?” I give him a playful shove.
“He threatened to have my balls chopped off if it got out.”
I picture Henry delivering on that threat. I’m sure it sounded convincing. “He was only kidding. He doesn’t do that sort of thing.” I pause for effect. “Dyson, however …”