Grace chewed her bottom lip as her gaze bounced back and forth between them and her mom.
“Paige is not a former patient.” The tension in Gabe’s words seemed to suck the air from the room. “She’s a current one.”
Concern lined Marisol’s face. “Oh dear. That does complicate things.”
Paige paced her bedroom.It was a large room, but it wasn't big enough to absorb the nervous energy coursing through her. She really wanted to ride horses, but she kept forgetting to ask Gabe if he thought it would be okay.
How am I going to keep from slipping up?
She was so exhausted when she finally got home last night that she went straight to bed. She'd totally forgotten to take Gabe's grandmother's ring off her finger until it glinted in the mirror as she brushed her teeth this morning. It was probably a good thing she’d slept in and skipped breakfast with her parents.
Despite tucking the ring into her purse, she'd fidgeted all through the church service, earning her concerned glances from her parents. To avoid questions, she'd feigned a headache and retreated to her room as soon as she got home. But she was so keyed up all she could do was pace.
She hated having to keep this a secret. That had been her only hesitation to saying yes to Gabe’s proposal last night. At least his mother knew the truth, but even she agreed they should keep it under wraps until Gabe had a chance to talk to Dr. Stoker and her dad.
This was one of the happiest days of Paige’s life, but she couldn’t tell anyone, and it was killing her. As much as she trusted Riley, she couldn’t share this secret with her. It was too risky. It could get back to her parents too easily if Riley let it slip.
Maybe I should call Grace.
They'd become good friends in the short time they'd known each other. She snatched up her phone from the bed, but instead of calling Grace, she found her cousin Damon’s name. She hesitated only a moment before hitting the video call button. Then she continued to pace around the room as she waited for him to answer.
And waited.
And waited.
With a growl, she hit the end button and tossed her phone back on the bed. Then with a dramatic huff, she threw herself onto the bed as well.
I can’t believe I’m engaged.
It still felt surreal how quickly and effortlessly she’d fallen in love with Gabe. She hadn't known him very long, but she felt certain he was the reason God brought her back to Providence. That meant things would all work out, didn’t it?
She studied the bumpy texture of her ceiling, as she pondered theroadblocks in their path. She still needed to find a job here, and hopefully Gabe didn’t lose his.
Her phone rang beside her, making her jump. She grabbed it and looked at the screen. Spotting Damon's face, she pushed to a sitting position.
“Hi, Damon.”
Her cousin's face filled her screen. "Sorry I couldn't answer when you called. I was at the gym, and it was very noisy in there." Trees and a blue sky danced above his head as he walked. "How's my favorite cousin?"
"I'm kind of going crazy."
"Kind of?" Damon's brows hiked up as he looked into the phone. "Didn’t that happen a long time ago?"
“Very funny.” Paige stuck her tongue out at him before pushing to her feet to resume her pacing. "I seriously need to talk to someone."
Damon's image stopped bobbing on his screen, and the trees froze above his head. "Something happen between you and Riley?"
"No, I just can't talk to her about this."
"Is it Daniel? Did he start drinking again?" Damon's brow furrowed as his image started bobbing again.
"No, Daniel’s doing great." Paige waved her arms in frustration. "But I can't talk to Ri aboutthis."
Damon started walking again, a comical look on his face. "About what?"
"You have to promise not to tell a soul what I’m about to tell you." Paige pointed at her phone.
"Sounds serious. Are you sure it’s something you should be telling me?”
