“What’s going on in that brain of yours?”
I turned to look at Naijhel in the seat beside me. It still amazed me how sexy I found the little things about him, like the way that he drove. His seat was pushed back really far, and his arm was extended as he steered the wheel. The sun glinted off the gold watch that he wore, and the veins in his arm and wrist protruded. Why was that so sexy?
I didn’t know. My eyes lifted to meet his beautiful chestnut-brown ones, and they radiated with humor. I licked my lips as I took in the salt and pepper of his beard.
“That can be arranged, you know?”
“What?”
“The way you’re licking those lips tells me that you want something.”
I threw my head back and laughed hard. “You read my mind.”
“You’re a nasty girl.”
“You like it.”
“I do. But seriously, what was on your mind? I saw you shaking your head.” He reached over and ran his hand over my head before he dragged the backs of his fingers along the curve of my cheek.
I inhaled and replied, “Forcing thoughts of my past away. That was a negative time in my life, and I no longer want to dwell on it. Not when I’m so happy.”
He reached over and grabbed my hand. Giving it a little squeeze, he replied, “Don’t. You’ll never have to worry about Clayton bothering us again.”
The firm set of his jaw and his flinty, narrowed gaze that he turned back to the road spoke volumes. For some odd reason, I suspected something had happened to Clayton. It wasn’t just the things that Naijhel had been saying; it was also a feeling in my spirit. My mama always taught me not to ignore those feelings. When I had shared that feeling with Aria, she told me that she wouldn’t be surprised if Naijhel had unalived him. At the time, I was strongly in denial and offended, but looking back now, it was possible.
When I asked her about why she felt that way, she explained that she knew he came from two powerful families. Although she didn’t believe he might have done it himself, she said thathe had the money and connections to make it happen. She even admitted that she hoped he had for my sake, so that Clayton wouldn’t disturb my peace and happiness.
I glanced at my man again. I wondered if that was possible, but when he smiled and winked at me the way he did, I pushed Clayton out of my mind. I didn’t want to know. Hell, I was totally fine with whatever Naijhel had done.
“Where do you want to stop to eat lunch?”
“I’ve got a perfect spot that we can set up at. Just a few miles up the road,” he expressed.
I nodded and leaned over to rest my head on his shoulder. Our fingers were still linked, and I stared at them for a long time, imagining a wedding ring on both of our fingers.
He pulled our fingers up to his lips, and he kissed mine. “There will be a ring on this finger sooner than you know, beautiful.”
“Huh?”
“I was looking at your finger, and it looks a little empty to me. You need something to cover this space.” He tapped my left ring finger with his thumb, and I smiled up at him.
Naijhel pulled over to the side of the road while my heart was still fluttering. I knew that he had every intention of marrying me because he confirmed that point a while ago.
We climbed out of Naijhel’s truck, and I looked around at the beautiful dogwood trees and slowly inhaled and exhaled their scent. I had packed a picnic basket for our lunch rather than going to a restaurant. I thought that a picnic would be more romantic and private.
This little park that he found was sparsely populated, and there were no kids here. It overlooked a lake, the grass was lush and green, and beautiful dogwood and cherry blossom trees were all around, along with pink azaleas and peonies, and yellow and purple tulips.
“This is the perfect day,” I announced as he spread the blanket out for us.
“Any day with you is a perfect day,” he asserted, taking my hand and helping me to sit down on the blanket.
“I feel the same way, babe. But I also feel like you’re buttering me up for something.” I teased him.
“Oh, I don’t have to butter you up. Not when you’re already so slippery wet.”
“Naiiijjjhel,” I whined, and he chuckled as we unpacked the basket.
We had roast beef, brioche rolls, potato salad, grapes, strawberries, cheese, and crackers. I also packed a bottle of wine, glasses, and water bottles. We ate in silence, enjoying the beautiful day as we looked all around us.
