Chapter 35

35

TALLULAH

A few days had passed and the sting of the phone call had worn off. I still wondered if my past was going to come back to haunt me at some point, but at least I’d been honest with Niall about everything now.

He and I talked about it some more over the last few days, and I’d told him everything he needed to know about my parents and about Carter. There was nothing they could say to him now that would come as any surprise to him, and I’d also warned him that they might try to dissuade him from being with me if they ever did show up.

As always, my guy had been a pillar of strength and support, listening patiently and constantly assuring me that there was nothing that could or would change the way he felt. Honestly, I never would’ve been able to imagine feeling so secure in a relationship with a man who made me as happy as he did.

It was like living in a fairy tale. One where I got to wake up with the handsome, secretly golden-hearted prince every morning and then got to spend each day doing what I loved. Above all, I wasn’t waiting for the other shoe to drop anymore.

In the aftermath of the festival, I’d been helping to take down the decorations and Niall had assigned a whole team to me to follow my lead in boxing everything up for storage. I loved the organizational component of it, as well as being given true ownership of something for the future as well. In letting me lead, it was also like he was guaranteeing that the next time the company needed these things, I’d still be here and in charge of putting it up all over again.

It was a symbol of permanence I’d sorely been craving, and it was creating a feeling of belonging for me with the company and in this role. I no longer felt like I had something to prove. With all the new events I was planning around town, I was really starting to feel like I was part of something.

When added to the incredibly amazing relationship I had with Niall, I couldn’t actually believe that this might just be my life. I might get to do this. To be with the man I loved in a job I couldn’t get enough of, and it made my heart so full that I felt like I could pop.

Since I was supposed to meet up with him tonight for a date, I left the property I’d been checking out for an event with a brilliant, excited smile on my face. When I got to his place in the Garden District to find it dark and empty, however, the smile started slipping.

“Niall? Are you here?” I supposed it wasn’t impossible that he’d gotten caught up at the office, so I headed inside anyway, my footsteps echoing in the quiet foyer.

Moving deeper into the house, I called for him again and frowned when I found his kitchen completely abandoned. “Niall? Where are you?”

I knew he liked to spend time in here and the living room when he was home, so the fact I couldn’t find him likely meant he wasn’t home. I sighed, slinging my purse off my shoulder just as my phone started ringing.

I plunged my hand into my bag, fishing out the device and smiling once more when I saw it was him. “You didn’t forget about our date, did you?”

He chuckled. “I did not. I could never forget about you. I actually had to run out to the plantation, so I’m hoping I caught you before you went to the Garden District?”

I made a buzzing sound. “Guess again.”

He groaned. “You’re in my kitchen, aren’t you?”

“I am, but it’s okay. I’ll meet you out there.”

“I’m at the main house,” he said distractedly. “The maintenance team needed me to take a look at something. I should still be up here by the time you arrive.”

“I’ll see you in a little bit,” I promised before hanging up, sliding my purse back over my shoulder and retracing my steps to the front door.

I particularly loved this property of Niall’s and I definitely understood why he’d chosen to make it his home, but it felt weird here without him. Strangely empty and ghostly quiet.

Happily letting the door swing shut behind me, I strode to my parking spot down the street and hopped in his old truck, smiling a little over the fact that he still had it. When Niall had told me the story about it, I could hardly believe that he’d let me borrow this car over all the others, but it meant a lot to me that he trusted me with it.

It’d also inspired me to start using it, since I didn’t want him to think I was just being a snob, not wanting to drive around a beat-up old truck. The engine turned over on my first try, but that was no surprise. He kept it in tip-top shape and it ran like a dream.

I’d fallen in love with it in the time I’d been using it, and I felt a bit silly for not having used it before. The truth was that I still wouldn’t have been driving it if it wasn’t for the fact that I didn’t feel like I was stealing it or something anymore.

It was silly to think of it that way now, but I’d come to trust Niall fully. In growing to become completely comfortable with him, I’d decided to take him up on the vehicle he’d offered me all those weeks ago—before I’d even told him about my past.

That was why I hadn’t wanted to use it back then. I hadn’t been able to bring myself to do it while I’d felt like I was lying to him.

Replaying the story of how our relationship had grown in my mind, I drove out to the plantation in a dreamy haze—while still paying attention to the road, of course—and grinned as I climbed out of the truck. I hurried to the main house, excited about seeing him when we’d both been so busy all week, but after I burst in, I couldn’t see or hear him in here either.

“Niall! I’m here. Where are you?” I called out, but once again, there was no response other than the eerie quiet.

The sun was setting outside, and inside, it was getting dark fast. I sighed, making my way from room to room, calling out for him. “Niall? I’m here!”

When he still didn’t answer, I pulled my phone out and called him, but it went straight to voicemail. I groaned, worry starting to bloom in my soul.

I even tried calling every number I had for the maintenance team, but none of them picked up either. Frustrated and getting more worried as the seconds ticked by, I left the main house, jogging over to the guest house to see if he’d decided to wait for me there instead.

“Niall?” I called loudly as I burst through the doors, leaving them open as my desperation to find him grew. “Are you here?”

The silence that followed was deafening and I swallowed hard, suddenly scared. I moved through the house, still failing to find any trace of him. Where on earth is he? Why wasn’t he waiting at the main house like he said he would be?

None of this was like him at all.

Fear mingled with confusion in my stomach, turning it into a cold, weirdly jittery mess. As I popped into my bedroom and found it empty as well—the last room of the house where I might’ve expected to find him—I squeezed my eyes shut.

Drawing in a deep breath, I realized my hands were trembling and I shook them out at my sides. My head shaking, I decided to just go wait for him on the porch. I had no idea where he’d gotten off to, but his battery must’ve died and the maintenance probably didn’t have their phones with them.

Still, as much as I tried to rationalize it, I just couldn’t quite shake the feeling that something was up. Opening my eyes again, I made my way back down the stairs and I was passing the kitchen when suddenly the power went out.

I groaned, swallowed by darkness and there wasn’t even a storm outside. At least I knew better how to handle it this time, and I pivoted to head into the kitchen to the breaker box instead of continuing to the porch. Already on edge for not knowing where Niall was and now suddenly stuck in the dark, the ice in my stomach grew tentacles that shot down my veins and wrapped around every one of my internal organs.

Unsure of what had caused the power outage, all I could do was hope that flipping the breakers would work again. I already knew I couldn’t get in touch with the maintenance team and that Niall was MIA, which meant that if this didn’t work, I was screwed.

Worried sick and scared as hell, I felt my way to the box, my heart thumping in my chest as my head started playing tricks on me. I swore I heard the soft shuffle of footsteps and the rustle of clothes, but as I looked around wildly, I couldn’t make out any signs of someone who might’ve caused the sounds of movement.

My heartrate kicked up another notch though, adrenaline pumping through my veins. I finally made it to the breaker box, my fingertips meeting with cool wall and metal. I closed my eyes as I felt around for the switches, envisioning what the box had looked like and cursing myself for forgetting my phone in my bedroom.

As I flipped the switch, light flooded the room and I breathed out a sigh of relief. My heart still raced but at least I could see now. I even managed a smile as I dusted off my hands and left the kitchen, deciding to wait in the living room instead of on the porch.

That way, I would be closer if the power went out again and I could watch some TV while I waited for Niall to show. As I strode into the living room though, a shrill shriek tore out of me when I realized it wasn’t empty.

My hand flew to my mouth at the piercing sound that had escaped, and Niall spun to smirk at me. Those blue eyes were blazing with satisfaction and his blond hair was neatly styled, not so much as a strand out of place that might indicate he’d been through some kind of ordeal.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Was this to get me back for all the times I scared you?”

“Yep,” he said happily. “I’m glad to see it worked. You keep talking about how much you love when someone actually manages to scare you, but it’s just not that easy to do.”

I laughed, the relief and adrenaline turning my heartbeat into a fluttery pitter-patter as I shook my arms out at my sides, trying to work out some of the tension. “That was good. I won’t lie. I was really worried about you. Have you been in here all along?”

He shrugged, eyes still twinkling with humor. “I’ve been around. Here. The breaker box. The kitchen.”

My eyes widened. “You were in there! I knew I heard something. I guess it serves me right, though.”

“Anything to make you happy, my dear,” he joked, but then his expression suddenly turned serious and he lowered himself down on one knee.

At first, I frowned, wondering what the hell was happening now, but when he lifted his gaze to mine and stuck his hand into his pocket, I realized that Sayra had been right. Niall had gone shopping for a ring, and he was about to propose.

My entire body froze, my hands trembling all over again as my heart soared. I’d been too afraid to let myself believe that this might really happen, but as I stared at him now, those eyes glued to mine, there was no doubt in my mind that it was all real.

The fact that he was on one knee in front of me. The ring he pulled out of his pocket. But most importantly, his love for me and mine for him. That was the most important thing of all. And it looked like I might just get to keep it.