Page 50 of Believing in You

Royce laughed. “Yeah man. You have never had good eating until you’ve tasted my grandmother’s cooking.”

The way Royce talked about how every weekend the Jenkins family put on a feast and came together to eat sounded like an event more than a brunch. Harrison had every intention of visiting one day, and hopefully Nyla would go with him.

His heart squeezed just thinking about her. They spent practically every day together, and Harrison couldn’t imagine not having her in every aspect of his life going forward. It was tooearly to be thinking about marriage, but his ultimate goal was to one day marry Nyla and have a family.

He and Royce talked for a few minutes longer before Royce had to leave to catch a plane. Harrison had just sat at his new desk, prepared to get some work done, when his cell phone buzzed.

A smile found his lips because he assumed it was Nyla. They were having lunch soon, and she should be there any minute. But when he glanced at the screen, it was a text from Veronica.

I’m surprised you agreed to an interview.

“What?” he mumbled before he clicked on the attached link.

Wrongly Accused Murderer Returns to Society

“What the actual hell?”

His pulse pounded loudly in his ears as he started reading the article. Shock and anger warred within him, and he gripped his phone hard enough to split it into two. He glanced at the name of the reporter, and his fury spiked. It was the guy who had interviewed Nyla about her being the new owner of Moody Days and the changes in store.

But instead of reporting about the jazz club, the write-up included his story, details that he’d shared with Nyla months ago. It even mentioned how his mother chose to protect Geoffrey over him.

“Dammit!” he ground out, as he continued reading his life in black and white. How could Nyla have gone behind his back like this?

A knock sounded on his opened door, and Harrison lifted his gaze. Nyla stood there smiling and holding a large picnic basket. He wasn’t sure what she saw on his face, but her smile dropped, and worry replaced it.

“What’s wrong?” she asked and hurried into the office.

“Close the door,” Harrison demanded gruffer than intended, but he couldn’t believe her reporter friend or whoever the hell the guy had been could print such trash.

“I trusted you with my deepest, darkest secret. The mosthumiliatingthing that’s ever happened to me, and what did you do?” He held up his phone. “You shared the story with some damn reporter!”

“Harrison, I have no idea what you’re talking about, but clearly, you’re upset. But what you’re not going to do is yell at me and talk to me any kind of way,” she said, her voice low but a little shaky as she set the basket on the table. “Maybe you should tell me exactly what you’re accusing me of.”

Without a word, he shoved his phone at her. While she read, he paced behind his desk as his chest heaved. He didn’t stop moving until he heard Nyla gasp, and he turned to her. She was still reading and gripping the phone as hard as he’d done moments ago.

He released a ragged breath and placed his palms on the desk. Maybe he’d overreacted. He hadn’t even read the whole article, but seeing the name of the reporter and reading what he had before Nyla came in, had him immediately thinking the worst.

Nyla wasn’t Veronica or his mother. She wouldn’t intentionally hurt him. He knew that on a certain level. Yet, there was a part of him so used to the women in his life betraying him that it was easy to forget everyone wasn’t like them.

“Who is Karen Bouchard? The reporter quoted her a few times,” Nyla said, her head still down as she continued reading.

Unease clawed through Harrison before he said, “She was Geoffrey’s girlfriend. She’s the one who lied, giving Geoffrey an alibi for where he was at the time of the murder.”

Karen had eventually been charged with perjury and obstruction but cut a deal with the prosecutor and got hersentence reduced. She served a year in prison, received several years of probation, and was charged a hefty fine that she was probably still trying to pay.

Harrison had no idea what she was doing these days. Except, apparently, she was talking to reporters.

“Was anything in the article a lie?” Nyla asked, setting his cell phone on the desk.

Harrison ran his hands down his face, feeling like a complete jerk for the way he’d talked to her. “Not the parts I read. You came in when I got to the section about me getting arrested at work and dumped by my fiancée.” He moved around the desk. “I’m sorry, baby. I overreacted when I accused you of—”

Nyla placed her finger over his lips, and he stopped talking. Thankfully, she didn’t look like she wanted to murder him, but he couldn’t miss the disappointment in her pretty brown eyes. God, he hoped she wasn’t going to break up with him, but unlike with Veronica, he would fight for Nyla.

“You’re lucky I’m in love with you,” she said. “Otherwise, I would knock you upside your head with my purse.”

His lips twitched under her finger, but he didn’t allow himself to smile. It was clear he’d hurt her even though she sounded calm. He saw the disappointment in her eyes.

“I would never betray you in any way. Don’t you know that by now?” she asked, her words cutting him deeply as she dropped her hand from his mouth. “I know it was a shock seeing your story in that article, but you must know I’m on your side, Harrison. I always will be, and I want you happy, healthy, and… I want the best for you. Don’t you know that?”

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