Chapter 27 #2
Leyla pulled away, putting her hands on my cheeks again, something I was growing to love, and said, “I can’t believe you got a tattoo like this. Of something that meant so much to me.”
“You were etched into my heart. Etching ink onto my body was nothing compared to that.”
She shook her head, her golden hair glowing in the sunlight. “You affected me, too, back then,” she said with a watery chuckle. “I made a fool of myself in Logan’s office when he told me you were going to be my partner. I’d been crushing on you ever since our first debate about microbiology.”
I wiped the last of her tears as she leaned up and kissed me chastely.
“Ready to head back? Mike will give us a hard time about sneaking off soon,” I said, my smile wide.
“Yeah, let’s go. But I’d like to see it again.”
Her words made my face heat up, and she laughed.
“Not like that!”
“Okay, but just know you can see it anytime you want,” I teased, earning me a playful slap on the arm.
Just as expected, Mike and Sofia took turns ribbing us when we walked back and sat down again. The conversation turned to what was going on at Miles’ company, and Leyla leaned against me as I wrapped my arm around her waist possessively.
“So, what’s new with you guys?” Leyla asked, looking around the group.
Vicky and Miles exchanged a look and a big smile. “Well, we do have some news,” he said, taking her hand. “Vicky, MJ, and I have decided we’d like to add to our family. We’re going to try for a baby, so we’d like your prayers.”
Sofia and Leyla screamed, jumping up to smother Vicky and Miles in hugs and kisses. Vicky opened her arms, and MJ fell into them, kissing her mom over and over.
“Mom and Dad are going to freak out,” Luke told his brother after a warm hug and slap on the back. “I call godfather!”
“You can barely keep cactus alive,” Leyla joked, as she and Luke took turns playfully pushing each other.
Leyla joined me again and slid into my side.
“That’s exciting news,” I told the couple.
“Yeah, congrats. Kids are the best. One of these days, I’m going to have a whole baseball team,” Mike said, taking a bite of his fifth taco.
“Feel sorry for your wife,” Leyla joked.
“It will be a long time before that happens, believe me,” he replied, brushing sand from his feet as he readjusted on the blanket.
Vicky’s phone rang, and she yelped when she saw who was on the call. “Shoot, I told Ren I had news, but I’d call her tomorrow since it’s so late there.”
“Italy?” I asked Leyla. She nodded.
“That’s Vicky’s best friend back home.”
“Hey, amica! I told you to wait and call in the morning,” Vicky said, answering the video call. She held the phone away from her so Miles and MJ were in the frame.
A woman I couldn’t see with a strong Italian accent said, “Woman, you know you can’t text me and say ‘got news. call in the morning.’”
The girls all laughed and agreed. “That was kinda mean,” Sofia said.
“Okay, Ren, first my news, then I want you to meet some new friends,” Vicky said, talking so quickly I was sure I’d missed some of it.
“We’ve decided we’re ready to expand our family.
We know we haven’t been married that long, but after a ton of prayer, we know this is the right time.
Plus, who knows how long before we actually get pregnant?
We just know it’s the right time for us.
MJ is over the moon excited and is already thinking up names!
My client base has been building successfully, and if I want to take off a little time once the baby is born, my job is flexible enough now to make it work. ”
Ren started yelling and speaking quickly in Italian.
Mike laughed, leaning toward me, and said, “Can’t understand one word she’s saying.”
“She is the sweetest woman. We’ve never met in person, but we’ve spoken on calls like this with Vicky. Ren, like Vicky, is an interior designer in Tuscany, but she wants to come here. They’ve dreamed of opening their own business together someday,” Leyla said.
“Amica,” Ren said, after calming down, “This is amazing news! We will keep letting God guide us until we’re ready to start our business. He has it all planned out. I’m so happy for you both. Miles, thank you for loving my girl so well.”
That made Sofia snort with laughter at the double meaning. She mumbled, “Not walking into that one.”
“Too easy,” Vicky said with a giggle.
I had tuned out the conversation happening on the phone as I held Leyla tight to my side.
Vicky’s voice boomed over ours as she said, “Oh, I almost forgot. Here, let me turn the phone around. You’ve met Leyla already, but this is her boyfriend Niko,” she said, pointing to me. “Here, I’ll pass Leyla the phone.”
Leyla took it and said, “Hey, hey, lovely. This is Niko.”
“Hi,” I said, waving awkwardly.
“And this is Mike Walker. He’s a new friend and a worthy opponent at game night,” Leyla said, holding the phone up to Mike, who was just wiping his mouth with a napkin.
When he looked up at the phone, his eyes looked like they were about to bug out of his head. “Um, hello,” he mumbled.
“Ciao, Mike! Nice to meet you. Looks like you guys are at the beach. I just realized that,” Ren said, her cheerful, raspy voice crooning through the phone.
Mike sat frozen. I tilted my head, trying to figure out what was wrong with him.
“Ah, yeah. We’re at the beach. Outside, at the beach,” he stuttered, making her laugh.
“When I visit, we’ll have to see just how good you are at game night. I’m ruthless. Hope you can keep up,” Ren said, smiling widely.
“Yes,” he breathed out.
Leyla started to laugh, but she covered her mouth as Mike glared at her.
“Well, pass me back to my girl. I’ve got an early client. Ciao, everyone! Have fun.”
When the phone was returned to Vicky, she was finishing her conversation when Mike whispered, “Wow.”
“Oh boy. I’ve never seen Mike speechless before,” I whispered to Leyla with a wide grin.
That night, as the stars appeared, Miles started a fire in the nearby fire pit.
Dean slept on a blanket between Sofia and Luke, and MJ cuddled into Vicky’s lap, a thick hoodie enveloping her.
The fire crackled as the sound of someone nearby playing a guitar floated around us.
We were all a bit sunburned, full but happy.
Our conversation hardly stopped all afternoon, jumping from subject to subject.
Earlier, when I had hit my limit, Leyla seemed to understand and pulled me up for a long walk.
When Dean woke up crying and cranky, our friends left, saying they had to get the kids to bed. Luke and Sofia offered to bring Mike home so Leyla and I could stay a little longer.
Now, she sat between my open legs, her back pressed into my chest, my jacket over her arms as she lazily roasted marshmallows for us.
Leaning down to whisper in her ear, I said, “There’s something I need to tell you, but I’m not sure it’s the right time.”
She laid her stick on the blanket, then twisted around to face me as I pulled her sideways into my lap. Her arms went around my neck, and she kissed my cheek. “You can say anything to me. Always.”
Gathering my courage, I said, “Back in college, besides being inspired by you to get my tattoo, I was actually pretty crazy about you.”
Her eyes widened comically. “Are you serious?”
I nodded. “You made me so nervous every time I even looked at you.”
“I felt the same way. I kept hoping you’d ask me out, but you never did.” She placed her hand on my chest, moving so we could see each other better.
“That’s not possible. You were…you were everything, Leyla. I never thought I stood a chance with a woman like you.”
“And you were this handsome, exotic, brooding man that made my heart stop when you looked at me,” she said, brushing my face with her fingers.
“Exotic?” I teased.
“Yeah. Every girl in class wanted a date with the elusive Niko Demir.”
Tightening my grip, I answered, “There was only one girl I wanted.”
“Really?” she breathed out.
I nodded and sighed. I didn’t want her to feel bad again about what happened, but I wanted her to understand my heart.
“If I had ever gotten the chance to ask you out and you said yes, I’d have been yours. Always.”
She studied my face, her eyes wide, her breathing increased.
I watched in awe as the firelight danced in her eyes. “I’m in love with you, Leyla. I can’t hold back from saying it anymore. My heart feels like it’s reaching for yours. I want you to have it. If you want it, my heart is yours.”
Leyla blinked, taking in my whole face. “I’ve fallen in love with you, too. I don’t want to wait or hold back anymore, either. You said God has led our paths to cross again. Then let’s walk that path together.”
She held my hands, and her breath skated over my lips as we breathed each other in, caught up in this sacred moment. We locked eyes as unspoken words and confirmation passed between us. This was Leyla. Always giving me space to speak.
With my heart in my throat, I took another leap of faith as the stars twinkled overhead, moonlight peeking through the clouds, our heartbeats pulsing as one. I leaned forward, our foreheads touching. Without hesitation, I knew what I wanted to say.
Pulling back to look into her eyes, I said, “You have made space for me to be myself. The way you’ve seen and accepted me, in all my ways, has brought healing to my soul. You make the world quieter for me, and I had no idea how loud it was until you.”
“Niko,” she whispered. I loved when she did that.
“Leyla, for so long, I tried to make myself easier to understand. Pushed myself to be something I wasn’t. But even from the time we first met, you didn’t try to change me. You are the first woman to actually learn my language.”
She shook her head, tears forming. “I love all the things that make you the man you are. There’s nothing about you that I’d change.”
“I know we started as friends and only had a few months together all those years ago, but that was all it took for me. I knew then that you were more than just someone special in my life. You were the one my soul had longed for. When I lost you in that crowd at the park, when I said I don’t want to lose you again, I meant ever. I never want to lose you again.”
“I don’t want that either. I want us to be together. I don’t want to wonder anymore about ‘what if’,” she said, tears falling.
I wiped her cheeks with my thumb and whispered, “Then marry me, Leyla. Please, say you’ll be mine.”