Free Dueling Moons: A Pat Wyatt Novel (The Pat Wyatt Series Book 2) by Laura Del Page B

I am Hebert Morris, Christina’s boyfriend.”
    I sighed with relief. “Oh, thank God. For a minute there I thought something had happened to her.” Then I realized he must have had a very good reason for calling me. “How may I help you, Mr. Morris?”
    “Please,” he spoke slowly, “call me Herb.”
    “How may I help you, Herb?” I asked again, as Mike and I walked into our apartment.
    “I would like to ask you a question,” he said, and I noticed he sounded awfully nervous.
    I sat down on the purple couch as Mike shut the door. “Ask away.”
    Mike turned around with a confused look on his face. “Who’s on the phone?” he mouthed.
    “Herbert Morris,” I mouthed back.
    “Oh,” he said softly, and then mimed that he was going to take a shower.
    I gave him a thumbs up and a smile. There was a long pause on the other end of the phone, and I wondered if Herb had hung up. “Hello, are you there?”
    “Yes,” he seemed startled by my voice. “I am still here.”
    “Then what’s the question?”
    “As you may well know,” he began, “Christina and I have been in a relationship a little over a month now, and I was wondering…well…I was wondering if you would give me your permission to marry her.”
    What? A million questions went through my head, but the one I settled on was, “Why are you asking me?”
    “Because you are her best friend, and she told me that I needed your blessing first before anyone else’s, including her father’s.”
    That sounded like Tina. He father would have said yes to anyone, because he thought of her as an old maid. A “spinster,” as he called her. I was definitely the more practical of the two of us, even though I married Samuel on a whim.
    However, Herb had just put this enormous weight on my shoulders, and I didn’t quite know what to do. So I asked the only question that I knew would matter to Tina. “Are you in love with her?”
    “Yes,” he admitted quietly.
    “Okay. Now let’s get down to the basics.” I was in a place of power and I was not going to relinquish it easily. “Do you have a job?”
    “Yes,” he answered without skipping a beat.
    “What do you do, and how much do you make?” I knew it was rude, but I needed to know that he was going to take care of the woman that I considered to be a sister.
    “I am an architect, who owns his own company. And my net - worth is over forty - five million dollars.”
    Holy shit on a shingle, Tina sure did have good luck. “Do you have any ex - wives or current lovers that I need to know about?”
    “I had a wife once,” he paused for a second, “but she died over twelve years ago.”
    Aw, poor man. “I’m so sorry to hear that. What did she did she die from, if you don’t mind me asking?”
    “I don’t mind. She passed away from an enlarged heart. Eve was the love of my life, and I have tried going out with other women, but none of the relationships worked out. Until now. Christina is the best thing that has ever happened to me. She makes me whole again, and I never thought that would, or could, happen again in a million years.”
    I smiled. They just didn’t make men like that anymore. “You have my blessing to marry Tina.”
    “Thank you,” he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice. “Thank you very much.”
    “Don’t thank me yet, because if you hurt her in any way, I will come after you.”
    “I understand. It was a pleasure speaking with you, Ms. Wyatt.”
    I smiled again. “Pat. And it was a pleasure speaking with you as well. You take care now.”
    “Likewise,” he said. “ Good - bye .”
    “Bye.” After that, I hung up, placing my cell on the coffee table. Tina was getting engaged. That is, if she said yes.
    “What was that about?” Mike asked as he came out of the bathroom soaking wet, with a towel wrapped around his waist.
    “Tina’s getting engaged.” I told him, jumping off the couch to do a little happy dance. Mike laughed and joined in. We danced until