Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
She stood in front of his door, raised her hand to knock, and then thought how ridiculous that would be. They hadn’t knocked on each other’s doors in years, unless they were locked. She knew Grayson’s door would be unlocked because he expected her.
Reid opened the door, and her breathing hitched. From the front, rose petals lined the hallway. She stepped in and followed the trail, even though she could see the man of her dreams, near the sliding glass door, on bended knee.
SEVENTEEN
REID
Reid covered her mouth as soon as her eyes found Grayson there on bended knee. All around his apartment candles burned, and vases of roses covered almost every visible space. In the background, soft music played, and near the sliding glass door that led to a small balcony was Grayson, patiently waiting for her to take a few more steps closer so he could ask her a very important question.
Was she ready for this?
The hopeless romantic in her wanted to scream Yes! before the words had even come out of his mouth. The hopeful romantic felt their relationship was too new for this type of declaration. They’d jokingly said they loved each other, but neither had come out and made the avowal. Sure, she loved him—and, she sometimes suspected, more than he loved her, but that could also be because she’d loved him so long and he had a lot of catching up to do. Then there was the part about intimacy. He’d made advances early on, but she’d shut the door on anything between the sheets. Reid couldn’t afford to get her heart broken again. Grayson hadn’t brought it up. He never asked why she didn’t want to have sex with him. This sort of bothered her. Shouldn’t he want to be with her in every way? Was he afraid, just as she was?
As frightened of the future as she was, she confidently stepped toward him. Their eyes met, and both smiled widely at each other. Happy tears welled in her eyes as Grayson held his hand up higher.
“I had this entire speech planned . . .” Grayson shook his head and cleared his throat. “I know this seems out of the blue, but I woke up last week from a dream and you weren’t there, or I wasn’t in your life anymore, and I thought I was going to die, and I knew I had to change things before I lost you for real.” He looked at the ring in his hand and then at her.
“I’m in love with you, Sully. I have been this entire time but was afraid to let you in because of my issues. I didn’t know how to exist as the man I was, the one who was slowly dying, and being the man you deserved. I do now. I know what I want, and that is you, in my life. In a life we build together. Reid, will you marry me?”
With zero hesitation, she nodded and wiped at the tears spilling over. “Yes,” she said as she stepped forward. Reid bent to his level; avoiding the ring, she cupped his face and kissed him hard. When they parted, he stood and slipped the ring onto her finger, and then he kissed her again.
Afterward, he picked her up and spun her around. “Holy shit, I was afraid you’d say no.”
He set her down. “Why would I say no?”
He shrugged. “I know a few things are missing from our relationship. Well, not missing, just not—”
“Are you talking about sex?”
Grayson blushed a deep crimson. He opened his mouth to say something and then quickly closed it. Reid laughed.
“It’s not like we haven’t had sex before,” she pointed out.
“I know, but . . . Shit, why is this so hard?”
Reid wanted to have some fun with him. She placed her hand over his crotch and gave him a squeeze. He started. “Not yet, but we can work on it.”
“Sully!”
“Oh, don’t ‘Sully’ me.” She laughed. “I’m the one who’s pumped the brakes on sex this time. I needed time, and then when I reached the pinnacle of time, I didn’t know how to bring it up,” she told him.
“Oh, simple,” he told her. “You say, ‘Grayson, take your shorts off because I need sex,’” he scoffed.
Reid rolled her eyes. “Always the romantic.”
“Reid, listen closely to what I’m about to say: ever since the night we spent together and I foolishly pushed you away, I haven’t been with another woman.”
Her mouth dropped open in shock. “Wait, what?”
Grayson shook his head slowly. “No one, Sully. Not a single one since you.”
“What about all those times Pearce set you up with someone?”
“Do you mean all the times I’d end up at your apartment afterward?”
She nodded.
“Do you really think I had sex with someone and then came over to your place?”