Chapter 7

Seven

Grayson

T he first week without her hurt the most. Or so I thought. By the time week three rolled around I was a raging tiger with a huge thorn in my foot and it had a name. Connor.

That man has dumped more misery into my life than any other person on the face of the Earth.

I stalked the length of my desk, pivoted and retraced my steps. I was due to meet with a client in three hours. I needed to clear my fucking head but all I could think about was her.

"So, are you going or what?"

I turn at the cutting voice coming from my office door.

"Or what seems to be the better option. If she wanted me, she would have come back already. I need to move on."

"Have you called her?"

"No."

"Foolish men." Morre pushed through my office door and took a seat across from me, crossing her legs and waiting for me to stop pacing.

"What," I growled.

"This." Trish came in, lips pursed and holding out my cell phone. "Leaving it at my desk doesn't mean I'll answer, by the way. But you should read these."

I'd left the phone on my partner's assistant's desk in order to not shoot five hundred text messages to Cherry and make myself look weak.

I flipped the phone over and on the screen are three lines all from Cherry.

I've been doing a lot of thinking.

I need to see you.

Can you come over? I'm at my father's house. Message me when you are here and I'll come out.

I was out the door, calling my driver before I could convince myself I was a fool.

The drive through the city took half the time with a few back roads and since mt driver was born and raised here he knew all the shortcuts.

Fifteen, maybe twenty minutes later I punched in a message for Cherry.

I'm here, sweetheart .

When I saw her round the side of the house, my mouth went dry and my heart rate was soaring. I wanted to run to her, take her in my arms and then pull her into my car and drive off. Never look back.

I stepped from the car and immediately saw she had a somber expression.

"Cherry," I drew out.

"Grayson." She stopped short of me by a couple of feet. A space that I found unacceptable. But I gave her the space she wanted and shoved my hands in my pockets.

"You needed me. I'm here. What's wrong?"

"Everything and nothing all at once," she began, tears starting to wet those pretty black lashes.

I pulled her into my arms and tucked her beneath my chin.

"I'm here—there's no need for tears, sweetheart."

She pulled from my arms and when I looked down into her face, I wanted to murder her father for tearing us apart.

"I'm glad my father found us the way he did."

My heart lurched at what she was implying. "What?" Confusion wrinkled my brow.

Her light touch slipped from where her hand rested on my chest, and she stood away from me. Again.

Worry lined etched across her forehead and the pretty way she had her makeup made her look beautiful and miserable all at once. Made my cock hard and my heart ache for her.

"It made me stop and think," she started slowly. "We moved too fast. Way too fast, Grayson, and I never meant to sleep with you that first night. You know the night we went home together. You were just so perfect, and I was all over that. And then I walked into your office and I…"

I held back a chuckle at the beautiful tinge of pink on her cheeks talking about our spontaneous one-night stand.

"Shh, baby, you're not making sense. Slow down."

"I didn't know what I wanted. Not then at least."

I tucked my hands back into my pockets, sensing she needed to get whatever she had on her chest out. I sank back against my car and took in the pretty flutter of her dress in the summer breeze. The way sunshine played in the chestnut hair cascading down her back in curls.

Then it hit me.

The party she mentioned. There were probably tens of guests tucked away behind the tall fence shielding us away from their prying eyes. Whatever she had to say must be important for her to ask me over on a day like this.

She was going to leave me. The last three weeks still held a possibility for us even through all my growling, but now it was all over.

"Grayson, I know what I want."

"So do I and before you say anything, hear me out."

I took her hands into mine. I placed tender kisses on each knuckle and didn't dare look into her eyes until I could speak without all the emotion in me clogging my throat and rushing to get out all at once.

I raised my gaze to hers. "When I saw you across the nightclub that evening, I was on my way out. But then I saw you. An angel all alone and something in you drew me close. Before then I despised nightclubs and bars, but I found a new appreciation for them after our night together. If only for that one night."

I stopped, gathering my voice for the next part. "I love you, Cherry Connor. I have since I sank deep into you and claimed that beautiful body as mine that first night."

"Grayson, how could you have loved me?"

"The same way I see the love in your eyes for me is the same way I can have love for you."

I took her hands in one of mine and dropped to one knee in the middle of her front driveaway. Anyone who might be looking was welcome to watch. I wanted the whole world to see how I felt for my Cherry.

In spite of the feud between her father's firm and mine, fate saw her as my soulmate. Who was I to stop the universe from bringing us together?

I reached into my pocket.

"Oh my God, Grayson. Where did you get that?"

"Remember the weekend I had planned for us?"

She nodded in silence.

"You're my one, baby." I held up the box I'd kept in my pocket since she left. "I want to give you this ring as a symbol of the undying love I have for you. But more than love is need. I need you in my life. Ask anyone around me. I've tortured anyone who dared be in my presence. I'm pretty sure someone has taken out a contract on me by now, and Morre is at the top of that list. Trust me. Without you I am half the man. You complete me. Will you marry me?"

The sweet, tender smile I saw lighting up her face and eyes gave me hope.

"I love you too, Grayson. I didn't mean to stay away. I just needed to figure out what I wanted. I didn't have room for anyone in my life. And then we happened. I just needed to step back. To think." She took a deep breath and I held mine.

"Yes, Grayson Sloan! Yes, I'll marry you!"

I leaped up and had my arms around her before she had a chance to reconsider. With tears in her eyes, I slipped my ring onto her finger and fuck if the sight of my stone sitting on her hand didn't make my cock twitch. We're going to have one helluva weekend full of romance, candlelight and make-up sex, and maybe on into the week if I can convince her.

"I wondered if you would let her get away or if you would show a backbone."

We both turned. Connor grating voice clawed against my nerves, and I did my best to ignore my gut instinct to bury my fist into the man's face for trying to take the woman I love away.

I nodded. "I had to give her space even if it killed me."

"Connor, there's nothing you can say or do to change the way I feel about your daughter. I'm crazy about her and I hope like hell she feels the same way."

Warm arms wrapped around me. "I do," she confirmed in a sweet, happy voice. I pulled her into me and ignored the growing crowd. We had a lot of celebrating to do, and I couldn't wait to get started.

"Take me home, Sloan."

I took her perfect mouth in a kiss and cupped the back of her head to take it deeper. I wanted to erase all the doubt in everyone's head about us not happening. Especially hers.

She broke free, blushing like a beautiful queen.

"Yes, let's go home."