SIXTEEN REID

S IXTEEN

R EID

The text from Grayson read: Be ready by 6!

Reid had lost count of how many times she'd looked at it or any of his previous ones. The shift in their relationship was definitely playing out in the way he texted her as well. Long gone were the ridiculous memes, although he still sent a few on occasion, and in their place were hearts and googly eyes. Each text brought a smile to her face.

She'd finally gotten her man.

Melanie, Reid's best friend, had told her that if Grayson didn't want to be with her, a minor thing like having his heart replaced wasn't going to change his mind. Of course, there wasn't anything minor about a heart transplant, and Melanie knew this. It was her way of proving to her friend that her errant thoughts were just that: wayward. Ever since Grayson had come home from the hospital and Melanie had seen them together, she could see for herself how in love he was with Reid, and Mel made a point of telling her friend that every chance she could.

Reid closed her phone and tried to work, but the words blurred on her computer screen. Three months ago, Grayson had told her he was all in, that she was the one he wanted to be with. While Reid accepted this, she'd made him wait until she was ready to jump back into bed with him again. She had to protect herself, and while she was madly in love with him, giving herself to him that way again was something she took very seriously.

Grayson took this as a challenge and showered her with gifts such as flowers as well as random visits to the office (which he was eager to return to), candlelight dinners that he'd prepared, and picnics on the weekends. They'd gone to the beach for Labor Day with their friends and were dressing up for Pearce's Halloween party in a few days as Ariel and Prince Eric, which was Reid's idea because she already had red hair like Ariel. Not to mention, she considered Grayson her prince. He had wanted them to go as Forrest Gump and Jenny. Mostly because he liked exaggerating the name in his Forrest accent.

She picked up her phone. Her fingers hovered over the buttons, ready and willing to type a message to Grayson. She'd only responded to his text with an " okay " and a winky face, hoping he'd elaborate. He hadn't, and that left her reeling with curiosity.

Reid had never thought of Grayson as the romantic type. The one time they'd hooked up before his transplant, they'd been at a party, and while they weren't drunk, they were tipsy, and she'd flirted, and he'd reciprocated. Unfortunately for her, that one night hadn't led to many more, like she had hoped, even after she'd told him she was madly in love with him.

He'd said he didn't love her back.

She now knew why.

Hearing those words from him had hurt. She had tried to distance herself from him, chalk the night up to one giant mistake, but he'd refused to fade into the night. Grayson was there, acting like nothing had happened, like he hadn't broken her heart into a million little pieces, each one more jagged than the next. It was like he'd taken those shards and continued to stab her, until she stopped feeling and just enjoyed being in his presence. The only saving grace was that he didn't date. He wasn't bringing other women around or telling her about someone he'd met at the bar. Grayson and Reid spent as much time together as a couple would, without the benefits of being a couple.

And now her life with Grayson was different. With his new lease on life, he embraced what she'd known all along: they were meant for each other. They could finish each other's sentences and sensed when the other was ready to leave a friend's house, and he never pressured her to take the next step in their relationship. Reid wanted to. She longed to be with him again.

The Human Resources office at the Wold Collective was set up similarly to the other offices, and it had an open concept with cubicles. The problem this layout created was that staff were unable to have private conversations with employees, and they always had to book a conference room. The setup also gave no one any privacy. So, if you were having a bad day or an emotional moment and needed some time for yourself, you didn't have a place to take a break. That was a drawback for Reid. While she loved working for Wold, ever since Grayson had made it known they were a couple, she'd been bombarded with nosy Nellies prying into her personal life. Of course, dating a coworker probably wasn't the smartest thing to do.

Reid heard her name and peeked around the end of her cubicle. Her office space was in the back, toward the wall, with one office in front of her and then the open desk area where applicants waited for their interviews. The receptionist, who'd started earlier in the week and whose name Reid couldn't remember, stood at the counter with a massive bouquet of red roses.

"Reid?" she called out. "You have another delivery."

Her coworkers stood up to watch the receptionist bring the bouquet toward her cubicle. She couldn't tell if they were jealous or if, as she suspected, some of them had their own crushes on Grayson. The bouquet of roses was undoubtedly the largest she'd ever received, and over the past few months or so, Grayson had either brought flowers to her or had had them delivered. In fact, she still had a vase on her desk from last week's delivery.

"You know, none of us need to ask about your relationship if he keeps this up," Lily, one of her coworkers, said with a laugh. She wasn't wrong. Grayson wasn't being shy about his affection for her. Deep down, Reid appreciated every gesture, basked in them, really, and even marked them on her calendar.

She leaned forward and sniffed one of the fragrant blooms. "Heavenly."

"Who's the lucky guy?" the new receptionist asked.

"His name's Grayson. You'll meet him soon. He works here and has been out on leave."

"Can't wait," she said cheerily as she gave a finger wave and left.

Reid grasped the weighty glass vase and positioned it on her desk. The arrangement took up most of her free working space, and she spent the next ten minutes cleaning off the top of her filing cabinet to make room for the roses.

"Thank you for putting them up there," Lily said. "Now we can all enjoy them."

"Are you being facetious, Lily?"

"Absolutely not. I want my husband to spend a week in here and see how Grayson's treating you—then maybe my lump will get a clue. I think the last time he gave me flowers ..." She trailed off. "Yep, it's been so long I don't even remember." Lily had fifteen years on Reid. She was a mom of three and had been married since she was eighteen. Reid liked her a lot and often went to her for motherly advice. She knew everything about Reid and how she felt about Grayson: the fear she had while he was in a coma, and the way he made her feel now.

"I'm sorry, Lily. In all fairness, until Grayson, no one has ever bought me flowers, other than my dad." Reid wasn't counting the customary corsage her prom dates brought her. Mostly everyone knew the moms were the ones to order those, not the boys.

"Whoa, is it Valentine's Day or something?" Rosalyn said as she came into the office. She walked right to Reid's station and sighed. "Damn. That man is wining and dining you big time." Her fingers shot out, as if they were fireworks.

"He has a lot of making up to do, if you ask me," Lily yelled from her cubicle. "That man should kiss the ground you walk on, Reid. And other things."

Grayson had done a stand-up job of showing her how much he loved her over the past handful of months.

She decided to share with her coworkers. "He has something special planned tonight. He won't give me any hints, though, so I'm a bit nervous."

"Maybe he's going to ask you to move in with him." Lily came over to Reid's cubicle and leaned on the half-wall divider. Reid studied her for a moment. She was average height and kept her hair long with natural curls that Reid envied. She'd pay good money to have texture, body, and some life to her hair that didn't require her to add product and curl it every day. Devorah had deep-blue eyes and wore very little makeup, saying that with three kids she barely had any time for herself in the morning. Not that she needed it; her skin was flawless.

"Doubtful," Reid said. "I think if anything he'd move into mine. I have better furniture," she added, laughing.

"Then that's what he's doing," Rosalyn said as she stood up and leaned her elbows on her half wall. "He's going to ask you if he can move in with you." Rosalyn was on the taller side, almost matching Grayson's dominating height. With her long blonde hair and ocean-blue eyes, men flocked to her. She'd been unlucky in love too many times to count. She was the ultimate "fall in love with everyone" type and planned all her future weddings within days of meeting the next great love of her life. At one time, she'd had a major crush on Grayson and had asked Reid if they were a couple. Reid had given her permission to pursue Grayson and was secretly happy when he'd rebuffed her.

Reid could easily picture Grayson living with her, and honestly it would make things so much easier. She wouldn't have to ask every day if he'd taken his meds or if he had them with him when he came to her place. The last thing she wanted to do was harp on him about the medication, but he literally needed it to live. One of Reid's biggest fears was that his new heart would reject his body and they'd be back at square one.

"I'd let him," she told her coworkers with a shrug. "We spend so much time with each other now, it only makes sense." Even if they hadn't slept together yet. She already knew they had chemistry between the sheets.

Rosalyn sighed and tilted her head back. "Color me green because I'm officially jealous."

"He's high maintenance," Reid joked. "Be thankful."

Rosalyn waved her hand in the air. "It doesn't matter," she told Reid and Devorah. "I remember when I first started. I was hot for him." She fanned herself. "The rejection hurt."

Tell me about it.

"Anyway, I'm happy for you, Reid."

"Thanks," she told her friend. "I feel like whatever he has planned for tonight, I'm going to love it."

"Gah, how can you not," Rosalyn said.

"Back to work, ladies. We'll chat about the date tomorrow," Lily said. "Because Reid will give us all the details."

Reid could've rolled her eyes and balked, but Lily was right. She'd spill everything in the morning over coffee and doughnuts.

Be ready by 6!

Reid had given in and texted Grayson about what his text meant, only to receive the shrugging emoticon in return. The only information he gave her was for her to wear something casual, but not "going for a run" casual.

She'd left work early, afraid one of the trains she took home would be delayed or there'd be some incident that would put her behind schedule. Being late for whatever Grayson had planned wasn't an option, at least not in her mind. Besides, she prided herself on being as punctual as possible, and even fifteen minutes early was late in her opinion.

After showering the grime of work and the subway off, she stood in front of her closet and pushed each hanger to the side. Grayson's mention of "not going for a run" casual meant he didn't want to see her in her comfortable yoga pants or one of his sweatshirts that was so big on her it could double as a dress.

Reid reached for a pair of black slacks but thought better of dressing like she was about to go to the office, and she pulled out a simple shift dress. The late surge of summer still hung in the air, despite Halloween being on the horizon. She paired her dress with strappy sandals with a modest heel, thankful that she and Melanie had spent last weekend having a spa day. Freshly painted and pedicured toenails and manicured fingernails went a long way in helping a woman feel pretty. Plus, the massage and facial Reid had gotten was divine. She'd fallen asleep and ended up snoring.

Reid dabbed on the French perfume Grayson had bought her for Christmas and curled her hair, making sure to fix the pieces that had fallen. She concentrated mostly in the front due to her inability to not run her fingers through her hair during the day. It was a bad habit, and she did it mostly when she was bored or spending too much time wondering what her boyfriend was up to. She applied natural makeup, dabbed some red-hued lip gloss on, and called it good. If she went to Grayson's too dressed up and he wasn't, one of them would feel the need to change, and she didn't want that. He had something planned, and she wanted to make sure it went off without a hitch.

It would be faster for Reid to take the stairs. She could be at Grayson's door in under two minutes. Doing so would increase the rate of her already pounding heart. She opted for the elevator and would use the time it took to calm her nerves. For all she knew, she had no reason to be nervous. It wasn't like Grayson hadn't spent the past few months planning every single date he took her on. He'd ask her if there was something she wanted to do, but most of the time he had everything planned for them by the time she came home from work. This was something she appreciated without knowing it was something she wanted. With her prior boyfriends, it was always the classic "What do you want to do?" followed by endless hours of back-and-forth as they tried to figure out what they should do before giving up and calling it a night.

With Grayson, if Reid mentioned a movie she wanted to see, he'd buy the tickets and tell her days in advance, not hours. When she brought up a festival, he booked a car for them because the train wouldn't go as far out as they needed. Since they'd begun dating, he'd been fully attentive, which showed her what kind of man he could be. She hated that he'd hidden his true self from her due to his heart condition.

Reid understood, though. She was young when her mother passed away, but she remembered certain parts of growing up when she saw her father long for his wife. There were times, even so many years later, when Reid would get flashes of memories with her mom. They would dance in front of the Christmas tree or sing carols. Her father would don a Santa hat and hand out presents, each one coming from Santa. The first Christmas without her mother was quiet. They'd had a tree, but Luther hadn't gotten around to decorating it. He barely lit the fire, or played music, and he definitely didn't put the hat on again. The morning of, he sat on the couch and told Reid she could sit by the tree and open the few presents he had managed to buy. The following year was better, as were the subsequent years, but they were never the same as they were when her mother was alive.

Her parents had the kind of love Reid wanted, and when she'd first met Grayson, she knew he was the one. Every day, she was thankful she hadn't given up on him.

The elevator dinged and brought her out of her reverie. She stepped in, smiled at the others who were in there, and pressed the button for Grayson's floor. They made a stop on the second, and then the doors were opening for her to step out. Normally, Grayson would open his door to peek out when he knew she was on her way to his place, but his door remained shut. Her mind had the ability to think of every possible scenario, from Is he hurt? to Is he home?

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.