But for now, he needed to get a hold of himself. A nurse would walk in any minute. For the second time that day, Gray wished he were home. Gently, breaking the kiss with half a dozen little kisses, he pulled back and looked into her eyes.
They were dark and dewy above her radiant smile, and Gray surrendered to his own full-tilt grin. He raised the head of the bed a little higher, pulled her down, and tucked her against him so she was now wrapped in his arm, her head against his shoulder. With his free hand, he grabbed his phone and held it so the screen faced both ofthem.
Gray:Have I told you that I love you?
She gave a little gasp, and when Gray peered down into her face, he saw her eyes were wide and shining again. Meredith met his gaze and nodded. “Yes, you have,” she whispered.
Gray:Good. Because it’s true.
He felt her breath speed up. She put a hand against his chest, and her brows drew up in worry. “But, Gray… you don’t remember me,” she said, the anguish in her voice just barely in check. “How can you think that?”
Gray’s thumb sped over the little screen.
Gray:I don’t think it. I feel it. I love you.
He watched her bite her bottom lip as her eyes welled.
Gray:All I want is to learn everything about you.
She read the text and wiped her eyes. “I was afraid you’d see things differently this time around,” she said, sniffling. “That you wouldn’t want me anymore.”
He eyed her mutely.
Gray:You still want me?
His arm tightened around her as she read, and Meredith half choked, half laughed. “What? Are you kidding?” Her eyes found his, and her face grew serious. “I want nothing else.”
He gave her a smirk.
Gray:Even if I always talk like a Wookiee?
She frowned at the words on his phone before she burst out laughing. “You do not sound like a Wookiee,” she scolded, still laughing. “But, yes, no matter what you sound like, no matter if you never remember the other day in the bathtub, I’ll still want you.”
Gray’s eyelids fluttered in shock. He couldn’t make his thumb type fast enough.
Gray:Bathtub???
Meredith turned a mischievous smile up at him. She took his face in both of her hands and gave him a hard, fast kiss before pulling back and meeting his gaze.
“I think catching you up on us is going to be a lot of fun.”
EPILOGUE
Six months later
GRAY DOUBLE-CHECKEDthe folder. Everything was there. Brooke and Becca had totally come through for him.
He skipped down the stairs of his parents’ house and stepped into their living room. Meredith and his mother sat on the Persian rug. Oscar and his new green dump truck were sprawled out on the floor between them.
Meredith’s eyes found his, and she smiled. Gray never got tired of it — the way her face lit up when she saw him. Each time, he could feel his heart knock fast against his chest, and he’d think about the first time he laid eyes on her.
Both of them, actually.
How both moments had left him jealous of his brother. How beautiful and unattainable he’d thought she was. How much he’d wanted her.
“Ready to go?” Gray asked, speaking slowly and carefully — as he always did now — so the words came out as they were supposed to. Or close enough.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
