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“No,” he says. “Your mother was it for me.”
“She wouldn’t want you to be alone,” Grayson says.
“She shouldn’t have been so damn perfect then. How the hell can anyone follow that?” He cuts his gaze and I’m pretty sure this big, tough, amazing man is fighting tears. I think he’s here this weekend because he needs Grayson.
“I understand in a way I never did before,” Grayson says, his fingers flexing on my shoulder. “Mia and I are engaged.”
His father looks at me. “You said yes?”
“You doubted that I would?”
“I’ve seen you struggle with your fear of his money,” he says.
“Not his money, though yeah, at first I felt like we had a conflict of power. He had it all and I had none, but he did well. You taught him right. I’ve never felt that he used that against me and so that left me with my fears of him feeling like I was here for his money.”
“And now?”
“And now, I want you both to know that if Grayson doesn’t draft a prenup, I will. I’m never going to give him a reason to stay with me to save his money.”
Grayson turns me to face him. “I will never—”
“Time and years change things,” I say. “And when we reach the downs of the ups and downs, you will never think about the money and neither will I.”
“Mia—” Raymond says.
“Mia,” Grayson interrupts. “We’re not doing a prenup.”
“Both of you look at me,” Raymond orders.
We both snap to his command, which is just a sign of how much respect we share for this man. “This is how this works. Mia, he needs you to know you have money if you divorce because then he knows you’ll never stay for the money. Grayson, she needs you to know that money is limited, so you know she’s not here for all that fucking money you have. Don’t either one of you argue. It won’t matter if you stay together like I did with Melanie, but it makes sure there is never a fight about money. Agree now, both of you.”
“I don’t want a guarantee of anything,” I say.
“I don’t want her to have limits,” Grayson adds.
“Neither of you has a choice,” his father says. “This is the complication of money. It is what it is. Do this. It worked for me and Melanie. I’ll leave you both to talk about it.” He grabs the remote and turns off the TV before he heads for the patio door.
I turn back to Grayson and before I can even speak, he’s pulling me close. “My parents were happy, Mia. They didn’t need that agreement. They were so in love, just like us.”
“Then we need to listen to your father. If he says this is how we avoid conflict, we need to listen. Please. We’ll let him guide us.”
Grayson pulls me to him and kisses me. “Let’s just plan the damn wedding, woman.”
“I want nothing more, but please. Let your father guide us, Grayson. Please. I’m begging you.”
He studies me long and hard before he laces his fingers with mine, and we head for the patio, where we exit to find his father waiting on us. “Well?” he prods.
“Agreed,” Grayson says. “We’ll let you guide us.”
Relief washes over me and his father looks at me, proving that I’m always present and an individual to him, which is exactly how Grayson treats everyone. As if they matter. I nod. “Yes. We will trust your guidance.”
He smiles a warm, wonderful smile and says, “Let’s plan the wedding of a century.”
“Penny for your thoughts,” Grayson says, as we now step onto the very patio where his father had declared our future wedding the wedding of the century.
“I hate that your father won’t be here for the wedding.”
He strokes my hair and pulls me close, his touch, and the delicious woodsy scent of him familiar and right. I missed this man when we were apart, desperately missed him. “Me, too,” he says. “Me, too, baby, but some part of me believes that he is now resting in peace, knowing we’re back together. And that no matter what we face over Ri or anything else, we’re facing it together.”
I try not to think about what we might face over the Ri incident. Right now, I’m with Grayson, and we’re engaged again. That’s all that matters.
CHAPTER TWO
Mia
I wake Sunday morning to raindrops pitter-pattering on the bedroom window and Grayson’s big strong arms wrapped around me, his woodsy scent teasing my nostrils. That scent is home to me. He is home to me and for just a moment, I think about the night I left him. I think about the woman who flung herself at him. It was such a damning moment, and yet, I should have known Grayson wasn’t that man.
“You’re awake,” he murmurs softly, nuzzling my ear.
