Chapter 29 #2
He couldn’t remember how many Christmases he’d missed, because to him they were just another day. But to her, they meant something special, a day saved for those she loved.
He owed her and he planned to make it up to her any way he could. “Let’s go home, baby. Show me how to Christmas.”
She noticed the shift in his attitude, and her smile shifted into a happier one. “Really?”
“Really.”
She bounced with glee, wreathing her arms around his neck. When his lips pressed to hers, everything inside of him shifted into a state of calm. He never wanted to let her go.
“I knew you’d come around.” She turned to walk toward the truck, but he caught her arm, tugging her back to him.
“Wait.”
Her blue eyes expectantly looked at him.
He wasn’t ready to leave just yet. Maybe there was some magic to this bridge after all. “Tell me what else you wished for.”
She dropped her chin and shyly looked away. “If I tell you, they won’t come true.”
“So some aren’t finished?”
She shrugged. “Most are, but some aren’t. A girl’s entitled to her secrets.”
“What did you wish for, Wren?”
“Grey, I can’t—”
“If you tell me, I’ll make every single one come true.”
“No,” she laughed and tried to walk away again, but he pulled her back. “That’s not how this works.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s not.”
But she was wrong. So far, all of her wishes had come true.
When she wished for him to come home, he returned.
She wished for him to see her, and he saw her even when his eyes were closed and he was a thousand miles away.
She wished for him to love her, kiss her, touch her…
So far, every wish he knew of had come true.
There was only one more wish he could think of that she might have hoped for, and he never liked doing anything halfway.
He dropped to his knee, and her smile fell. “Grey…” Her eyes widened. “What are you doing?”
“Wren Wilde, I wish for you to marry me.” He wasn’t sure how this bridge thing worked, but he was pretty sure she had to say yes.
Her gloved fingers covered her mouth, hiding her expression as her eyes flooded with tears.
“Please tell me they’re happy tears.”
Pink stained her cheeks as she pulled her trembling hands away. But she wasn’t smiling. She looked… heartbroken. Then she forced a shaky smile that didn’t come close to reaching her eyes. “Okay, Greyson. I’ll marry you.”
He frowned. “Did I miss something?”
She sniffed. “No. I’m happy. I guess you know all my wishes after all.”
But she didn’t look or sound happy. Did he do it wrong? “I can get you a ring—”
“We don’t need anything that fancy.”
His frown deepened. “Wren, I’m getting you a fucking ring.”
“Fine. I’ll wear a ring. But it’s not a requirement.”
What the hell was she talking about? “Look, if you don’t want to marry me, you can say no.”
“I do. I want to marry you. It’s just…” He waited, but she only shook her head and forced another smile. “I’m being silly. Ignore me. I’m happy!” she said with artificial cheer. “And hey, if it makes things easier for you, we can go to City Hall on Monday.”
The world tilted and his heart stopped, restarted, then hammered against his ribs, as he suddenly understood why she was reacting this way.
He stood and cursed under his breath, “Mother fucker.”
He wanted to take it all back. Of course she would think this had something to do with his dad. The whole day had been about him and tying up loose ends. He was pissed. Pissed about that stupid clause and pissed that she’d actually think he’d marry her for anything short of love.
Turning to face her again, he meant to say all of that but only barked, “We are not getting married in City Fucking Hall.”
“I’m just saying—“
“Stop.” She drew back, unused to him snapping at her. But he needed to make a few things perfectly clear. “I have…a lot to say and I need to get it out.”
She blinked up at him with big eyes. “O-okay.”
He pushed down his fury and tried to remember this was Wren. She didn’t put them in this mess. She was only trying to help. “I’m going to marry you, because it’s the one thing I wanted as far back as I can remember. This has nothing to do with my father.”
“Grey, even if it does—”
“No! There’s no maybes or what ifs about it, Wren. I love you. I’ve always loved you. How could you even think I had any other motive?”
“Whether it’s your motive or not, the will is something that you’ll eventually have to address. This fixes things.”
His lips pressed into a firm line. “I’m marrying you because I fucking love you!
I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love you.
This month is usually the saddest month of the year for me, and it should be even sadder this year, considering everything my family’s going through, but it’s been.
.. the opposite. I’m happier and more at peace than I’ve ever been, because I finally have you.
You balance me in a way nothing else can.
I want to marry you. Not because of any inheritance or any other superficial reason.
I want to marry you because you make life worth living.
When I’m by your side, I feel like I’m exactly where I need to be. ”
He pulled her gloved hand to his chest and pressed his hand over her heart. “You’re my home, Wren. When I’m away, I feel sick because all I want to do is come back to you. Now that I have you, I never want to leave again.”
She looked stunned. Maybe even a little afraid. That was a lot to digest, especially coming from someone who avoided talking about his feelings like most people avoided plagues.
He needed a damn ring.
Tugging off his glove, he unlaced his boot and snapped the string. “Give me your hand.”
She held out a shaky hand, and he pulled off her glove, tying the tattered lace around her knuckle. “I love you,” he said matter-of-factly. “I don’t know how to stop, so this is me promising that I never will.” He kissed the bow tied around her knuckle.
Twin tears fell down her cheeks. The makeshift ring looked ridiculous, but it was the best he could do in a pinch.
“Are you going to say something?”
She grinned, and more tears fell. “Yes.”
“Yes, as in you plan to say something, or yes, as in you—”
“I’ll marry you—”
He scooped her up in his arms and hugged the breath out of her. Pressing his face into her neck as he swore, “I promise to be a good husband to you, Wren.”
“I know you will, Grey.”
His mouth found hers. She tasted of sweets and tears. She tasted familiar, like she was already his. His home. His future. His Wren.
When he pulled away, she wiped her tears and laughed, then threw her head back and yelled, “We’re getting married!”
Her voice echoed off the snow-laden pines, startling a pair of cardinals from their roost. The birds took flight in a flash of crimson. A perfect December picture his mind would never forget.
Maybe that bridge held magic after all. Not the hokey, fairy-tale variety the locals peddled to tourists, but something real and achingly human.
The rightness of that moment sank into his bones and he realized something. “You’re right!”
“About?”
He finally had a good memory for this time of year, one he’d hold onto forever. “It feels good to make new traditions. I want to come back to this place every year with you, on this exact day.”
She smiled. “It’s a date.”
He planned to grant her wishes every year, because making Wren happy somehow chased away all the fear and sadness. He loved her and he loved taking care of her. It was a privilege, one he’d honor for the rest of his life.
Closing his hand around hers, he ran his finger over the tied string and grinned. She was officially his.