Twelve
Twelve
Three Weeks Later
Grace blinked awake slowly, the soft sheets warm against her skin as a cool sweet-smelling breeze washed over her face. Her gaze landed on Noah leaning against the open, floor-to-ceiling window that looked out over the city of Paris. Even with her eyes somewhat blurry, the edges of sleep hanging tight, she saw the Eiffel Tower behind him. Whether he sensed her or she made a noise, he turned and their gazes locked. He held a tiny cup in his hand and she smiled, because if he’d hit the espresso already, she was lucky he’d let her sleep.
He set the cup down on the ornate writing desk in the corner then walked—or maybe stalked was more apt—toward the bed.
“Good morning, Gracie Jansen, my beautiful wife,” he said, his eyes lit with happiness. He crawled up from the end, coming to rest over her, his hands holding his weight off her body.
Grace reached up and touched his face, running her thumb over his jaw. “ Bonjour, mon amour, mon mari .”
His eyes widened with an almost childlike excitement. “Did you learn French for me?”
She laughed. “Maybe. I know how to say that and je t’aime .”
Noah lowered himself, pushing his arms under her to hold her close. “I know that one. In several languages, actually.”
Grace rolled her eyes. “Of course you do, show-off.”
As he pressed kisses along the delicate skin on the underside of her jaw, the rest of her body awakened.
“Doesn’t matter what language you say it in, what matters is how you show it. And I’m going to show you, every single day, for the rest of our lives, that I love you.”
He pulled back, gazed into her eyes, and she knew he was right. It didn’t matter how he said it or what language because even without words, she could feel it.
Reaching up, she threaded her fingers into his hair so she could play with it. “What do you want to do on our last day in Paris?”
The quick smirk he gave her made her think she knew exactly what he was going to say. Instead, he boosted himself off her and got out of the bed. She wasn’t sure what they had left to do. They’d seen all the major sites, walked along the Seine at night, kissed at the top of the Eiffel Tower, visited Versailles, and clipped a lock representing their love onto a fence at the Jardin du Luxembourg. They’d eaten at the finest restaurants, enjoyed a private tour of the opera house, and done an excessive amount of shopping.
After their impromptu wedding, Noah had surprised her with two tickets to Paris. They’d ended up telling Emily that they were happy with their lives off-camera and thanked her very much for thinking of them. She’d balked a little, even tried to sweeten the pot with more money and a few perks, but in the end, she realized that her show would do best with people who wanted to be seen. Grace and Noah felt plenty seen. By each other and the people who loved them.
Noah picked something up off the desk and came back over to the bed, sitting on the edge so she was curled around his hip.
Noah reached out and took Grace’s hand. “As much as I love our life, I’m not ready to return to it just yet.”
Grace boosted herself up so she was sitting, curious about the worry in Noah’s usually carefree gaze. He handed her the packet he was holding.
“What’s this?”
One side of his mouth quirked up. “An extended honeymoon. Rosie said she and Josh can take care of everything. If you want to go home, that’s fine, we can. But if you’re okay with extending our trip, I’d like to take you to Italy. We’ll fly out tonight and spend a week.”
Grace’s jaw dropped as she opened the packet and saw he’d printed their plane tickets. He knew she liked to have little keepsakes. She still had the ticket stub from the first movie they’d seen together.
She met his gaze. “We’re going to Italy?”
“Do you want to?”
“Are you kidding?” Excitement coursed through her bloodstream. Who was this man and how the hell had she ended up being the woman who got to spend her life with him?
Reaching out, Noah played with the ends of Grace’s hair, which was probably sticking up all over the place. “Not kidding. I know we said a weeklong honeymoon was enough, but we’re here and I want to give you everything.”
It felt like her heart was being overinflated. It was dangerous to feel this much. Setting the packet aside, she went up on her knees beside him and put her arms around his neck. “You already gave me everything when you agreed to spend your life with me. I don’t need more but yes, yes, I want to go to Italy with you. I can’t believe you did this.”
His arms circled her waist and he lifted and pulled her onto his lap so her legs straddled his thighs. Her hands went to his biceps. “I’d do anything for you. You’re my whole world, Gracie, and it doesn’t matter if we’re in Paris, Italy, or sitting on our back deck, all I want is you. I don’t care what we do, as long as we’re together.”
Her heart sighed, and she pushed her arms up, over his strong shoulders and around his neck. “I feel the same. Don’t get me wrong, I am thrilled we’re going to Italy, but what makes it so special is that it’s with you . You make everything better, Noah. You . Not the things you give me. I hope you know that.”
“I know. You don’t have to tell me that anymore. I hate to break it to you, baby, but you’ve got a lousy poker face. I can tell when you’re mad, sad, and when you’re swooning over something.” He arched a brow. “Which I’m guessing there’ll be a lot of once we hit Italy. I’m expecting full days exploring the architecture of the Colosseum and the Pantheon followed by trying to eat as much pasta as we can before we head to Florence. Just save some of that swooning for your husband.”
Grace laughed and pushed against him, knocking him to his back. He gripped her hips as he laughed with her.
“Trust me, Noah Jansen; I don’t think there’ll ever come a day when you don’t make me swoon. I never wanted or needed to be rescued but somehow, you’ve become my white knight, my prince, my best friend, my equal, and every romance hero all wrapped into one amazing package. I don’t think there’s a way I could ever be happier.”
His hands tangled in her hair as he brought their mouths closer together. “Hmm. Now, that sounds like a challenge.”
She welcomed it; the challenge, the adventure, the lifetime of loving him and not always knowing where the road would lead, but being absolutely certain they’d travel it together, hand in hand, for the rest of their lives.