21. Grace
21
GRACE
T he next day, the sun is streaming through the big windows in our living room. I’ve always loved this time of day—the quiet early hours when the world is still waking up, and the day hasn’t fully begun yet.
It feels weird to call this giant place ours, but it is as I’ve officially moved in. It still seems like a dream.
I sip my coffee slowly, watching the steam curl upward from the mug, trying to ground myself in this small, still moment.
Theo’s upstairs finishing up a phone call, and I’m here, pacing the living room, waiting for Devon and Sarah to arrive.
We’re going to figure out how to navigate this whole engagement announcement and how to handle everything that’s been thrown our way since we got back from the island.
It’s exciting, yes, but overwhelming too. Part of me feels like everything is moving too fast.
The doorbell rings, cutting through my thoughts. I set my coffee down and head toward the front door. When I open it, Devon is standing there with his usual confident grin.
Sarah is beside him, holding a stack of folders that looks like it could topple over at any second.
“Morning, Grace,” Devon says, stepping inside. “Ready to get to work?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I say with a small smile, stepping aside to let them in while also taking some of the load off Sarah.
She gives me a quick hug before she starts setting up at the dining room table, spreading out the folders and papers like we’re preparing for a full-scale war.
“Where’s Theo?” Devon asks, looking around.
“He’s upstairs,” I reply, motioning toward the stairs. “He’ll be down in a minute. He had to wrap up a call.”
“Good, good,” Devon says, rubbing his hands together.
“We’ve got a lot to go over today. I’ve been fielding calls non-stop all week. It’s like people are crawling out of the woodwork for a piece of you two.”
I take a deep breath and sit down at the table, eyeing the stack of folders Sarah has just finished organizing.
It’s a lot. Way more than I expected.
“So, where do we start?” I ask, trying to keep my voice steady.
“Well, first things first,” Devon says, sitting down across from me and flipping open a folder.
“The engagement announcement.
We’ve got a lot of options, but the best one by far is Rand’s show. I’m glad Theo mentioned it.
He wants to do an exclusive next week. I know it’s fast, but it’s perfect timing with everything happening around you and Theo.
You’ll both be there, of course, and we’ll keep it classy—nothing too invasive.
Just a nice, clean announcement.”
I blink at him, surprised. “Next week already? That’s… huge.”
“Exactly,” Devon says with a nod, clearly pleased that I’m getting it.
“It’s the perfect platform to control the narrative.
You get to tell your story— your way.
No rumors, no wild speculations.
Just you and Theo, telling the world about your engagement.”
I chew on my bottom lip, thinking it over. It is huge. Rand’s show has millions of viewers, and the idea of announcing something so personal, so intimate, on live TV makes my stomach twist. But Devon’s right; we need to get ahead of everything before it spirals out of control.
“Okay,” I say finally, nodding. “Let’s do it.”
Devon grins. “That’s what I like to hear.”
Sarah slides a sheet of paper across the table toward me.
“Here’s a tentative timeline of how things will go leading up to the announcement. We’ll need to start prepping you two for the interview in the next few days.”
I glance over the timeline, my mind already racing with a million questions, but before I can say anything, I hear footsteps coming down the stairs.
Theo appears, his hair still slightly damp from his shower, looking as relaxed as ever.
He walks over to me, presses a quick kiss to the top of my head, then sits down beside me.
“Morning, everyone,” he says with a smile. “Did I miss anything?”
“Just the part where we’re announcing our engagement on national television next week ,” I say with a teasing smirk.
He raises an eyebrow but doesn’t seem fazed. “I knew Rand would love the idea.”
“He was thrilled and honored that you specifically requested to do it with him.”
Theo turns to me, his expression softening as he rests a hand on my knee. “Have you talked to Devon yet about the nonprofit?”
That was supposed to stay between us until I was ready to go public!
My heart skips a beat, and I feel a rush of nerves creep up. I haven’t mentioned the nonprofit to anyone outside of Theo, and I wasn’t sure how or when would be the right time to bring it up.
But Theo’s looking at me with that supportive, encouraging smile, and suddenly, it doesn’t feel so daunting.
It’s so personal and vulnerable to share my story of why this is close to my heart. Putting out that for the rest of the world can be dangerous.
I open my mouth to say something, but before I can, Theo keeps going, turning to Devon and Sarah.
“Grace has been working on something pretty amazing for a while now.
A nonprofit for women who’ve been through domestic violence and stalking situations.
She’s already done a ton of work behind the scenes—scoping out buildings, getting the paperwork in order.
It’s something she’s been passionate about for years, but she’s never had the platform to really get it off the ground.”
Sarah’s eyes light up, and Devon leans forward. “A nonprofit? Grace, that’s incredible.”
“That’s amazing, Grace,” Sarah breathes. “I wish you would have said something. I could have been a lot of help.”
“You still can be,” Theo replies.
I feel a flush rise to my cheeks. I wasn’t expecting Theo to just drop it like that, but now that it’s out there, I take a deep breath and nod.
“Yeah,” I say quietly.
“It’s something I started working on when I first got out of my... well, my past relationship.”
I pause for a second.
“And then when the whole thing with the stalker happened, it just felt like the right time to try and help other women going through the same things.
But I never really felt like I had the voice or the platform to push it forward...
Until now.”
Sarah looks genuinely impressed, and Devon leans back in his chair, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
“You’ve been working on this for a while?”
“Yeah.
I’ve done a lot of research, and I’ve already started some of the legal stuff—forming the nonprofit, looking at potential locations for shelters and resource centers.
It’s all in the early stages, but...
I really want to make it happen.”
Theo squeezes my knee again, his silent way of telling me that he’s proud of me, that he believes in me. It gives me the extra boost of confidence I need to keep talking.
“I just feel like...
with everything that’s happening now, with all the attention on me and Theo,
it might be the right time to get this off the ground finally.
People are paying attention, and I don’t want to miss the chance to bring attention to something that really matters.”
Devon looks over at Sarah, then back at me.
“Grace, this is amazing.
And you’re absolutely right—right now, with the spotlight on you, you have a huge platform to bring awareness to this.
I think it’s a brilliant idea, and we can definitely work it into the overall strategy.
I’m thinking we announce it alongside your engagement.
Maybe not on Rand’s show, but we can roll it out in the days after... start building momentum.”
Sarah is already jotting down notes, her fingers flying across her laptop keypad.
“This is going to resonate with a lot of people, Grace. It’s personal, it’s impactful, and it shows a whole other side of you.”
I glance at Theo. He knew how nervous I was about bringing this up, and he did it for me. He’s so good at pushing me when I need it, how to give me that little nudge toward what I’m passionate about.
“I can’t believe we’re actually talking about this,” I say, letting out a small, nervous laugh. “It feels… surreal.”
“You’ve done the hard part already. You’ve built the foundation. Now it’s time to let the world see what you’ve been working on.”
Devon nods enthusiastically.
“Exactly. And with your story, Grace, it’s going to connect with people in a very real way. This could be huge and not just for the nonprofit, but for the women who need it.”
I sit back in my chair, trying to absorb it all. This is really happening. Everything I’ve been working on, everything I’ve been through, it’s all coming together in a way I never expected.
“Thank you,” I say softly, looking around at everyone. “I really appreciate this.”
“We’ve got a lot of work ahead. But it’s going to be worth it.”
Theo stands up, stretching his arms over his head. “Well, if we’re going to get all this done, we’re going to need more coffee. I’ll get another pot started.”
As he heads toward the kitchen, Sarah leans in. “Grace, I’ve got to say, you’ve got something really special here. I’m really impressed.”
“Thanks, Sarah. That means a lot.”
Devon flips through another stack of papers, his expression serious.
“Okay, so we’ve got Rand’s show next week, the nonprofit rollout afterward, and we’ll start strategizing around the charity angle. Anything else we need to cover today?”
I shake my head, feeling a bit dazed by how quickly everything is moving. “I think that’s enough for one day,” I say with a laugh.
Devon grins, closing the folder in front of him. “Fair enough. But just know, it might all be overwhelming at the moment, but we’re in for a hell of a ride.”
This is happening . The engagement, the nonprofit, everything.
It doesn’t feel overwhelming; it feels right.