Chapter 44 Greyson
Chapter forty-four
Greyson
We all want to spit in the old dirtbag’s tea.
~ The Next Day ~
I sent Emma away with the girls for a long spa day, lunch, and some shopping, as well as the hair and nail salon.
Really, the whole treatment to make sure she would be gone all day.
She protested at first since I had been away for two days prior, but I told her it was for the party with the whole team tonight and that I would make it up to her later once we got home.
Just like I did last night.
I didn’t end up ripping the dress, it was way too sexy on Emma to not want a repeat of that. But I did have a lot of fun pretending it was our wedding night, and I can’t wait for it to be the real deal.
The truth is, I have a little surprise for Emma, and I needed her out of the house to make it happen. The girls all know what’s going on, so they’ll interfere if she ever tries to cut their day short, and the guys all came over to help get it set up before she gets home.
It’s not a huge thing, but it involves painting, building furniture, and decorating, which isn’t something we guys are typically good at. But we have Clay, and his wife is an interior designer, so he knows a thing or two about it.
Mira even volunteered to watch the kids while we get everything done and give us little tips about what women like in their space, which is proving to be really helpful.
Every time we’ve finished placing something, Mira shows up in the doorway and tells us to change it around, claiming Emma will like it more that way.
It’s in these moments that I realize how lucky Silas is to have his parents so close by. I wish I had that with mine.
We’ve finished painting the walls a light-beige color in the spare room on the main level. The one that held all the boxes of mugs that I’ve now stored in the garage for the time being. We’ve put up dark brown floating shelves around the room and stuck 3D sunflowers of every size to the walls.
There are two glass-top desks with a golden metal frame that Silas and Clay put up together.
Both desks are back-to-back in the center of the room, making it look like a big square.
Two very comfy beige high-back chairs with gold armrests and wheels sit on either side.
They look like the chairs you’d see in an important conference room.
On one desk there’s a vase of sunflowers, and on the other, red roses.
I even had a personalized business sign made for the room. A huge, frosted glass circle with gold lettering and a sunflower and rose intertwined behind the name. The sign reads, ‘The Mackenzie Rose Funhouse Foundation’.
I saw the girls working on the logo one afternoon on Emma’s laptop and thought it was pretty cool. They might not end up using this exact one, but we can always get another one done if they change their minds.
In one corner of the room, there’s a small two-seater white couch and a small oval glass-top coffee table with dark brown legs that cross each other. But my favorite part is the five framed photos lining the walls on Emma’s side of the room.
On the far-right end is a picture of the whole gang together at Clay’s house.
Next to it is a picture of Em, Gracie, and me.
On the far-left side there’s a picture of Emma and the girls during one of their girls’ nights.
Beside it is a picture of her when she was younger with her father and grandfather.
When I told Lance what I was planning on doing and that I’d like a picture of her grandfather, he told me he’d go through his things for me and find one.
But the best one is the one sitting right in the center. It’s a thicker frame than the rest, and a bit wider, too. It isn’t technically a picture inside, but I thought it was important to have it up there with all that she loves.
It’s the canvas we made a while back, the one with our three hands together. Beside the larger hand is written ‘Daddy’, the middle one ‘Mommy’, and the tiny one has ‘Gracie’ written in the center of the palm.
We’re just finishing up the final touches when Mira comes into the room with Gracie in her arms. Dante isn’t far behind, but Gabe grabs him and hauls him over his shoulder before he has time to touch anything.
“Oh, Greyson, this is so beautiful. Emma is going to love it when she sees it.” She places one hand over her heart and looks around with awe, then turns to Silas. “They both will.”
“What they’re planning on doing is amazing, so it deserves an incredible room to go with it. Even if they don’t use it every day,” I tell her, smiling as I place the final throw pillows on the couch with huge sunflower prints.
I know they already have a place rented out where their main office will be, but they do plan on doing some of the work from home. So I thought it would be good for them to have an office here when needed. I know Cecilia already has an office in their house, but Emma doesn’t.
A car honks outside, indicating that the girls have arrived. It’s the signal I asked Morgan to give when they would be here. We all clear the room and head to the kitchen, grabbing a beer and acting like we were just chilling and waiting for them to get home.
The girls walk in laughing together and head our way.
They all look beautiful all made up, but Emma, God, Emma.
She’s a vision. A beautiful sunset. The moon glistening over the ocean at night.
Millions of diamonds shining with the first rays of sunlight.
She makes my heart stop and takes my breath away.
And when she slowly turns my way, those dazzling green eyes falling on me and that blazing smile forming only for me, the world shatters away and all that’s left is her. She’s all I see.
All I ever want to see, for the rest of my life.
I stride over to her, not giving her time to process. My arm comes around her waist, my other hand sliding into smooth, vibrant hair. I crash her body into mine and capture her lips, tilting her head back slightly.
Electricity crackles around us, the room spinning until all noise ceases, until nothing exists but us. This isn’t just a kiss—it’s a vow. One I promise to make until the day I die. This is my wife. I know it, I feel it down to my very core. She’s going to be my everything.
She already is.
I’ve known how I’ve felt about Emma for a while now, how serious I am about her. But this moment, as simple as it is, proves it all to me. My body knows it, my mind knows it, my soul knows it. My world no longer exists for me. It exists for her.
Her and our daughter.
“Wolf,” she breathes when we come up for air.
“I love you, Emma,” I whisper.
Her eyes open, looking deep into mine, and she opens her beautiful plump lips.
She’s close, I know she is. She’s ready to say it.
But then she hesitates too long and begins to doubt herself.
I kiss her lips one more time, letting her know it’s okay, that I can wait.
That I understand even if I’m dying to hear it.
She’ll say it soon.
“Can you guys hear that?” Cecilia says from behind us. We pull apart slightly, turning to her as everyone waits for her to elaborate.
She looks at the girls as they all share a knowing look and big goofy grins, then at once shout, “Wedding bells!”
I chuckle as Emma giggles, burying her face into my chest.
I take a step back and grab her wrist. “Come, I have something I want to show you.” I smile and guide her to her new office.
“Ooh, what is it? Did you make us a sex dungeon? A room full of kinky toys and ropes?” she questions, sounding too excited with those ideas. Hmm, maybe I’ll have to look into that. “Oh my God! Is it a new closet for my clothes?!” she shrieks. Yeah, I thought about that one, too.
Her clothes are overtaking our walk-in and her closet in her old room.
We already use the spare bedroom upstairs as a second closet for Gracie, but I think we’ll have to make some changes soon and turn her old room into a closet also.
Freaking women and their clothes. At this rate, we’ll have to buy a bigger house if they keep buying stuff.
“You’ll see,” I tell her with a smirk as I stop in front of the closed door.
I step to the side, letting her open it. She grabs the handle, glancing my way before twisting the knob and pushing it open. She gasps loudly, a hand flying over her gaping mouth. She quickly walks into the room, her eyes flicking all over the place as she takes it all in.
“Oh my God! Greyson!” Her hands shoot in every direction, pointing to things with a gasp every time. “This is… I don’t even have words for it. I can’t believe you did this for me!” She finally spots the sign up on the wall. “Ahh! That’s our logo! How did you get it done? Oh! It’s so beautiful!”
She stands in the middle of the room, arms stretched wide as she spins in a circle, squealing and laughing. Too many emotions blow from her body to be contained. After a few more turns, she stops and does a little happy dance. “CECILIA!!! Come see! Come see!”
She laughs with the brightest smile I’ve ever seen, then notices the pictures on the wall.
She rushes up to them and her laughter stops.
A soft smile touches her lips as she passes her fingers over the pictures of us and the gang.
Then she looks to the other side, as if she knows where the centerpiece is and wants to keep it for the end.
She giggles at the ridiculous photo of all the girls together but stops when her fingertips trace over the one with her grandfather.
I hear her sniffle, her eyes getting that shiny, glassy look.
“Where did you get this one?” she asks quietly.
“Your dad gave it to me.”