Page 51 of We're Not Strangers Anymore

I laugh dryly. “You also saved me and stuck your neck out to keep me safe, Grayson. What kind of person would I be if I sold you out to spare myself a beating?”

He meets my gaze. “You’re making it harder for me to say goodbye to you, you know? You’re perfect.”

I shake my head, trying to hide my smile. “I’mfarfrom perfect. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, Grayson. I also appreciate you showing me what love feels like.” I feel a lump in my throat, but swallow it down and paste on a half smile.

He looks shocked at my words. He steps further into the room and closer to me, leaving a small space between us. “If love iswhat you feel, why are you leaving?” His voice is barely above a whisper.

I feel tears begin to well in my eyes but I blink them away. “Because love isn’t enough.”

Grayson’s expression hardens and his jaw ticks. “Well when you decide it is, you have my number. Let’s go.” He grabs my suitcases and walks out, leaving his words in my mind like a bad headache. I grab my phone and makeup bag and head out of the room to the staircase. I pause at the top of the stairs, taking in one last image of the place where I felt at home for the first time in my life. My mind fills with memories of Laila and Sophia popping in early mornings, Grayson standing at the end of these stairs looking at me with stars in his eyes, the feeling of excitement I had every day that my feet touched the cold marble knowing that I’d find him in the kitchen with a cup of coffee for me. The one that hurts the most is the memory of him and I in the kitchen the morning after our picnic date– we just couldn’t stop smiling at each other as he prepared breakfast. I feel a sharp pain in my chest at the thought and cling to it for a fleeting moment, then suppress it with a deep breath. I value the time we’ve spent together. Now it’s time to take the memories with me and move on.

The front door clicks shut behind me and I make my way to the car where Grayson is waiting on the passenger side to open my door for me like he always does. I slide into the seat,feeling anxious for my flight to France. But I’m also excited to see Laila again, we haven’t talked since the day Grayson took me to Isola Bella.

“What are you taking care of back in Chicago?” I ask, breaking the silence as we drive down the long empty road. It’s probably a stupid question to ask, a question I’m sure he won’t answer.

“Conejo is dead. Now I have to make sure the rest of his organization is out of the way. They’re like fuckin’ roaches, these guys. You see one and then a hundred more come out of the woodwork.”

I look over at him in shock. “Conejo is dead? Since when? Why the fuck haven’t you told me about this?”

He sighs, leaning back on his headrest. “One question at a time, Row.” He glances over at me and his expression softens. “I killed him when you ran. Turns out he just so happened to be in Sicily and I thought his men had taken you. The point is, the root of the problem is gone.”

I feel anxious at the thought that they could have taken me within that time, but relieved knowing that he’s gone. “How? I mean, you ran from him, how were you able to do it?”

He grips the steering wheel. “It doesn’t matter and I didn’t fuckin’ run from him. I was being smart about the situation we were in because had I not, we would have all been dead.”

“But if you were able to kill him, why didn’t you do it in Chicago?”

He looks over and I can tell I struck a nerve. “Yeah, Rowan. I should have just gone to Conejo with his army surrounding him and tried to shoot every one of them with no back up. That would have totally been a smart move.” His tone is so sarcastic like I’m some child.

“Don’t talk to me like I’m fucking stupid, Grayson. I’m just trying to understand.”

He takes the exit to the hangar, shaking his head. “Don’t ask stupid questions then. You want nothing to do with this, right? I got him alone and now he’s gone. That’s the end of it.”

He isn’t completely wrong. With as much as I’ve made it known that I don’t want to be a part of any of this, I don’t blame him for not wanting to talk to me about it anymore. We sit in silence for the rest of the car ride. As he pulls into the hangar, it all sets in. I may never see Grayson again. The man I unwillingly married and unwillingly fell in love with. Yes,in love.

Grayson hands my bags to his pilot and walks over to me to say goodbye. “The jet has wifi. Call me if you need anything, Row.” He brushes the back of his hand against my cheek, and his gaze flickers over me, as if he’s memorizing every feature of my face.

I wrap my arms around him as he plants a soft kiss on my head. “Goodbye, Grayson.” My eyes fill with tears as I say those final words.

“Goodbye, Rowan.”

Grayson

“Memorial arrangements for your father are all taken care of. I’m still working on Luciano’s. I also have a package for you from the porch,” Deirdra says, walking over to me and placing a yellow envelope on my desk.

“Thank you, Deirdra. I really appreciate you coming back here after everything.” I open the envelope and inside is a small, white box. I open the box and a gold cuban link chain sits inside with an oval charm, though I can’t make out exactly what it is. I pull it from the box and underneath the cardboard that holds the chain, there’s a note.

This is Luciano’s fingerprint. Well, thumbprint because I had to get it from his arrest record lol. I figured since you couldn’t get his ashes, this was the next best thing.

-Rowan

I feel a single tear stream down my cheek as I read her note. We talked briefly over the phone five days ago when she got to France but ever since, I’ve been caught up with trying to clean up my messes here and she’s been busy with my mom and sister. I would have never expected this after the way we left off. Only Rowan would come up with something so sweet, with so much thought.

“Are you okay, Grayson?” Deirdra asks.

I clear my throat, setting the note down on my desk. “Yeah I’m all good.”

“Shoot me a text if you need anything,” she says, exiting my office. I pull my phone from my pocket and call Rowan.

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