Page 139 of Return to Us
“I am. But that’s what I want.”
His hand runs up and down my spine, and I melt into him. “I don’t want to wait long.”
“I think it’s best for Amelia if we do it before we tell her about the baby.”
“I worry we’re changing so much in her world too fast.”
Grayson gives a short grunt. “If she was showing any signs of being upset, I would say we should hold off, but she’s not.”
Amelia has been more excited than anything. She tells everyone that she asked me to marry them and I said yes. At school, she was the center of attention with that story. My heart didn’t know it could love like this, but Amelia and Grayson have given me so much to care for.
“Still, I want to protect her.”
Grayson kisses the top of my head. “And this is why I want to marry you now. Because you don’t just love me, you love my daughter.”
I lean up, looking in his eyes. “How could I not? She’s a part of you.”
“Seriously, Jess, I don’t want to wait to have you as my wife. I want us to start our new life raising both kids as a married couple. Call me old fashioned, I don’t care, but it’s important to me.”
“It is to me too. So, let’s set a date.”
“I want to do it before this crap with my father goes down.”
Soon, the Parkerson siblings will walk away from everything they’ve ever known and band together. I know that Grayson is grappling with not only what he found out about his father but also that his siblings are giving up so much.
I don’t think they feel that way, but he does.
They’ve lived a very privileged life and have done very well. That will change for them. There’s going to be a period of time where finances could be difficult. Thankfully, they are talking and planning to make things as easy as possible.
Since the land that Grayson owns is huge, Alex and Joshua are going to stay on the property. Once construction starts, it will ensure that someone is always there, and they will also have privacy.
Oliver is going to stay with Stella, which should be hilarious.
I shift so I’m on my stomach, looking at him. “Okay, well, we don’t have a lot of time then.”
“Which is part of my plan.”
“Oh? You have a plan?”
His grin deepens and that dimple I love becomes prominent. “I always have plans for you, love.”
“Good to know, but what about the wedding?”
“I want to get married at the lake.”
“Really?”
“Where did you think I’d want to marry you?”
I lift one shoulder. “No clue, but . . .” I sort of thought he’d pick the beach house. It’s where we became Jessica and Grayson—or Gressica, as I like to joke to make his head explode. I wasn’t actually excited by the idea, but this is, well . . . “I think that’s perfect.”
I love that lake. The lake is new. The lake is where our future is. It’s where we’ll build this new life.
“It’s why we have to do it soon, before it’s ruined by trucks and construction.”
“You have very sound logic.”
He laughs. “I will say just about anything to get you to agree.”
