Page 65 of Dare to Hold
“Yeah?”
“Your boyfriend. I like the sound of that.”
I freeze. “You…do?”
He laughs and the sound of it makes my toes curl. “Yeah, I really do. I mean, I’ve kinda been walking around all week acting like I was yours anyway. Guess it would be nice to make it official.”
I bite my lip to keep from smiling so wide it hurts. “So…boyfriend and girlfriend?”
“Unless you want to go steady with someone else,” he teases. “But I gotta tell you, I make a pretty great boyfriend. I’m available 24/7 for pep talks and bad days. I’d write you a song—might even sing it if you asked. I bring flowers just because. And my hugs? Elite. My snuggles? Even better.”
My heart does this ridiculous flip, and for a second, I forget how to breathe. He can’t possibly mean all that. But oh, how I wish he did.
“I’ll take my chances,” I whisper, somehow managing to find my voice.
“You sure?” he grins, playing it up. “This is a big commitment. I may also flood your inbox with voice memos and bad jokes.”
“Sounds like heaven,” I murmur, pulse racing, and before I can stop myself, I add, “I wouldn’t mind more of those snuggles. And for the record…I really like flowers.”
There’s a pause. A warm, comfortable silence that says maybe he’s just as undone as I am.
Then suddenly, I sit up a little straighter. “Oh my gosh—I know what to do!”
Gray chuckles. “For the graphics?”
“Yes! It just clicked. Like fully, completely. I can picture it now.”
“I knew you’d get there,” he says, his voice full of pride—and maybe a little reluctance. “I’m glad I could be of some inspiration to my girlfriend.”
I smile. “I should probably hang up and get to work before I lose the spark.”
“Agreed,” he says, but there’s a playful pout in his tone. “Go, be brilliant. But I’m taking full credit for the design.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“Ridiculously supportive,” he quips. “Now go. Before I distract you again with more of my impressive boyfriend energy.”
I bite my lip, heart too full. “Goodnight, boyfriend.”
“Goodnight, girlfriend. Knock those graphics out. I’m already proud of you.”
Chapter 17
Ivy
The sun slices through my curtains like it’s got something to prove, landing right in my eyes. I groan, squinting as I sit up in bed, disoriented. My laptop is still perched on the edge of the mattress, surrounded by open notebooks filled with sketches, messy doodles, and bursts of half-legible inspiration.
And then I remember last night.
The phone call.
The way Gray made me laugh, made my heart feel like it finally had somewhere to land. The way he listened—really listened. And that slip of the word boyfriend? The way he didn’t flinch, didn’t run, but embraced it with warmth and gentle confidence? It unraveled something tight in my chest.
That’s what sparked it.
That’s what gave me the vision for the graphics.
This idea that maybe that’s how God loves too—not demanding perfection first, not asking you to clean up your mess before you're welcome. Just…meeting you where you are. Like Gray did with me. No pressure. Just presence.
