Page 134 of The Billionaire Is Back

He’s going to murder me.

Finally.

After all these months and years. An underachieving normal dude would have murdered me that first time on the island here. Or over twelve years ago when Robbie nearly ran me over in his wheelbarrow of fire—any other guy would have just let me get squished or burnt like a roasted marshmallow in the middle of my perfect s’more. But not my Grady. He’s too strategic and meticulous forthat. Of course he would want to plan it all out, make me fall in love with him, every single inch of him. And I have. I thought I was head over heels for him before. But every domestic moment, every new adventure we have together makes my small world of Beacon Harbor as rich and glorious as if I traversed the globe as a queen.

And now the son of a bitch is gonna take that and twist it into a Netflix true-crime special!

All that is a brief half-thought that takes maybe a fraction of a second to flash across my mind. I burst out laughing, and my mildly psychotic laughter pierces the cool night air, echoing across the water. This gives Grady the opportunity to look at me like I’m nuts. And maybe I am.

We know each other so well. He knows he’s being weird. I know he’s being weird. He knows that I know that he knows he’s being weird. He knows my laugh is weird. He knows that I know that my laugh is weird. He knows that I know that he knows that my laugh is weird.

We grew up together. And now we’re in love. We’ve known each other long enough and well enough to accept all of it.

“Come on, baby,” he says, holding his hand out to me as he holds up a lantern with the other. My not-at-all-serial-killer-ish Grady has made a return. I interlace my five digits of icicles with his warm fingers, and it feels so good. We make our way through the woods to the beach with the metal fire pit, and he starts building a fire.

“Do you want some help?” I ask, even though I already know the answer.

“Nope. I just want you to relax.”

Before I murder you and make you mine forever,my brain adds.

But I’ll make intense, passionate love to you before I do!my lady parts chime in.

I hear a fallen branch crack under the weight of something or someone in the woods. “What the hell is that?” I mutter, turning toward the increasingly dark blackness. The sun is now below the horizon. The lantern is basically a beacon that’s guiding any land mammal here to stab one or both of us or—who am I kidding—me.

“It’s nothing,” Grady assures without even giving a cursory glance at the possible second serial killer inhabiting this island.

“You’re not even gonna go look?”

“It’s probably just teenagers. Or badgers. Or teenage badgers.”

Grady is fumbling and stumbling with the kindling. Grady Barber does not fumble or stumble with anything. It’s weird.

“Grady, what is going on?”

“Just relax. Relax. Now!” he orders irritably.

“I can’t relax! I’m freezing. I’m terrified. You’re acting really weird.”

Grady stops what he’s doing for a second. He silences me with his stare. That look that under any other circumstances would put me in the mood, but right now it makes me feel guilty. “Wait a minute. Are you thinking I’m gonna murder you again?”

“Noooo?” I answer unconvincingly.

He throws down his bundle of sticks. “Dammit. Thisis supposed to be romantic. You’re supposed to be fully romanced when I do this. Be romanced!”

“Be what?” Now my heart is really racing. Because my brain can’t keep up with my heart right now. My heart has figured something out.

“All right, guys. You can come out now,” Grady announces to the terrifying darkness.

I hear rustling and jump up, adopting a stance that I imagine karate might look like if you described it to a person who had never seen anyone do karate.

Then my body relaxes from being a not-at-all-deadly weapon when I start to make out who is coming toward us as they turn on their lanterns. “Mom? Dad? Jake! Vera!” I also see Grady’s parents and his brother, who are now illuminated.“What are you all doing here? Grady, what are they?—”

I turn back to find Grady down on one knee in the sand, holding up a little velvet box. My hands immediately cover my mouth and nose, and my eyes well up with happy tears.We told you so!says my still-racing heart and all the other excited lady parts.Told you he had something planned. Not murder, but still this is a pretty big deal!

“I had plans to build a fire so I could do this by firelight,” Grady explains. “But it doesn’t matter as long as I get the answer that I need for the most important offer I’ve ever made. I know I’m a hard worker, but the thing I want to work on most for the rest of my life is making sure you know you are the most beautiful, wonderful person that I have ever met. My job is to make sure you know how deeply I am in love with you. I want to continueworking on building a life with you, Claire. Will you marry me?”

“Yes!” I throw my arms around his neck and scream. Not like someone who’s getting murdered or pounded, but like a grown lady who is really and truly getting the thing that she has quietly always wanted. “Yes, yes, yes!”

---