“Plural? To Todd?” His tone darkens.
“Dodged that bullet. I’d rather forget about that. Anyway, despite my years of training, competing, and being on a team, at some point, my father decided I was too old to skate anymore. I missed my chance at Olympic fame.”
“You’re younger than me,” Grey says. “I still play football. I don’t necessarily think there’s an age limit on your dreams.”
My lips tip into a smile that conveys how his comment makes me feel hopeful, like someone in my life finally tells the truth. “While I loved figure skating, the whole gold medal thing was my father’s dream—the Ice King. Or just an accomplishment he could claim by default. He cut me off from that and decided to marry me off. The whole thing was out of my hands.”
I glance down at the simple ring Grey slid there and which I’ve never taken off. “Actually, I realize now that I let him have control over my life. I didn’t think I had a choice.”
“But you do. I never want you to feel that way again. This is your life and what you do, who you marry, and what dreams you pursue are all in your hands, Everly. Truly.”
Grey squeezes me close, serving to assure me and give me the courage to go on. I’ve only shared the details about what happened between Todd and me with Heidi, my counselor, doctor, and lawyer.
“Only fourteen days before we were supposed to say our vows, I found out that I had cancer. It was basically stage zero, but as I said, because of a genetic factor, I was at a very high risk of it becoming worse, rapidly. I waited and went for second opinions and tests. I was afraid to tell Todd because he was very superficial about appearances. He wanted me on his arm at events, the daughter of the famous Lefevre metal magnate, to parade me around like a trophy.”
Grey grunts.
I take a deep breath. “It took me five days to fully accept that he’d cheated on me. Five more and I realized he was seriously messed up in the head. Delusional. Paranoid. I guess I didn’t let myself see it sooner. Denial is powerful.”
“Yeah.” Grey snorts.
“He knew I was waiting for marriage, but kept pressuring me and didn’t appreciate that I repeatedly delayed things between us.” As I spoke, I felt disconnected from the past and firmly in the present.
Grey clenches and unclenches his fists as though itching to have a go at Todd’s face. The only reason I didn’t buy a dartboard and stick a photo of his face on it was because I was broke.
“Did you want to have kids?” Grey asks.
“Not with him. That much quickly became clear.”
“But you do want a family?”
My gaze captures his. “We do have a family.”
He laces his fingers with mine and leans back in the chair, at ease. An owl hoots and the moon appears, a bright, glowing crescent.
“I immediately sought a way out, but requiring health insurance, I felt trapped. On my wedding day, all dressed up and ready to go, I overheard one of his groomsmen asking about the sidepiece. They said some lewd things about the woman Todd cheated on me with. I froze. Hid in a storage closet. Couldn’t go through with it. The sidepiece showed up and paraded down the aisle, objecting to our wedding. I fled.”
Grey’s eyes are milk saucers, moon size. “Seriously?”
“Quite.”
“Things got worse. The police became involved when his behavior escalated with a series of drunk driving stops. His parents suppressed the charges. Money can do that. We’d signed a prenuptial agreement, and as an heiress, I thought it solely protected me. I didn’t read the fine print. He had access to my finances and everything of mine went to him when I didn’t walk down the aisle.”
“Everly,” Grey growls, like the only thing keeping him in the chair and not flying to hunt down Todd is my small hand in his.
“Money isn’t everything. But I spent every penny I had and lucked out when the law firm wasn’t a big fan of Todd after he’d been in litigation with one of their other clients over reneging on a business deal. I was able to break our ties. Then I left Virginia, taking the diagnosis with me. That’s where you came in. Looking back, you saved my life, Grey. And that’s it. The whole story.”
Grey hugs me. My eyes flutter closed, like telling him the entire truth took my last drops of energy—or perhaps it’s jet lag.
A short time later, I have a vague sense of floating. Only, it’s Grey carrying me to bed and kissing my forehead before quietly padding out of the room.
I dream of flying through the clouds with my Viking, free from the past.
When I wake up, a few yellow and orange flowers fill a clear vase on the bedside table. The scent of buttery malted vanilla drifts from downstairs.
I stretch and gaze out the window at the lake, a new woman. When I hear the chatter and laughter of one booming voice and one small one filtering up here, I remember I’m also a wife and a mother.
As I recall the kisses Grey and I shared on the deck below, I realize I’m also in love.
