“I know.”
I hear steps making their way slowly to us. Before I even get the chance to turn, Gracie stands from the floor, arms stretched wide as she runs over to Emma. “MAMA!”
Em smiles affectionately at our daughter as she picks her up. “Oh, my Little Tulip. How are you, baby?” She kisses her cheek repeatedly. “I’m sorry Mommy hasn’t been feeling well. But I promise I’m going to try harder, okay?”
Gracie places both her hands against Emma’s cheeks, looking at her with wonder as she says, “Mama,” again in a dreamlike voice.
They rub their noses together and giggle before Em brings her over and puts her down near her toys. Lance stands from the couch and takes his daughter in his arms. “Oh, Daddy. Please… I don’t want to cry again. Because if I do, I won’t make it out that door.” She looks up to the ceiling and blinks rapidly, her voice trembling as she speaks.
“I know, Sunflower. I just wanted a hug, that’s all.” He kisses her temple, then sits back down as I stand and watch her walk over to me.
She’s wearing cute white sandals that wrap around her ankles and has a simple white sundress with spaghetti straps. Her damp hair is in its natural waves from being just washed, and she wears no makeup. You can tell from her attire that she wasn’t up for getting dressed, but still, she’s never looked more beautiful.
Emma is and will always be a vision to me.
I wanted to dress nicely for the occasion but felt it would make things too obvious. So instead, I went with a simple white linen shirt and khaki shorts paired with white running shoes.
She comes to my side, placing one arm against my back and the other landing on my chest while resting her head on my shoulder. “You look beautiful, Bunny,” I say, kissing her temple.
“Thank you,” she whispers back.
“Are you ready to go?” I ask. She nods against my shoulder before lifting her head and taking my hand. We say goodbye, then head out the door and into my truck.
“Where are we going?” she asks once she’s strapped in.
“You’ll see. It’s a surprise.” I take her hand and kiss it as I back out of the driveway.
“Are we going somewhere fancy? You seem dressed for something fancy.”
“I do?” I raise a brow. I didn’t think my outfit wasthatnice. She nods in response. “Well, no. We aren’t going anywhere fancy.”
She lets out a breath. “Okay, good. Because I look like shit. This is really not my best look.”
“Stop it. You could wear a garbage bag and still be the sexiest woman in the room.” I wink at her.
“Yeah, that’s probably because I’m theonlywoman in the room,” she mumbles to herself. “Really, Greyson? A garbage bag? Are you that easily turned on? That can’t be normal.” She scrunches up her nose in disgust.There’s my girl.
I let go of her hand and grab her neck by the nape, bringing her closer to me so that I can kiss her temple without taking my eyes off the road. “God, I love you. And no, I’m only turned on by you. No matter what you wear.”
I drop my hand as she rests her head against the seat, watching me. “I love you, too. And I’m sorry I’ve been a bad girlfriend and mom lately. I’ll do better.”
“No, baby. You have nothing to apologize for. I understand what you’re going through and that you need time to grieve. Sotake all the time you need. Just promise to come back to me in the end.”
Her hand takes mine this time, fingers interlocking together. “I’ll always come back to you, Wolf.”
It takes us a little over an hour to make it to our destination before I park my truck up the dirt road near a farmhouse. Emma looks around quizzically with a furrowed brow. “What are we doing here, Greyson?”
From the angle I’m parked, she can’t see past the house, which only makes the surprise even better. “Come on. It’s behind there,” I tell her as I turn off the engine.
“What is?” She narrows her eyes.
I smirk. “Go see and you’ll find out.”
She studies me for a second before opening the door and jumping out quickly, scurrying toward where I pointed.
I hurry while her back is turned to reach into the glove compartment, grabbing the little black velvet box that has been hiding there for a little while. I know leaving an engagement ring inside your car probably isn’t the smartest thing. But once I hinted that I would propose soon, Em searched the house like a crazy woman. My truck was the only place I could think of that I knew she wouldn’t think of looking.
I push it into my pocket beside my wallet, trying to make it look less obvious.I’ll have to keep my hand over it or make sure her gaze never falls to there.I get out and lock up, walking leisurely over to Emma.
