Page 52 of Arctic Titans of Northwood U: Volume 2

I hated that my broken heart was what the team needed to unite. Even more, I hated that they were so invested. I was doing my best to feel as little as I could, but my teammates weren’t letting the apathy take me away. They cared an unhealthy amount. They cared without shame. And it touched me. It was a quicksand that wouldn’t let me build the walls around my heart.

Truly, Grayson Reed couldn’t have picked a worse moment than that. All my weaknesses were on full display and my guard was at its lowest. I was anxious about my friend’s fate, touched by the love my team nurtured for me, desperate to kill the different kind of love I had nowhere to put, and worrying about Grayson’s wounds — and to a small extent, his bruised pride — when he shouted. “AVERY! AVERY!”

“What’s happening?” Beckett asked from the kitchen island.

Caden was with him, frowning, and Sawyer had joined us for the evening with Sebastian and Tyler flanking him. I was on the sofa furthest from the door, so Sawyer marched across the room and moved the drape away from the window to peek outside. “Oh, shit,” he said.

Sebastian’s muscled arms bunched. “Is he looking for trouble?”

“Let’s get him,” Tyler said.

“My turn, guys,” Beckett said.

Caden was the only one to advise caution because I was speechless, my mouth dry with fear. “Just wait,” he hissed at everyone.

“AVERY!!!” Grayson’s voice boomed like he wanted to tear the house down.

Sawyer spun as if poked, leaned against the window, an unreadable expression on his face. “I guess he wants to see you.”

“Is there danger?” Tyler demanded.

“I got you covered,” Beckett announced, and Caden grabbed his upper arm to hold him still.

“Avery!” But that voice wasn’t threatening. It was his joyful one. I knew it. It was the voice he used when he had a surprise so nice and big and clever that he could barely contain his excitement.

“Seriously, you should go,” Sawyer said, his lips quirking slightly.

“We’re right behind you if this goes wrong,” Sebastian said, his biceps still swollen with tension, veins becoming visible.

Sawyer grabbed my coat from the rack and urged me to come. Finally, I got my limbs to move. It wasn’t fear that stopped me. It was the shock. Well, there was a bit of fear mixed into it all. I didn’t want to get hurt again. I didn’t want to fight or hear how he had meant nothing with the dare. I didn’t want him to justify his lies and insult me. And I didn’t want my friends to see me when Grayson said all the wrong things and my emotions poured out.

I had learned my lesson. Emotions only made things worse.

But I put on my coat and walked toward the door like I was weightless in the clouds. I didn’t look out the window but opened the door right away.

Ten or so paces away from me, on the street that bordered our front lawn, stood Grayson Reed in his most handsome edition ever. A black tux with a white shirt and a sleek black top hat, he might have looked like a cheap magician entertaining children’s birthday parties, but he didn’t. The fit of the tux was too perfect and Grayson was too good-looking to appear cheap in anything. Behind him, drawn by two beautiful black horses, was a closed carriage with orange light bulbs hanging from its roof. It was as charming as if he had plucked it from some animated movie classic. With gold lettering on the door, a gold-plated handle, and a decorative golden accent, it was a fairytale carriage. The man sitting up front, holding the reins, was solemn and uninterested in what was happening here.

My heart thrashed in my chest, but I stilled myself as the door shut behind me.

“Ave-” he half-yelled. “Oh. I didn’t think you’d come out so soon.”

I bit my lip for a moment, forcing away a smile. “Do you want me to hop back in?”

“No. I’m ready.” He stepped toward me and I walked a couple of paces forward. We didn’t meet yet, but we were close enough for normal voices. “I did it,” he said. “The carriage. You kept saying no, but I had to do it.”

I blinked, not sure what I felt. Too many things and none dominant. There was grief soaring through me and there was the warmth I associated with Grayson. But there was spite, too, as well as flattery. “You’re in a tux.”

“Bear with me,” he said and lifted a finger. “I’m here to steal you. And yes, I am wearing a tux, only because Prince Henry wouldn’t return my calls when I begged to borrow a royal mantle. And I have one for you. I think I got the sizes right.” He’d had plenty of chances to measure me in all the time we’d spent naked. I hated how much I loved that it crossed my mind. “And I have something more casual packed for later. For both of us. But first, we are going to The Orion’s rooftop restaurant for the finest dinner of your life. And I will explain everything, I promise. I will explain every lie and deception and feeling that made me do it.”

My lips quivered before I had expected them to. I was losing control over this conversation. I was being swept up by his charm and gestures, the very thing I had told him not to do. My eyes brimmed with tears, and I closed them, lowering my head and shaking it. “You got it all wrong,” I said quietly.

I could feel the panic taking hold of him. He made a hasty few steps toward me but stopped before we touched. I appreciated it. “Avery, please,” he whispered quickly. “Come with me. Let me steal you away for a night. It will be magic, I promise.” He gestured at the carriage.

I shook my head. “Stop,” I pleaded, my voice thin. “That’s not at all what I want.”

“Please,” he said. I couldn’t believe how quickly the cockiness at his cleverness had turned into despair. If I had doubted that he honestly wanted this, I couldn’t doubt it any longer. “Please, I will beg. I don’t mind begging. Sawyer already took my pride and he can keep it. I don’t mind being on my knees for you, Avery. I won’t lose you over some principle. I’m not silly.” As he spoke, he slowly pulled back from me, and I was surprised to see that I had followed him a few paces. “I’ve got a nice tux for you and the best table in Detroit. We have a virtually royal apartment for the night at The Orion. And I have so much to tell you.”

“Grayson, stop,” I said, harsher than I’d meant to. But it did the job. He stopped speaking. It hurt to look at him. He had put so much work into his hair and attire and my words made his beautiful, warm eyes glimmer with tears. He struggled to keep a hopeful smile on. “Not like this,” I told him. “You can’t just throw these huge things at me. I don’t care about the carriage or The Orion. I was happy sitting in a bar surrounded by roughed-up bikers and failed rockers. I was happy walking in the park with you. This…this…” I sucked in a shallow breath of air. I was about to fall apart. Too soon. Way too soon. “This fluff is cute, but I don’t care if you’re rich or poor. I don’t care if you make me a macaroni bracelet or get me the finest emerald money could buy.”