Page 53 of Arctic Titans of Northwood U: Volume 2

He looked horrified by my words. Had we come from such different planets that I had just insulted everything he held dear? But then he spoke and I knew he was only horrified by what he had done. “I ruined it,” he said. “I only meant to make you happy, but I ruined it.”

I wanted to go to him. I wanted to comfort him and hold him and tell him he hadn’t ruined anything, but I wasn’t sure if I could trust him. If he didn’t understand the difference between impressing me and caring about me, then would he ever know the difference between a dare and a relationship?

He pulled back a couple more steps and was off the lawn and by the carriage. I followed fearfully, not wanting to part like this. I had to guard myself. I had to protect my heart at all costs. But he was so sweet even if he was misguided. “You’re right,” he said and lifted his head. He looked at the sky for answers and shook his head. “You’re absolutely right.” The intensity of his emotions swirled around me. Until my dying day, nobody would ever convince me that Grayson didn’t somehow make it snow. At that very moment, thick white snowflakes fluttered down around us. And he looked at me again. “I got it wrong. I’m sorry. All this? It’s not important.” He took his top hat off and tossed it on the ground. “It’s just fluff.” He untied his fancy bow tie. The foot-long piece of silk fluttered to the ground on his other side. “I just want to talk to you. And that’s what I should have done. I should have just talked to you. Instead, I made all these elaborate plans to blind you with shiny things.”

I opened my mouth to tell him to stop, but he was quicker.

He shrugged off the jacket and threw the fine fabric into a small heap near the top hat. “The truth is simple, Avery. I loved every second I spent with you. I was going to tell you that after putting you in a very good mood because I’m a coward. I’m afraid you won’t want to hear it now. Look, I’m shaking.” He was. But he laughed nervously. “And I wanted to tell you that I had watched you for so long, from a distance. I always thought you were the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen. And yes—there was a dare. Spencer and Cole pitched names and I dismissed them. Then they said your name and my heart jumped. ‘Yes,’ I thought. ‘I finally have a reason to go after this beautiful guy that I have always admired from a distance.’ But that’s not an excuse. I could have told you that first night on the boat. I could have told you that it won me bragging rights and that I wanted to see you again. But I was scared.” He was slowly unbuttoning his shirt, then his cuffs. He wore a white, short-sleeved undershirt, but chills went through me as I watched him undress and confusion tied my tongue to the bottom of my mouth. “And when you told me you trusted me, I should have admitted it. That was the last chance I had. Everything that came after is unforgivable. I know that.” He stripped his fine black pants down his legs and kicked his fancy shoes off, remaining in his socks and boxers. He turned around, opened the door of the carriage, and grabbed a duffel bag, then shut the door. “Thank you. We won’t need the carriage tonight. Thank you for your time.” He tapped the door of the carriage and the driver shrugged, sniffed, and jerked the reins. The horses seemed eager to go and the carriage rocked charmingly left and right as it went away.

I realized then that my cheeks were wet and hot with tears. “Gray…”

The most beautiful man in the world tossed the duffel on the concrete. He grabbed the edge of his fitted undershirt and pulled it over his head. Snow thickened almost instantly and I noticed his hard muscles shivering. Then, as he threw the undershirt on the ground, he spread his arms. “This is me, Avery. No fluff and no lies. Never again. That’s the least I can promise.” He blinked, licked his lips, and gave a little shrug. “It’s as simple as this: Avery, I love you. I fell in love with you on the first night we spent together. We lay in that bed, watching the stars in total darkness, and we agreed we wouldn’t rush it. So I kept it to myself. I didn’t want to scare you. I didn’t want to rush anything. So I pretended I only liked you but never told you the truth. I am so in love with you, you can’t believe it.” He smiled, and the hope that beamed on his face sent away all the other emotions. He was less afraid, less desperate. “There’s so much I should have said sooner. So let me start now. You mean everything to me, Avery. I’m…I’m glad that you exist. I’m glad that you are here. I am so glad that you and I are alive at the same time and in the same place because I could never, ever settle for someone who isn’t you.”

I was shaking harder than Gray. If I had believed that my heart was bare and open before, I had been wrong. He had shattered every invisible barrier that I had placed to protect myself. He had dismantled every aggressive defense and tore every brick I’d stacked between us. And he stunned me stupid. I blurted, “You’re going to freeze.”

Gray laughed out loud. “I was afraid you’d tell me to get lost.”

I was still silent, eyes wide open, teeth clamped around my lower lip.

“That’s in the top five answers I hoped for,” he teased, but his voice cracked nervously.

“And what’s the first?” I whispered, stepping closer.

He set his arms to his sides and bravely tilted his head, looking into my eyes. “You know what I want the most in this world.”

Breath hitched in my throat. I stilled my arms before I grabbed him and wrapped him into a warm, protective hold. First, I needed to say it. I hadn’t spoken these words to a guy or a girl ever before. I hadn’t felt this for anyone in my life, not romantically at least. And now, the fateful moment was here, and I could barely breathe. Tears still brimmed and spilled, but I wasn’t sad at all. I was the happiest I had ever been.

“Gray,” I said. “I love you too. I love you so much.”

I couldn’t tell who moved where or who got there first, but we crashed into one another, and my lips were on his in an instant. I kissed him hard and deep, feasting on all the love he had to give me. More and more and more of it welled from us both and it almost scared me that it grew this much. I had nearly given up on it. I had almost lost it.

This was how you did it. Not a million carriages and royal apartments at The Orion could begin to compete with the gift he had given me. And I kissed him harder, my hands feeling the muscular back and heated body of the man I loved.

Then panic set in and I pulled back. “Put some clothes on,” I gasped. “Are you crazy?”

He laughed, drunk with love, and bent to unzip the duffel. Inside, there really was a neatly folded tux, even if it was starting to get creased, and under it were other, more casual things. He pulled out a pair of dark green pants and a cream sweater, put his clothes on, and looked at me. He had the look of expectation and gratitude I hadn’t seen anyone wear so openly.

Now that he wasn’t at risk of hypothermia, I put my hands on his face and brought our heads together. “Did you make it snow?” I asked him seriously.

His lips curled into a smile. “I might have,” he said cheekily.

I laughed harder and louder than I had in ages. Gray never failed to make me laugh. I was about to kiss him when his gaze darted away from me, somewhere behind my back.

I turned my head to look. The two windows around the main door of our team house had their drapes pulled. Heads dotted them. Sebastian, Tyler, Beckett, Caden, Sawyer, Asher, Jordan, and Phoenix all stared out. And when I saw them, they scattered like mice, dropping the drapes and moving quickly one over the other. My laughter merged with Gray’s as we faced one another again.

Finally, I relaxed and eased our bodies together, kissing him softly and lovingly the way I needed to kiss him. It was an elixir against all bad luck. It was a potion to heal all wounds. It soothed me to feel how much he loved me.

Then, carefully, I pulled my head back and looked into his eyes. “Do you want to come inside?”

He didn’t hesitate. “There’s nothing I would love more.”

I stepped back, one hand holding his, and led the way. My teammates had run away into their hiding places, but their laughter and cheers were audible from downstairs. Later, I decided. I would see them later. There was all the time in the world for smoothing out the wrinkles we’d made along the way.

For now, I wanted Gray. With me and alone.

Smiling like two boys on the first day of a big summer adventure, Gray and I exchanged a loving look, and I led him up the grand stairs to the little slice of heaven where we could be alone. Just my love and I.

EPILOGUE