Page 146 of Salvaged Hearts

“Took a few dozen renditions, but they got there.”

“I thought?—”

“It seemed inauthentic to pay someone to write the words which would bind my life to yours.”

“Greyson,” I stammered, my voice breaking. “I had no idea. I?—”

“Had every right to hate me, my Belle. But Ineverhated you.” He gently swiped my left hand in his, and I scowled as he slipped the mammoth ring from my finger.

“What are you?—”

But he was shaking his head and pulling a little blue box from his jacket. “That one was forthem,” he said pointedly, tucking it away in his breast pocket.Them. The world. The paparazzi. The psychopaths trying to skewer him. “This one is foryou.” When Greyson popped the box open, I sucked down a breath, the bridge of my nose stinging as tears demanded release. I’d done a remarkable amount of crying for Greyson Hart in the last twelve months. The ring inside the velvet cushion had two accompanying bands—all Art Deco, gold and diamonds surrounding an emerald fitting for the name of our city. “This time just for the stars, the sea, you, and me…well, and Cap...and Chip.” Captain, who’d unceremoniously plopped onto a large rock jutting from the beach, lifted his big noggin to turn it sideways when he heard his name. “I love you,Mrs. Alessandra Hart. I screwed up my chance to give you a proper proposal, so instead, I ask you this: stay with me. You know all there is to know—the good, the bad, and the ugly. And I’m asking you to stay with me.”

Smirking to cover the tears blurring my vision, I pointed out, “That wasn’t really said like a question, Grey.”

“That wasn’t really an answer, Alice.”

“Yes,” I breathed, losing the battle with my emotions as I beamed, and tears poured when he slid the new ring into its rightful place. Beautiful. And absolutelyme. Not flashy. No gaudy camera bait to be seen. Just a piece that was a little quirky around the edges, but classic all the same. Grey rose to his feet and crushed me against him a beat before his mouth found mine.

“Thank fuck, because that party would be pretty awful if you said no,” he teased, the smirk I loved so much twisting his words. “There’s more.”

“More!?” I croaked as he lifted me up, my dress bunching around my waist as he hoisted me onto his hips, expectation colliding with…nervesin his eyes?

“Read the next one.”

Too much. The man was too much for me. Too sweet. Too…vulnerable to wrap my head around. No trace of the robot was left in sight. Wrapping my arms around his neck like a koala, I turned to the next page and hesitated, throat tightening as I sawEmerald Bay Urologyprinted at the top left corner. Blood turning to ice, heart in my belly, I asked, “Are you…are yousick?”

A dark rumble vibrated my ribs, but he pressed his lips to my shoulder and whispered, “No.”

“Then what is this?”

“A gift. Should you choose to accept it?”

“Will this letter self-destruct before I make sense of it?”

Another chuckle, this time as he buried himself in my hair. “Stop panicking and read it, Alice.”

Struggling to swallow, I did, and my confusion turned to shock, followed by a crushing wave of overwhelm. “I read it and I’mstillpanicking.”

“Only if you want me to. It’s just an appointment, and there’s no guarantee I can?—”

“You’rereversingyour vasectomy?”

“I’m still waiting for my wife to approve the procedure. But…that is the plan. Our decisions shouldn’t be limited by choices I made out of fear, shame, or grief.”

“What happened to kids being a liability?”

“Loveis a liability,” he said simply. “But you’ve shown me I can’t live without it, either.” With a gentle brush of his lips on mine, he sent my head spinning. “You found me as a broken man and salvaged the heart few people knew I still had beating. Thegreatest honor would be watching the love of my life mother my children.”

“I love you,” I breathed shakily. His answering smile was enough to light my soul on fire. Honestly, I never imagined the kind of love that would make me all warm and fuzzy once the initial jitters wore off—never imagined the all-consuming, sweep-you-off-your-feet kind of romance. And yeah, okay, ours certainly had an unconventional beginning, but what mattered in the end was that we’d found our way to each other in this insane world. The significance of this offer hit me square in the chest, and a wave of affection for Greyson Hart nearly took my legs out from under me.

“I love you, too. What do you say, baby?”

“You want a family.”

“I wantourfamily,” he corrected.

“You’re serious.”

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