Page 101 of Fake It Till We Fall
I beamed, my heart swelling with pride.
“I had no doubt.” Grayson pulled me in close. “Because you are amazing and your food is incredible. Trickle Creek is lucky to have you back.”
I closed my eyes and sank into his kiss, completely uncaring who else was in the room.
“I’m lucky to have you back,” Grayson said when he pulled away. “And I know we said no gifts, but?—”
Grayson took a step back and produced a gift bag I hadn’t noticed before.
“Gray.” I held up my hand. “Just being together is?—”
“I know. I know.”
His grin was so boyish and handsome, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“But it’s just a little thing.”
I tilted my head, not buying it.
“Trust me,” he said. “It’s perfect.”
I wasn’t going to win the argument, so I took the bag, pulled the tissue paper out, reached in and pulled out a…
“A whisk?” Obviously, I had plenty of whisks in the kitchen, but this one was shiny and gold and…perfect.
“Now that this place is officially Wander & Whisk, I thought it was only right to have your very own whisk to hang next to Willa’s whisk.”
Again, my eyes filled with tears. This time at his immense thoughtfulness. When the rebranding of the restaurant was complete, I took Grandma’s favorite whisk out of the kitchen and had Reid build a shadow box to preserve it so it could forever hang in a place of honor in the dining room. A reminder of where I’d come from and where it had all begun.
“It’s so perfect.” I dropped the whisk back into the bag and reached for Grayson, but he stopped me.
“You didn’t even take it out of the bag,” he said. “You need to see it all.”
Again, I tilted my head, giving him a questioning look. I’d seen enough. It was a beautiful whisk. How much more to it could there be?
Without further argument, I did as he asked and once more reached into the bag, this time pulling my gift all the way free. It was only then that I saw the satin ribbon tied to the bottom, and hanging from the ribbon was a?—
“Oh!” My hand flew to my mouth when I realized what I was looking at. “Grayson, I?—”
Grayson
The ring sparkledin the kitchen light, but I wasn’t looking at the gold and diamond jewelry I’d picked out weeks ago. I only had eyes for the love of my life, who was still holding the whisk up in the air, letting the ring dangle from the ribbon.
I took it from her and untied the ribbon before sinking to one knee on the tile floor. From somewhere behind me, I heard Erin, or someone else, gasp as they realized what was about to happen, but I didn’t take my eyes off Harper.
Her hands covered her mouth, her eyes wide and filled with tears as she watched and waited.
I wouldn’t make her wait too long. “Harper.” I reached for her left hand and the silver ring I’d put on her hand for the first time when we were kids. “When I gave you this ring back, I told you I hoped you would never take it off again.” I took a moment to look at the simple design. The perfect purple stone. It represented so much. And it always would. “But I lied,” I continued. “Because I do hope you take it off.”
She gasped a little and swallowed back a sob. Her hand shook in mine, but I couldn’t stop.
I held up the engagement ring with the cushion-cut diamond, set in a platinum band. “Because this is the ring I hope you never take off.” I took a moment to catch my breath and ground myself. “I have spent my entire life loving you, Harper Bennett, and that will never change because I plan on spending the rest of my life growing and learning with you, building the life we both want, together. Will you make me the happiest man in the world and do me the honor of being my wife?”
With the words finally out, I blew out a breath.
“Grayson. I…” She shook her head, and for a moment, my breath caught in my throat. “I…this is so…oh… I mean…I can’t wait to marry you,” Harper said in a tumble of words. “Yes!” she cried. “Yes. Yes. Yes. Of course I’ll marry you.”
Before I could slide the ring onto her finger, she dropped to her knees on the floor with me and, with a shaking hand, took the silver ring from her left hand and moved it to her right hand.
