Playing by Heart
Page 25
She took a deep, shaky breath, maintaining eye contact as she sank down onto one knee in front of him. ‘Grayson, will you marry me?’
He gave a startled gasp, his eyes widening. ‘Lisa ... no,’ he said softly, shaking his head.
Her heart turned over. She hadn’t expected this. Now she knew how he’d felt when she’d refused him. ‘No?’ she repeated faintly as he pulled her up to her feet. ‘You’ve changed your mind,’ she stated flatly, trying not to feel hurt.
‘No. Not at all,’ he said insistently. He cupped her face, tilting it up so she had to look at him. ‘I’d love to be married to you, Lisa. But I know it’s not what you want.’
She opened her mouth to protest, but he interrupted. ‘My mother told me she bumped into you at the hospital the other day.’
‘Yes.’ Lisa said, frowning. She didn’t understand what that had to do with anything.
‘And she told me what you talked about,’ Grayson continued. ‘Mark attacking me wasn’t your fault,’ he said, his thumb stroking her cheek gently as he looked into her eyes. ‘No one blames you for it. Least of all me.’
She frowned, wondering why he was bringing that up at a time like this. ‘I—I know,’ she said. ‘I realise that now.’
‘I don’t need you to marry me, Lisa. We love each other, we want to be together, and that’s enough for me. I’m happy as we are.’
Then she realised: he thought she was doing this out of guilt, to atone somehow for what Mark had done.
‘Is that why you think I proposed?’ she asked, smiling at him gently. ‘Because I feel guilty? You think I’m trying to make it up to you somehow for Mark attacking you?’
He shrugged, looking sheepish. ‘Well, I know you don’t want to get married, so—’
‘But I do,’ she insisted. ‘I’ve changed my mind. It’s a woman’s prerogative, you know.’
He narrowed his eyes at her, looking at her closely as if trying to decide if she was telling the truth.
‘I want to be your wife,’ she said, taking his hands in hers. ‘And believe me,’ she said with a wry smile, ‘no matter how bad I felt, I wouldn’t get married as penance.’
‘You really want to get married?’ he asked, a smile spreading across his face, his eyes lighting up.
‘I really want to marry you. I love you so much, Grayson. When I thought I might lose you, I couldn’t bear the thought that I'd held back from you in any way. I want to go all in with you, total one hundred percent commitment.’ She reached up and touched her lips to his, and he wrapped his arms around her, his mouth moving gently against hers.
‘Okay then,’ he said huskily as they pulled apart, his eyes dropping to the ring on her right hand. ‘I’m all in too.’
‘Is that a yes?’ Lisa grinned.
‘That’s a yes.’ His fingers were shaking as he slipped the ring off and slid it onto the ring finger of her left hand. ‘A total one hundred percent yes.’
Epilogue
Lisa’s phone buzzed with a message. Grayson:
Are you sure you want to do this? It’s not too late to run.
She smiled, and texted back:
You’re not getting out of this now, buddy. You won’t get rid of me that easily.
Moments later a reply came through. It was a picture of a rose, with the caption ‘I love you.’
Love you too. See you soon. I’ll be the one in white. X
She smiled to herself as she tossed the phone onto the vanity table in front of her.
‘Grayson?’ Susie guessed.
‘Yes,’ Lisa smiled at her in the mirror. She and Katya were standing behind her, putting the finishing touches to her hair. It was arranged in loose, side-swept curls that tumbled softly around her shoulders, and instead of a veil she wore a delicate floral headband of pearls and crystals.
‘You look amazing,’ Susie breathed.
‘Stunning,’ Katya agreed.
Lisa could hardly believe this day had come. She couldn’t wait to be married to Grayson and to start their life together as husband and wife. She checked her watch for the umpteenth time. He would be arriving at the church around now. Her phone buzzed again, and she picked it up.
I’m just at the church. Last chance to change your mind.
She laughed softly.
Never, she texted back. All in, remember? I can’t wait.
Half an hour later she stepped through the doors of the little chapel and onto the red carpet that led down the aisle. On either side, rows of pews were decorated with posies of white roses and babies breath tied with white ribbon. There was a rustling and murmuring as she entered and the assembled guests turned to look at her. Then a hush descended on the crowd before the organ struck up.
As Grayson turned towards her, everything else seemed to fade out, and all she could see was him. He looked impossibly gorgeous in a soft charcoal suit and crisp white shirt, his beautiful hair artfully messy. But it was the look on his face that really took her breath away – the love that shone from his eyes and the sheer happiness that seemed to radiate off him.
As he turned back to the altar, Lisa looked around her. She took a deep breath and stepped onto the carpet, Susie and Katya following slowly behind. Daniel had offered to walk down the aisle with her, but much as she loved tradition, the symbolism of one man ‘giving her away’ to another wasn’t lost on her, and she had decided it wasn’t going to be part of her wedding ceremony. She was giving herself to Grayson, and this was a walk she wanted to make alone.
There were gasps and murmurs of admiration as she passed, accompanied by the clicking of cameras. She nodded to Martha, Ellie and Connor, and Daniel gave her a little wave, grinning excitedly. Rose was even there, sitting a little stiffly beside Daniel, but she turned to Lisa as she passed and gave her a shaky smile. On the other side of the church, Isabel sat with Grayson’s large family, his parents and sisters all looking so happy and proud. Tomorrow she and Grayson were going to Italy for an extended honeymoon, and she was looking forward to exploring the world with him. But today was about sharing their happiness with family and friends.
Her eyes welled with tears. She was so touched that all these people were here for her, wishing her well. A year ago, her side of the church would have been empty. She felt like the luckiest person in the world, her heart bursting with happiness. Everyone she loved was here – well almost everyone, she thought with a pang. But she could feel her grandparents looking down on her, and she knew they would approve. She had never felt so loved.
And there at the front waiting for her was the person who she knew loved her most in the world. She blinked away tears of happiness as she reached the altar and Grayson turned to her. She took his hand, and stepped into her future.
THE END
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading Playing by Heart, the second and final novel in the Endgame duet. I really hope you enjoyed it.
Reader reviews are really important to authors, and help to boost the visibility of our books and bring them to the attention of other readers who would enjoy them. They also help me to get paid promotions - all of which enables me to spend more time writing. So if you enjoyed reading Playing by Heart, it would mean a lot if you would take the time to leave a quick review.
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Best wishes,
Cleary
Also by Cleary James:
The Endgame
Do Not Disturb
The Endgame Duet Box Set
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