by Vi Keeland
His eyes pointed to the notebook on the floor. “Figure it out?”
“Yes, I think so. The title of the list is Gray is insane.”
His lip twitched, and he stepped into the room. He picked up the notebook and handed it to me.
“Why don’t we go through it together?”
I realized Ella hadn’t run into the room. “Where’s Ella?”
“Grandma and Grandpa’s for the night.”
Translation: Etta and Rip’s.
Ella had started to call them Grandma and Grandpa about a year ago. They’d taken her overnight a few times for us—once when we had to go out of town for a business meeting together, and again on the night Gray had asked me to move in with him.
“Did you tell me they were taking her and I forgot?”
He shook his head. “Nope. Thought we could talk without interruptions. They have Freckles, too.”
My body really loved the thought of an entire night alone with Gray. “What do you want to talk about?”
His eyes pointed to the list again. “Start reading.”
I was intrigued, to say the least. Looking down, I read the first one. “Big dick?”
“I’d say it was above average, wouldn’t you?”
“So this refers to your anatomy then?”
“Of course.”
I chuckled. “Remote control?”
He sat down on the bed. “Do you know how to work it?”
“No.”
“Well, I do.”
My brows furrowed. “Okay….”
He eyed the list again. “Keep going.”
“Programmed coffee?”
“How important is coffee to you when you wake up?”
“How important is number one on your list to you?” I said.
That sexy lip twitched again. “Keep going.”
I looked down. “Fresh cherry tomatoes?”
“They’re good from the garden from hell, aren’t they?”
“Mmmm. Like eating balls of sugar.”
Continuing with the puzzle. “Rip and Etta?”
“How long have they been married now?”
“I don’t know. A few months?”
Rip and Etta had secretly gotten together as a couple within a few weeks of Rip moving in. That part hadn’t shocked us. They were two peas in a pod. But we had been surprised when Rip proposed. He stood to lose some of the survivor benefits he received from his deceased wife’s pension if he got remarried. When we’d mentioned that, he’d said he was fully aware, and he’d rather be broke and make an honest woman out of Etta than have some cash in his pocket—although they didn’t have to worry about cash anymore.
Gray had gifted them the house they lived in as a wedding gift. Well, that and the other surprise gift he’d arranged. Somehow Gray had talked Rip’s daughter into coming to their wedding. Rip had cried like a baby when he saw her walk in. And the rest of us couldn’t help but follow suit.
Gray peeked at the list. “The next one better be self-explanatory.”
Magic tongue
I shifted in my seat and smiled.
Next up was Love of my life.
“Do you love me?” he said.
“Of course. More than anything.”
“Keep going.”
“Rainbow?”
“What did you say to me after we finished painting Ella’s room with that giant rainbow as a surprise?”
I remembered. “I said you were the rainbow of my life. You cleared the way for the rain to stop.”
He took my hand and squeezed it. Together we ran through the remainder of the pro list.
“Figure it out yet?” he asked.
“Maybe I need to read the cons.”
There was only one thing listed on the con list. I read it out loud.
“Stuck with me forever.”
Gray stood. And then he got down on one knee and took my hand.
“I wanted to be prepared in case you needed to debate it before answering me. Knowledge of how to use the remote and program the coffeemaker, magic tongue, Rip and Etta beating us to the altar…they’re just some of a never-ending list of reasons you should marry me.”
He reached into his pocket and took out a beautiful box. Opening it, he revealed the most amazing engagement ring I’d ever seen. The center stone had to be three or four carats, and there were two stones on either side, each big enough to be an engagement ring on its own.
“When I told Etta I planned on asking you to marry me, and that I wanted to incorporate the stone from my mother’s ring into the setting, she insisted I also take her original wedding ring and use that stone in the design, too. So this ring is made of three stones from the most amazing women from my life. The big stone in the center is just for you. And the ones on the sides are my mother’s and Etta’s. While I was working with the jeweler on designing it, I realized it was also symbolic to have three stones—because you’re getting two of us, me and Ella.”
Tears streamed down my face. I looked down at our joined hands and noticed Gray’s were shaking. The man never showed his nerves.
“It’s beautiful, Gray. I don’t even know what to say.”
“I might have padded the pro list in my favor a little. And the one con, being stuck with me forever, might outweigh the two pages of pros. But if you agree to be my wife, I promise that every day I’ll work on adding a new thing to that pro list. I could say that you restored my faith in love, but you did more than that, Layla. You brought me back to life. So please marry me. Please tell me you’ll spend the rest of your life as my wife.”
I was so choked up, I could barely get out the words. “Yes. Yes. God, yes.”
Gray took my face in his hands, cupped my cheeks, and kissed me gently on the lips. “I almost forgot. I told Ella I was going to ask you to be my wife today, and she told me to tell you something.”
“What?”
Gray leaned back and placed his thumb against his hand, spreading his fingers wide. “Mommy,” he said. “She’s going to stop calling you Layla and call you Mommy, if that’s okay with you.”
Tears of happiness flooded after that. I grabbed Gray in a hug and didn’t let him go for the longest time. It was a good thing he’d made the list for me, because listing all the reasons I should marry this man could have taken years and many notebooks. But in the end, I only needed one truth on the pro list: Every piece of me loved every piece of him.
I sniffled back tears. “You made one mistake on your yeahway list, Mr. Westbrook.”
He pushed a piece of hair off my cheek and smiled. “Oh yeah? What’s that, Freckles?”
“Stuck with you forever is on the wrong side of the page.”
Dear Readers,
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Acknowledgements
* * *
To you – The readers. Thank you continuing to allow me to be part of your escape. Sometimes we can’t leave, but need to go somewhere else for a while. I’m honored to have my stories keep you company there.
To Penelope – The last few months have been tough. From our crazy schedule to personal loss, you’ve been there to put up with me. I save a fortune in therapy because you’re by my side. Thank you.
To Julie – Thank you for your friendship, support, and my perfect New York morning coffee.
To Luna – Thank you for your beautiful graphics, unwavering support, friendship, and honesty. I always know I can come to you for a frank opinion.
To Sommer – I’m pretty sure you figure out what I want before I do these days. You bring my
books to life with your beautiful covers! Thank you!
To my agent and friend, Kimberly Brower – Thank you for always having your eyes open for new opportunities and being my sounding board.
To Jessica, Elaine, and Eda – Thank you for making me sound smarter than I am with all of your editing! You make all of my stories and me better.
To Mindy – I couldn’t be more excited to have you join us! Thank you for working with me on this release from start to finish. I hope this was the first of many!
To all of the bloggers – Social media visibility is gone, affiliate programs have been decimated, and new laws and privacy policies are challenging. Yet you’re still here day after day, posting tirelessly, and sharing your passion for books. Your enthusiasm is contagious and launches a book despite all that it has to overcome. Thank you for taking your time to read my stories, write reviews, make videos, and share teasers that bring my books to life.
Much love
Vi
Other Books by Vi Keeland
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Standalone novels
SEX, NOT LOVE
New York Times, USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal Bestseller
BEAUTIFUL MISTAKE
New York Times, USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal Bestseller
EGOMANIAC
New York Times, USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal Bestseller
BOSSMAN
#1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal & USA Today Bestseller
THE BALLER
New York Times, USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal Bestseller
Life on Stage series (2 standalone books)
BEAT
USA TODAY Bestseller
THROB
USA TODAY Bestseller
MMA Fighter series (3 standalone books)
WORTH THE FIGHT
New York Times & USA TODAY Bestseller
WORTH THE CHANCE
USA TODAY Bestseller
WORTH FORGIVING
USA TODAY Bestseller
The Cole Series (2 book serial)
BELONG TO YOU
USA TODAY Bestseller
MADE FOR YOU
USA TODAY Bestseller
YA/NA novel
LEFT BEHIND
REBEL HEIR (CO-WRITTEN WITH PENELOPE WARD)
New York Times, USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal Bestseller
REBEL HEART (CO-WRITTEN WITH PENELOPE WARD)
New York Times, USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal Bestseller
DEAR BRIDGET, I WANT YOU (CO-WRITTEN WITH PENELOPE WARD)
USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal Bestseller
MISTER MONEYBAGS (CO-WRITTEN WITH PENELOPE WARD)
New York Times, USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal Bestseller
PLAYBOY PILOT (CO-WRITTEN WITH PENELOPE WARD)
New York Times and USA TODAY Bestseller
STUCK-UP SUIT (CO-WRITTEN WITH PENELOPE WARD)
New York Times, USA TODAY and Wall Street Journal Bestseller
COCKY BASTARD (CO-WRITTEN WITH PENELOPE WARD)
New York Times and USA TODAY Bestseller