He went to the chest of drawers and retrieved a handful of clothes. The sooner he packed, the sooner he’d be on his way to the airport.
“Grayson, what are you doing?”
“I’m packing. I’m leaving here. I should have left a long time ago.”
“But...but what about us?”
He didn’t stop moving—he couldn’t. He stuffed his clothes haphazardly in the bag. As soon as he was out of here—away from Mirraccino—he’d be able to breathe. The worry, it would cease.
“Grayson?”
He kept packing. In the long run, she’d be better off without him. “There is no us. I can’t—I won’t—continue this relationship. You take too many needless chances. I can’t be a part of your life.”
“Seriously?” Anger threaded through her voice. “I did what I had to do. And you know it.”
“I know you took a chance with your life—with both of our lives. And it wasn’t necessary. The police could have handled it.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he spied her pressing her hands to her hips. He didn’t dare look at her face. He couldn’t stand to see the pain that would be reflected in her eyes—pain he’d put there.
“Don’t you understand? The police never would have gotten to the truth. Without it my family would never heal.”
Part of him knew she believed the words she uttered. Her entire family was separated with no true hope of coming back together. This discovery would give them a chance to start over.
But he also knew that taking risks and breaking rules was what had cost Abbi her life. He couldn’t stick around and wait for Annabelle to take another risk. He couldn’t stand the thought of losing her just like he’d lost Abbi.
“Grayson, are you even listening to me?” Annabelle moved to the other side of the bed, trying to gain his attention. “Are you leaving because you never really cared about me?”
It was in that moment he realized he was leaving for the exact opposite reason.
He loved Annabelle.
Normally that revelation would bring someone joy and delight, but it made his blood run cold. He’d cared deeply about Abbi, but he’d never loved her like this.
But with Annabelle, he was head over heels in love. The acknowledgment scared him silly. It didn’t matter what she promised, she now had the power to destroy him—to rip his heart to shreds.
“I...I can’t do this, Annabelle. I’m sorry.” He zipped his bag closed, grabbed his computer case from where he kept it on the desk and headed for the door.
He paused in the doorway. Unable to face her, he kept his back to her. “I know you won’t believe this, but I did care. I do care. You’re just too reckless. I thought we had a chance but I was wrong. I’m glad you found the truth, but now I have to go.”
There was a sniffle behind him, but he couldn’t help her now. The best thing he could do for both of them was to start walking and keep going. Because the one thing he’d learned in life was that people let you down, sometimes without even meaning to.
This was for the best.
But it sure didn’t feel like it. Not at all.
With each step the ache in his heart increased.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
ALONE.
Not a soul around.
Annabelle made her way along the deserted beach with the bright moonlight guiding her. She had no destination in mind. There was no place she needed to be. And no one who was expecting her.
She should be kicking up her heels and savoring this moment. Or at the very least feeling as though she’d gained something huge—her freedom. There were no longer people looking over her shoulder. There were no reports filed with her father, detailing any of her activities. And that’s because the security detail had been officially dismissed not long after Drago was arrested.
Annabelle stopped walking and turned to the water. It wasn’t until that moment she realized her freedom was not what she’d been truly craving all of this time. Because if it was then she wouldn’t feel so utterly alone and adrift.
Grayson was gone.
For a moment after he’d packed his bags and walked out the door, she’d thought he might change his mind. She’d prayed that he would come back to her. She’d assured herself that he was just having some sort of reaction to the scene at the landmark. Maybe it was shock or fear and it would pass. It didn’t.
But how could he just walk away? He did care about her. Didn’t he?
There had been lunches and dinners. The chariot race. The gown he’d given her. Their collaboration over the coded messages. And there were so many small moments...a look here or a touch there. Didn’t those all add up to mean something special?
Or had she just been fooling herself?
Maybe if she’d been more open, more honest about her feelings for him instead of keeping it all locked safely inside. Maybe if she’d have taken a chance, he’d still be here.
A breeze off the water rushed over her skin and combed through her hair. She folded her arms over her chest and rubbed her arms with her palms. At last, she realized that freedom wasn’t something anyone could give her. Real freedom came from living her life to its fullest and opening her heart to others—something she’d never done with any man—including Grayson.
She missed him so much that her heart ached. There was a gaping hole in it and she didn’t know how to stop the pain. By now, he’d be on his way to Italy or California.
How was it that this man had crashed into her life on a city sidewalk and so quickly, so easily snuck past all of her defenses and burrowed so deeply into her heart? And how did she learn to live without his warm smiles, his deep laughs and his gentle touch?
She groaned with frustration. This was a time when a girl really needed her mother. Tears blurred Annabelle’s vision and she blinked them away. What would her mother say to her?
Would her mother ask her how she’d fallen so hard? Would she want to know how Annabelle had mucked things up so quickly? And what would she say to her mother? Would she blame it on the severe restrictions her father had unfairly placed upon her? Or would she take responsibility herself for what had happened?
How had she let all of this happen? How had she let herself fall in love only to lose him so quickly?
And then to her horror, she realized her father hadn’t put her in a gilded cage, she’d done that all by herself—she’d done it by keeping everyone in her life at arm’s length. If she truly wanted to be free, she had to be willing to open her heart...the whole way.
In that moment, alone on the moonlit beach, she knew what she had to do next. It was time she took that long-thought-about trip to the United States.
But she wouldn’t be running away—she’d be running toward something—or rather toward someone.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
AT LAST HE WAS on his way.
Grayson had stood for a very long time outside the gates of the palace waiting for the taxi to pick him up, at least an hour, if not longer. When he’d first called for a ride and given them the address, they’d thought he was joking. They had no idea that joking around was the very last thing on his mind.
It was almost as if fate was giving him time to change his mind—time to calm down. Well, he had calmed down. The panic over how close Annabelle had come to being hurt had passed.
But what hadn’t passed was his determination to leave here—leave Annabelle. They didn’t belong together. They came from very different worlds and he had no idea how to fit into hers. And she was too reckless for him to even consider sharing something serious with her.
He’d thought that by walking away from Annabelle he would start to feel better. After all, he’d cut things off. He’d protected himself and her.
Now, in a taxi, speeding toward Mirraccino International Airpor
t, Grayson leaned his head back against the seat. He assured himself that he was doing the right thing. So why did he feel so awful?
He sighed. He’d already decided to cancel the rest of his Mediterranean trip. The expansion project would go on, but he’d put someone else in charge. He needed some distance from the sunny shores, blue waters and everything else that reminded him of Annabelle.
She was reckless with her safety. He couldn’t be with someone like that. He needed someone in his life who was...what? Cautious? Sedate? Anything that wasn’t Annabelle.
And why did he need that?
He didn’t want to examine the answer too closely. He worried about what he might find when he pulled back the layers. Because it wasn’t Annabelle who had the problems.
It was him.
As the airport came into sight, Grayson could no longer run from the truth. He had to accept that he was at fault here—not Annabelle. The moment of truth had arrived. He could either take the easy way out or he could do what was right.
The taxi pulled up to the curb outside the terminal. “Sir, we’re here.”
Grayson didn’t respond. Nor did he move.
By flying off into the night, he was doing what he’d accused Annabelle of doing—being reckless.
Not that he was being reckless with his safety, rather he was being reckless with his heart. True love didn’t come around all that often and for him to turn his back on it was wrong. Because whether it was convenient, sensible, or for that matter logical, he was in love with the duke’s daughter.
“Please take me back to the palace.”
Would it be too late?
Would she at least hear him out?
He had to hope so.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
ANNABELLE’S MIND WAS made up.
Now all there was to do was make her flight reservations and pack her bags.
There was no time to waste. Every moment that she knew Grayson was upset with her was torture. She didn’t even know if he’d open the door to her, but she had to try. She couldn’t live with the what-ifs.
Annabelle trudged through the sand toward the steps that climbed up the cliff behind the palace. As for her father and uncle, she’d have to tell them something, but she didn’t know exactly what to say or when to say it—
A movement caught her attention. She glanced up at the top of the steps. She could see the shadowed outline of a person. Who would be coming out here this evening? With her cousins and their families still off on their trips, it didn’t leave many people who frequented the beach.
As she studied the figure now moving down the steps at a rapid pace, she made out that it was a man. The breath caught in her throat. Was it possible that it was Grayson? Had he changed his mind? Had he come back for her?
Her heart swelled with hope. A part of her knew that if it was indeed him, then he could have come back for a number of reasons including cancelling his contract for the Fo Shizzle Café.
Please say it isn’t so.
Not about to wait, she started up the steps. The closer she got to him, the more certain she was that it was Grayson. This was her chance to fix things. Now she had to pray that she’d find the right words to convince him that they deserved another chance.
She moved up the steps as fast as her legs would allow. Breathless and nervous, she came face-to-face with Grayson on the middle landing. Her gaze met his, but she wasn’t able to read his thoughts.
“I’m sorry.” They both said in unison.
Had she heard him correctly? She wanted to rush into his arms, but she restrained herself. She had to be sure he wanted the same things as her.
“I never meant to scare you,” she said. “When I went to the landmark, I never imagined that anyone would find us there. I’m sorry.”
He continued to stare into her eyes. “And I overreacted. I was afraid that something would happen to you. And I just couldn’t handle that because...because I love you.”
Her heart swelled with joy. “You do?”
He nodded. “I do. I love you too much for you to take unnecessary chances with your safety.”
“I promise to be more cautious going forward because I always want to be able to go home to the man I love.”
Grayson opened his arms up to her and she rushed into them.
“I love you,” she murmured into his ear.
“I love you too.”
At last, she had the love she’d always dreamed of.
Life didn’t get any better than this.
EPILOGUE
Two months later...
“GRAYSON, WHAT ARE WE doing here?”
Annabelle stood next to the water fountain in the piazza of the South Shore. She was all dressed up as she’d been in business meetings off and on all morning. Grayson knew this because he’d had a horrible time trying to reach her. At one point, he’d feared that his surprise would be ruined. But at last, he’d heard her voice on the other end of the phone and begged her to meet him here.
He smiled at her. “Don’t you know what today is?”
“Of course I do. It’s Wednesday.”
“True. But it’s something else. Something very special.”
“Aren’t you supposed to break ground for your new offices?”
“Done.”
She clasped her hands together and smiled. “Great. Is that what you wanted to show me?”
He shook his head. He had fun surprising her and he’d made a point of it over the past two months, from flowers to chocolate to the sweetest kitten. But today, this would be the biggest surprise of all.
She sent him a puzzled look. “Grayson, what are you up to?”
“Do I need to be up to something?”
She studied him for a moment. “You’re most definitely up to something.” She smiled. “Are you going to tell me? Or do I need to keep guessing?”
This was the moment. He dropped down on one knee. “Lady Annabelle, you captured my heart the first time we stood next to this fountain. You’ve led me on an amazing journey. You’ve taught me how to love. And you’ve made me the happiest man in the world.”
Annabelle gasped and pressed a shaky hand to her gaping mouth. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears of joy. All around them a crowd of curious onlookers was gathering, but it didn’t faze him. All that mattered now was Annabelle.
He pulled a little black box from his pocket. He opened it and held it up to her. “Annabelle, I love you. Will you be my best friend, my partner, my lover, forever?”
The tears streamed onto her cheeks as she nodded and smiled.
He placed the ring on her finger before he swept her into his arms and kissed her. He would never tire of holding her close.
When she pulled back, she gazed up at him. “You really want to do this? Get married?”
He nodded. “Definitely. I’m thinking we’ll have a grand wedding. We could have it right here, if you like.”
“Here in the piazza?” She didn’t look so sure. “How about we think it over? After all, I don’t want to rush this. I plan to be engaged only once and I want a chance to savor it.”
“Then how would you feel about the grandest engagement party?”
Her face lit up. “I love it! But the size of the party doesn’t matter as long as all of the men in my life are there.”
“Then it’s a plan. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from
PROPOSAL FOR THE WEDDING PLANNER
by Sophie Pembroke
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Proposal for the Wedding Planner
by Sophie Pembroke
CHAPTER ONE
LAUREL SOMMERS STEPPED back from the road as a London taxi sped past through the puddle at the edge of the kerb, splashing icy water over her feet, and decided this was all her father’s fault, really.
Well, the fact that she was stuck in London, waiting in the freezing cold for a car to take her back to where she should be—Morwen Hall, the gothic stately home turned five-star hotel in the countryside an hour and a half’s drive out of the city—was clearly Melissa’s fault. But if their father hadn’t wanted to have his cake and eat it for their entire childhoods then her half-sister probably wouldn’t hate her enough to make her life this miserable.
The Millionaire's Royal Rescue Page 18