by Lori Ryan
He’d take it. “I love you too, Soph.”
“But?” she asked, quirking a brow.
“There’s no but. I’ve always loved you.”
She stood and pulled her hands away. This time he let her. He watched helplessly as she walked toward the wood stove that was burning bright. Thankfully, someone had started a fire earlier.
Sophie reached down and grabbed another piece of wood, throwing it into the flames before closing the door. She stood, her back rigid as she stared at the flames. “Were you ever going to tell me about the video?” she asked, never turning to face him.
Grant froze. Fuck. Jackie had told her.
When he said nothing, she turned and faced him. Her face wasn’t angry or sad, it was blank, as if she were trying to hide her true emotions.
“I’m assuming your sister told you,” he said.
She remained silent.
Sisters. He should have known.
He straightened on the couch, preparing himself “How much did she tell you?”
“Enough.” She walked back toward him and sat on the couch next to him and slid closer. He was grateful for her nearness. “But I’d like to hear what you have to say.”
“Look, I’m sorry if you’re upset, Sophie, but I couldn’t sit back and let anyone hurt you like that.”
She remained quiet, and for one of the first times since he’d known her, he couldn’t see what she was thinking behind those gorgeous blue eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell me, Grant? All this time, I thought you’d been drinking and blowing through money and fighting and…”
He didn’t know how to answer. He’d let her think the worst of him, thinking at the time it was for the best, for her protection. He wanted to shield her from any and all harm. And then, after it was all said and done, he hadn’t wanted to use the information to win her back. He hadn’t wanted her gratitude to be what bound her to him.
He rolled his lips between his teeth and stared down at the carpet.
“Grant.”
He felt the heat of her small hand pressed against his thigh.
“Grant,” she said again.
He lifted his gaze, finding her eyes on him.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want you to worry,” he said. “I knew you were busy, and still upset about the miscarriages. And I knew the video would hurt you, even though it was fake.”
“So you took care of it by yourself?”
He nodded. “At first, I did it so you wouldn’t have to deal with it. So it couldn’t hurt you.” He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. The pull of the stitches on his skin reminded him of how close he’d come to losing her. “Then, when I wanted to win you back, I wanted to do it on my own merits, not for what I’d done to protect you. Don made that video because of me, because he wanted to save my image. If I hadn’t been so damned selfish after we lost—”
“Grant,” she said, interrupting him.
He looked into her eyes and saw the concern there.
“I left you. I was the one that walked away, remember? If anyone’s to blame, it’s me.”
“No Sophie, please don’t say that. You might have been the one to walk away, but I was the one who pushed you to that. I was the one who left the relationship long before you walked out.”
She gripped his thigh tighter and he paused.
Staring down at her hand, he drew in a steadying breath before continuing. “When I decided to try to win you back, I didn’t want you to do it because I took care of the video. I wanted you to love me again, just for me.” Slowly he raised his face and stared into her beautiful eyes. They shimmered with tears.
“I do love you. Just for you,” she said. “I always have.”
Grant grinned, his heart swelling to near capacity. “There’s that smile that makes my heart beat faster,” he said.
Her face beamed with an expression of joy that was nearly blinding. She slid her body next to his, pressing close to his side.
He sucked in a breath.
“Oh, my gosh, the stitches.” She moved to roll away but he gripped her around the waist, holding her tight.
“Not on your life, Sophie. I just got you back. I’m never letting you go again.”
She lifted a brow. “Oh, really. Is that so, Mr. Sumner?”
“Yes, Mrs. Sumner. It is.”
She lowered her head about to kiss him but he held her back.
“What?” she asked.
“I found the divorce papers.”
Her eyes went wide. “What?”
“The divorce agreement. I saw the folder upstairs in the bedside drawer.”
She moved to sit up, and this time he let her.
“You signed them, Soph. Is that what you want?”
Without saying a word, Sophie raised off the couch and walked up the stairs.
Grant reached for the back of the couch and raised himself up. Before he could follow her, she was coming back down, the folder in hand.
She stood in front of him, holding the papers. “I signed the papers but I never dated them. I did it when that story of you and Jeanine Havelman broke. I was afraid. I wanted to get back at you, thinking you were screwing around, but…”
He watched helplessly as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Sophie,” he reached for her. “You know I would never sleep with anyone but you.”
She nodded and wiped at her eyes. “I wanted to believe that,” she whispered. Slowly her gaze met his. “I wanted to. But there were things I couldn’t give you. Children—" she stammered on a sob.
He stood quickly despite the pain and wrapped her in his arms.
“I missed you so much, Grant,” she said against his chest. “And then I saw that photo. I knew it was bogus, just tabloid junk, but still, I …”
He smoothed a hand down her hair as he kissed the top of her head. “I felt the same way when I saw the video of you and Steele.”
She stepped out of his hold. “Grant, you have to know there’s never been anything between me and Steele.”
He nodded. “I do. But like you said, back then, I missed you so much, and I was lost without you. I convinced myself that you’d probably be better off with him. Maybe he could give you children.”
Sophie stepped toward the stove and opened one of the glass doors, tossing the packet into the flames. The paper crackled and popped, quickly engulfed in the flames.
“Are you sure?” Grant asked, stepping beside her.
She turned and stared up at him. “I’m not sure about a lot in this world, Grant, but your love has always been my constant.” She smiled and his world stilled. “I’m more than sure. I’m sorry I ever doubted you. Please forgive me.”
He slid a hand around her waist and tugged her toward him, holding her firm against his chest. “There’s no forgiveness needed. Your love has always sustained me, even when I thought I’d lost it.”
She wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled him down closer. “You never lost my love. You may have lost me, but you always had my love.”
“And you’ve had mine,” he said. “Always.”
She nodded. “I know. I felt it,” she touched the tips of her fingers between her breasts, “in here. That’s why I never sent you the papers. You own my heart, Grant Sumner. That’s why I’ve never felt whole without you.”
Grant lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers.
She sank her fingers into his hair and she tilted his face, deepening the kiss.
Grant moaned as she pressed her hips into his and ground against him.
“I want you,” she said.
Without letting her go, he leaned on one knee, wincing when the stitches tugged on his skin.
“Oh, Grant. Oh, no. Your stitches. You’re hurting.”
He lowered her to the ground and straddled her legs with his, his hands braced on either side of her face. Her skin glowed in the amber light of the fire.
“I’m only hurting because I’m living w
ithout you, Sophie.”
“I don’t want you to hurt anymore.”
“No divorce,” he said. It was a statement not a question.
She shook her head. “No. No divorce.”
“No more running away?”
“No,” she whispered, rubbing a hand over his face.
“We’ll do it different this time, take time for each other first, before anyone or anything else comes between us.”
She smiled. “This kind of sounds like wedding vows.”
“Well, considering an Elvis impersonator married us the first time, maybe we need someone more spiritual to oversee a renewal of nuptials.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying, I don’t want to lose you ever again.”
“Okay,” she whispered. “Now kiss me.”
He laughed.
“You have to obey me,” she said. “The vows say so.”
“Far be it from me to go against wedding vows,” he said. And so he obeyed his wife and kissed her.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Grant smoothed the hair back from Sophie’s face, stroking her cheeks gently with his thumbs as his fingers massaged her scalp. “I love you, Sophie.”
She smiled and wrapped her hands around his waist. “I love you too. So much.”
He leaned down and kissed her again, his movements setting her body on fire.
All too soon, he was pulling back from her.
“I don’t think I can,” he said looking down at his stomach where the stitches were.
“Soon,” she said, the words a demand, not a request.
“Soon.”
She rolled to her side, one hand cradling her head as she propped herself up. “Jackie also had some other news for me.”
“I didn’t do it,” he said quickly. “Whatever it is, it wasn’t me. I have no more confession to make.”
Sophie laughed. “No, this is a secret Jackie’s been keeping. She’s been in talks with DJM Productions.”
“DJM? They’re the biggest promoters in the world.” Grant frowned. “I thought Jackie handles your promotion with Global Sound. Have you guys been unhappy with them?
Sophie shook her head. “No, this is for a new project. More than a project, really. They want to create a stand-alone venue. Like the ones in Vegas.”
“They want you to move to Vegas?” Grant thought about the property by the river. The one he’d hoped to use to build a retreat for them. Vegas was a very different picture. But if that’s where Sophie was headed, he’d be with her.
“No, nothing like Vegas.” Sophie shook her head. “They’re going to build a venue in Denver. They want to line up a few names to draw attention right from the start. I would be one of about five singers to be contracted for repeat engagements on a rotating schedule during the first few years they’re open. I’d only perform one week a month for the first two years.”
Grant touched her cheek again. “That would let you slow way down on performing, and you’d be able to stay in one place, too.”
“It would give me more time to write music, too.” She smiled wide, her eyes lighting with joy.
This was Sophie he fell in love with, a woman excited and enthused about her life.
“Jackie said she was talking about a world tour with Global Sound,” she continued, “but she knew I was wiped out. This proposition came up out of nowhere. She’s doing all she can to land it for me. It might be the break from touring that I really need. Either way, I think I’m going to slow down.”
They sat in silence, staring at each other for several long minutes. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable. It was a simple moment of perfect contentment for both of them. He’d missed this.
Grant slid his hand over her arm, his eyes taking in all of her, checking for injuries again. “You’re sure you’re all right, Soph?”
“Yeah, I’m all right,” she said, smiling. “Better than I have been in a long time.”
He slipped a hand around her neck and pressed a light kiss against her lips before slowly and reluctantly pulling away. The fire from the stove cast a kaleidoscope of color in her blue eyes.
And just as with every day since he’d met Sophie Day, Grant fell in love with his wife all over again. “Me, too,” he said. “Me, too.”
Epilogue
6 months later
Sophie took one final bow on the round stage as she stood in the middle of Madison Square Garden, waving to the crowd. It was her third sold-out show at the venue, and her last…for a while thankfully.
Once Jackie and the production company had announced Sophie’s intentions to take some time off, the media had deemed this her farewell tour. She knew it wasn’t the end. They had announced the plans for the new venue in Denver. She’d been allowed to choose her schedule there and it was one she knew would give her the time she needed to recuperate.
The build-out of the venue would take at least two years so she and Grant had decided she would take that time off. She needed to focus on reconnecting with her music, her husband, and herself.
“Thank you all for coming out tonight,” she spoke into the microphone, her voice echoing from the huge speakers overhead. The crowd erupted into thunderous cheers. She waved her hands down to quiet the fans. “I wanted to let you all know this isn’t good-bye.”
The crowd shouted and applauded, the noise almost deafening as it reverberated around the venue. Sophie smiled, realizing how devoted her fans were. This definitely wasn’t the end. It was actually the beginning, a new beginning, for her and Grant.
“As you know this has been a rough few years for me,” she spoke once the noise settled down. “My life has had lots of highs and lows.”
Sophie didn’t feel the need to chronicle everything she’d been through in the last two years. The most important was her reconciliation with her husband.
“The best part has been my vow renewal with my husband,” she said. “Some of you might have heard of him. Grant Sumner?”
More cheers and whistles echoed throughout the space and she smiled.
“Many of you saw photos of our renewal celebration in Entertainment Today.”
Since she and Grant had originally married in Vegas without the presence of their family and friends, they’d both decided to renew their vows and rededicate their lives to each other five months ago. Thankfully Grant’s family’s lodge and wedding barn had proved the perfect location.
“You all know we sold the rights to the photos,” she said, “and donated the money to various organizations, including my foundation, Bridging the Gap.”
The crowd cheered and chanted, waving their hands in the air, holding posters littered with words of thanks and well wishes.
“We also added a new charity this year, Operation Smile.” Sophie smiled, remembering the day just a few short months ago when Emmett and Elle had shown their families a picture of a four-year old girl from Haiti who suffered from cleft palate. They announced to everyone their intent to adopt not only Fabiene, but her two-year-old sister, Roseline, which was a complete shock to the entire family. No one had been happier than Becca, except maybe Warner. Valerie had laughed. “More girls,” she’d teased with a moan, but Sophie knew her mother-in-law couldn’t be happier.
“You know I always close out my shows with Build a Bridge,” she said, “the song I wrote for my friend Nikki, who the foundation was created for. And thank you all so much for your support. But tonight, I’d like to close a different way since this is my final show for a while.”
There were echoing moans and groans.
She laughed and held up a hand, her body beading with sweat from the stage lights, and her exertions over the last two hours. “It’s not the last time you’ll hear from me,” she said, walking around the round stage so she could see her fans from every angle. “But I am very grateful you all are so understanding that I need this time off right now.”
“We love you, Sophie!” someone screamed from the balcony
Sop
hie smiled and brought the microphone close to her mouth. “I love you guys, too. So much.” She placed a hand on her chest and choked back tears. Her fans meant the world to her. And their outpouring of well wishes once they’d announced she’d be taking time off had truly touched her.
“I know you all have heard that our promotion company has actually secured a deal for me to be a regular performer at a new venue opening in two years. It will be a much more intimate setting and will be located just outside of Denver.”
Sophie and Jackie had negotiated the deal so that Sophie could stay closer to what would soon be her and Grant’s new home, built on the spot alongside Canyon Creek that Grant had taken her to during the month he’d kidnapped her. She smiled at the memories of those glorious four weeks.
“I know you guys are disappointed that you won’t see me for a while, so I thought I’d bring you something that will hopefully make up for it.” She turned to the side of the stage and held out her hand.
Slowly Grant stepped up onto the long runway to her side, the spotlight landing on his beautiful form.
Sophie smiled as she watched him wave to the crowd. His eyes caught hers and her heart beat wildly, still, after all this time.
She glanced up at the huge screens surrounding the arena, visible from the stage, watching as the cameras zoomed up on his gorgeous face. He was smiling broadly, waving to the crowd. She covered her ears as shrieks and screams pierced her eardrums when the fans finally realized it was Grant Sumner.
Grant laughed as he slowly strolled along the runway toward her like a seasoned model. He finally met her center stage, slipping an arm around her waist, and tugged her toward him, bending her over for a searing, sensual kiss.
The crowd whistled and a collective “Ahhh” rang around the arena.
“Behave,” she whispered against his lips.
He kissed her once more. “Never,” he said, standing her upright.
She wobbled slightly and the audience laughed. “Can you blame me? He’s quite scrumptious, am I right?” She waved her hand up and down Grant’s body. “I’m the luckiest girl in the world.”