by S. E. Rose
I watch as Grady’s car buzzes past us, and I cheer loudly even though there’s no way he can hear me. Grady’s in second place, and I couldn’t be prouder. Only three more laps left.
My eyes stay glued to the track as I watch Grady’s car, once, twice…and as the final lap approaches, I hold my breath. I want him to get in the first three spots. He needs to see his potential never went away.
I don’t move a single muscle as I keep my eyes glued to the track. His car emerges from the bend, and I scream in delight when I see him neck and neck with a car. The other car pulls ahead, and he comes in second. I make my way down to the track, wanting to be there to celebrate with him.
“Wait up!” I hear Quinlan yell, but I’m too focused on Grady. I wave my badge at security, half-laughing as my own security follows me. Grady’s team is already gathered on the side of the track, waiting for him. He pulls up to them and gets out of the car as guys pull him in for hugs and high fives. But I see him searching above their heads, when he finds me standing to the side, he makes a beeline for me.
“Congrats,” I say with a big grin as he approaches me.
His smile is infectious, and I feel myself shake with pure joy. I’m so happy for him. He stops in front of me. If we were alone, I’d show him the checkered flag underwear I’m wearing. I feel a blush form on my cheeks as I think about all the dirty things he will do to me later.
“You did it!” I squeal, breaking away from my inner thoughts. “How does it feel?”
“Great,” he says. “But, do you know what would make this even better?”
I shake my head, utterly unsure what could possibly top this moment. I’m contemplating it when Grady falls to his knee in front of me. I start to reach out to help him, wondering if he’s alright when he reaches into a pocket on his suit and pulls out a ring.
I stare from it to him and back again.
“What would make this day perfect, is if you would agree to be my wife. That would make this perfect,” he says. His eyes shine bright as he gazes up at me. I don’t hear anything else as I look at him, not the fans screaming, or the cheers of those around us, all I hear is my heartbeat as I realize the man that I love just asked me to marry him.
“Yes,” I whisper.
“Yes?” he confirms.
“Yes!” I scream and nod. I hold out my hand and he slides a giant diamond ring onto my finger. I’m shaking again out of pure excitement this time.
“Oh my God!” I yell at him.
He laughs and stands up pulling me against him as he kisses the ever-loving shit out of me. I hear hoots and hollers, but I don’t care because right now, it’s just Grady and me. Such an unlikely pair, bonded by both good and bad. Yet, it’s perfect. We are perfect.
Grady
After spending twenty-four hours celebrating my second-place win with my fiancée, we are arriving to see her documentary at the film festival. I grin like a total asshat just thinking the word fiancée. Then I grin all over again at how giddy I am about coming in second place in a charity race. It’s sort of lame, I guess, but for me, it was like baring my true soul to the world. I finally got to put a piece of me back together. I love singing, and I’ll never quit that to race again, but knowing that I can still keep a foot in the racing world means everything to me. It’s as though I have a small piece of my father back.
There’s a red carpet and my mother made sure that Emma had a designer dress to wear. Mom is riding behind us with Andy Westin and his wife. Our friends and Emma’s family are behind them. The door opens, and we are ushered along, cameras clicking. Journalists shouting at us about our engagement. The media is abuzz with it right now. I’d rather that they focus on something good than all the bad that they’ve been asking about for months.
I know when Mom and Andy exit their limo because all the energy goes straight over to them. I squeeze Emma’s hand, and we walk into the building.
“Excited?” I ask.
She rolls her eyes. “Yes, for the hundredth time, yes.” She leans up and kisses my cheek. “But thank you for caring.”
I place a hand on her cheek, stopping her from turning away and I press my lips to hers. She closes her eyes and sighs against me. Fuck, this woman does things to me.
After a second, I realize Andy is clearing his throat behind us. Emma giggles and her face turns pink as she turns to them, embracing Andy, Dorothea, and Mom. “Thank you so much for coming today. It totally makes this even more memorable for me.”
“You’re very welcome, dear. We wouldn’t have missed this, as your advisors,” Mom says with a wink.
“We’re so proud of you,” Andy says before we are ushered into the theater.
The audience quiets as the documentary starts to play. Emma squeezes my hand the entire time. Halfway through, I place her hand in my lap and put my other hand on top of hers. She doesn’t look my way as she watches the audience’s reactions to her work. When the lights come up and the audience cheers, I can see the tears well in her eyes. I hug her before anyone else can.
“I’m so fucking proud of you. Whether you win an award at this festival or not, you did it. You really did it,” I whisper in her ear.
She pulls back and looks up at me, placing her hand on my chest over my heart. “I’ve had so many endeavors this year, school, this documentary, working through trauma. And I’ve accomplished them all, because you’ve been by my side.”
I gaze into her eyes. There is such truth and honesty in them. I feel unshed tears in my own eyes now at the power of her words. I lean down so we are forehead to forehead. “There is no greater endeavor than learning how to unconditionally love, and I’ve only accomplished that because of you.”
Tears fall from her eyes, running down her cheeks. I capture them with my thumbs, brushing them away.
“I love you, Grady Daniels,” she whispers only loud enough for me to hear it. “I love you with all my heart.”
“I love you back,” I reply as I plant a quick kiss on her lips. When I pull back as I squeeze her hips, my dirty mind getting the better of me. I lean back to whisper in her ear, “Are there checkered panties under your dress? Because if there are, we should move our celebration into a more private space.”
I hear her breath hitch and her skin flushes. I know the answer before she speaks.
“I guess you’ll have to find out when we get back to the hotel room,” she says with a wink and a smirk. She quickly turns to talk to everyone around her.
I stand back and watch as my fiancée gets all the praise that she so well deserves. She’s amazing, and she’s all mine. Learning how to love might have been my unintended endeavor but being with her is far beyond any goal or wish I could have dreamt. Wherever the road takes us from here, we’ll be alright because we have each other.
Keep Up With The Kb World
Want to keep up with all of the other books in K. Bromberg’s Driven World? You can visit us anytime at www.kbworlds.com and the best way to stay up to date on all of our latest releases and sales, is to sign up for our official KB Worlds newsletter HERE.
Are you interested in reading the bestselling books that inspired the Driven World? You can find them HERE.
Also Written By S.E. Rose
Deceitful Destiny Series:
Island (Book 1)
Secrets (Book 2)
Bravura (Book 3)
Determination (Book 4)
Home (Book 5)
The Poisoned Pawn Duet:
A Fierce Princess
A Valiant Prince
A Wise Prince
Perfectly Imperfect Love Series:
Undeniably Perfect
Hopelessly Perfect
Novels:
Chronicles of a Hot Mess
Chronicles of a Rockin’ Mess
The Decoy
Novellas:
Neighbor in Apartment No. 5
The Tinsel Tango
The Fighter
Acknowledgments
My first and bigges
t thank you goes to Kristy Bromberg for letting me write in her Driven World. I read the Driven series a few years ago, and it remains one of my favorite romance series of all time. Being able to borrow some of her characters for this story is such an honor, and it’s been so fun!
To all the people behind the scenes that help make things possible: you know who you are, and you are very much appreciated! A book may be written by the author, but it takes a small army to bring it to readers, and I have one fantastic army.
And lastly, to my readers, new and old, thank you! For those who have weathered this wild ride with me, I hope you’ll continue to come along for all the adventures I have planned! And for those new to me, thank you for taking a chance on a new author! Every author writes in hopes that it will bring joy to someone, that at least one person out there will love the story. So, cheers to you all for your support! It means the world to me!
About the Author
USA Today & International Bestselling romance author, S.E. Rose lives near Washington D.C. with her family. When she's not wrangling her cats or keeping up with her kids, she's plotting her next story.
She loves all things wine, coffee, and cats. In her non-existent free time, she enjoys traveling, going to concerts, binging on her favorite shows, and reading, especially if it's a good mystery or comedy.
Learn more about upcoming books from S.E. Rose at www.seroseauthor.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Also Written By K. Bromberg
Driven
Fueled
Crashed
Raced
Aced
Slow Burn
Sweet Ache
Hard Beat
Down Shift
UnRaveled
Sweet Cheeks
Sweet Rivalry
The Player
The Catch
Cuffed
Combust
Cockpit
Control
Faking It
Resist
Reveal
Then You Happened
Hard to Handle
Flirting with 40
Hard to Hold
Hard to Score
Hard to Lose