CHAPTER TWELVE

 

 

I look at him in confusion. “What do you mean, everything is wrong?”

I look around quickly, noting that Laura still has a disproving, if slightly amused, expression on her face as she directs the staff and kids around.

Nothing seems off, though. The children are having the time of their life and, from what I can tell, we’ve earned tons of cash so far today.

I bite my lip and look back at him with a frown. “I mean, I will admit the lime green shirts are a little much but…”

Grayson laughs softly and shakes his head. He rakes a hand through his wet hair and takes a shallow, short breath. He moves one step closer to me and then another, as if he was being pulled by a magnet.

I can only stand there, watching him approach, my heart slowly beginning to thunder against my ribs.

What is he doing?

More importantly, why is he looking at me like that?

His eyes are narrowed on me as if I’m the only person in the ginormous room and he’s completely forgotten about why we’re here or the horde of foster kids all around us. Each step that disappears between us leaves me more breathless.

“Kali, what I’m trying to say is that I was wrong.” Grayson is standing a mere foot or so away from me now. He reaches out as if to take my hands before shaking his head and dropping his arms back to his sides. “I was wrong.”

“Wrong about what?” I whisper.

Is he trying to say what I think he’s trying to say?

I can’t let him break my heart again.

I won’t.

He drops his head to stare down at the floor for so long that I wonder if he’s ever going to say anything else when he finally lifts it again, meeting my gaze.

“You terrify me, Kali,” he admits. “Everything about you is terrifying. You’re the type of woman a man could go crazy over. You’re kind and smart and ambitious. You understand me without even trying. It’s like you can read my mind sometimes. I’ve never met anyone like that, and when I learned that you’re famous and adored by millions of people already, I panicked. When I said we couldn’t see each other anymore, it wasn’t because I was worried about the public eye. Not really. It was because I didn’t know how I could compete with the other people who love you. I mean, how I could I possible stand out?”

Heart racing, I take a faltering step forward. We’re so close now that one really deep breath and my breasts would touch his chest.

“But you wouldn’t be competing with anyone,” I tell him earnestly. “I never wanted you to feel that way.”

Grayson shakes his head. “That’s the thing. I get that now.” He offers me a small smile. “I see what you do with your platform and your brand. I see how the Kali in the YouTube video is the same Kali in person. I should know because I watched every one of them. You might force a smile or two when you feel you have to, but your heart is still in everything you do. Instead of working up the courage to try and witness that myself, I bailed. Believe me when I say I’ve regretted leaving you every second since.”

Can he hear my heart hammering away against my ribs?

“Every second?” I echo in a whisper.

He smiles again, wider this time. “Yeah. You’re a force of nature, Kali. You’re like a tornado in the best sense of the word. You lift people up and spin them around so that they can find their way in the world. You have this unique ability to make everyone around you feel good. Including me. I want to be with you, Kali. I want to prove to you how much I care. I want to be a safe haven for you where you can tell me how you really feel whether you’re happy or sad, frustrated or mad. If you let me, I’ll show you how serious I am about you. I’ll protect your heart so that it’s never hurt again.”

I swallow hard, almost afraid to speak. “But what about your job—”

He gently takes my hands between both of his large ones and presses them to his chest. Through the tee, I can feel his heart beating steadily beneath my palms. “My job is to know the law and to use it to defend those who require my services, and I’ll continue to do that. But I need you beside me, Kali. I’ve never felt anything like how I feel for you. When people Google me, I hope they see my name attached to yours because of what you’re doing with your fame, not because you are famous. I would be the luckiest man in the world if I was with you.”

Tears fill my eyes, but this time they’re not tears of sadness, but of happiness. I smile up at him. “When I’m with you, Grayson, nothing else matters. I don’t care about my fame or the pressure I face to be perfect all the time. I feel like I can just be myself.” I take a deep, nervous breath. “Do you really want to give us a try?”

He nods, his gaze searching mine. “More than anything. These past weeks have been hell without you. I’ve never met someone who makes me feel like I’m home when I’m with them until I met you.”

The tears in my eyes spill onto my cheeks and he pulls me against his strong chest to brush them away. I cling to him, feeling his heart beating like a battering ram against his ribs now. In his embrace, I feel safe and secure and cherished. He made a mistake when he walked away from me the same way I made one when I didn’t tell him who I really am. But I won’t ever repeat that mistake again and something tells me that he won’t, either. I know I can trust him never to hurt me or break my heart again. I feel it in my soul.

“I want to be with you, too,” I say softly into his ear. “When I met you, you made me feel like I was simply an ordinary girl again. You looked at me and just saw Kali, the woman, someone you shared burgers and fries with that night we went out.. That means more to me than I can ever put into words.”

He cups my face, brushing my hair back, and gazes into my eyes. “I’ll look at you like that forever because to me, you are the woman I shared burgers and fries with that night, my beautiful Kali.”

“Grayson…” I whisper, my eyes fluttering closed as he bends his head to kiss me.

When our mouths finally meet, an explosion of fireworks and butterflies and dynamite burst inside of me all at once. His lips are velvety smooth and warm, and I melt against him with a sigh. He crushes me to his chest, his strong arms circling me tight. My fingers find their way into his silky hair as his tongue dances with mine.

It’s the kind of kiss that has me feeling like a rocket blasting into space.

Everything else fades to the background when I’m in his arms. This earth-shattering kiss is surely the first of many, and I’m already dying for another—and another after that.

When we finally come up for air—though whether it’s a few minutes or an hour later, I’m not entirely sure—everyone in the stadium is cheering, kids and adults alike. Sutton and Liv are at the forefront, jumping up and down and squealing wildly.

Grayson and I laugh, grinning at one another, and I go up on tiptoe to kiss him again.

“Sometimes,” I whisper against his delicious lips, “I guess the worst mistakes can lead to the most beautiful blessings.”