CHAPTER ONE
Mia
Ocean wind teased with salt washes over Grayson and I as we exit the lighthouse, our special place, and head back toward his Hamptons mansion. I glance down at my finger, where the gorgeous emerald-cut diamond with hints of blue was placed only minutes before. It’s beautiful and it should never have left my finger, but it’s back now. This Friday evening has brought proof that love, real love, never dies, no matter what evil tries to destroy it. But it’s still painful for Grayson and me to know that I let Ri, a man who was eaten alive with jealousy over Grayson, use me as a weapon against him. Now Ri is dead.
“Does it bring back bad memories?” Grayson asks. “Because if it does, you can pick a new one.”
“This is my ring,” I say, stopping to turn to him. “I love this ring. You had it designed for me. No one gets to take this from me ever again.”
He cups my face. “I don’t want anything that will muddy up our future. Not again.” He strokes an errant lock of hair behind my ear. “The ring—”
“Is perfect. I am back where I belong.”
“Yes. Yes, you are.” He motions to the house, and we turn and start walking again, his grip on my hand firm. He still feels like he could lose me again. And I get that. He quite literally just lived through a man holding a gun on me, with the intent to kill me. So did I, but that isn’t where my head is right now. I’m worried about Grayson, not me, which is why my eyes land on the gorgeous mansion that is our destination, with such a heavy heart. It was his father’s. When I left Grayson, we lost the chance for his father to be a part of our wedding. I loved that man. I still can’t believe he’s gone. And with that, my eyes burn and my mind slides back into the past. Back to the day we told him we were getting married, back before Ri tried to destroy us.
“I feel so nervous,” I say as we park in the garage of the Hamptons house where Grayson’s father is waiting on us. “What if he doesn’t want me to be your wife? We’ll be here with him. It will be awkward.”
“Baby,” he says, killing the engine and turning to me. “He loves you.” He takes my hand and kisses it. “I love you. He sees that and frankly if I didn’t, the man would call me a fool. You won him over from the moment he sat across from you and you met him.” He strokes my cheek. “Let’s go in.”
I nod and we both reach for our doors. By the time I’m stepping out of the car, Grayson is there, pulling me to him and kissing me. God, I love this man. I love him so much and when my palm lands on his chest, his heart thundering under my hand, I know he’s feeling the same thing because that’s how it is with him. I feel him, and he feels me and from the day we met, we connected, inside and out. From the first time we were here in this house, I could no longer breathe without this man.
He kisses me. “Come on. Let’s go share our news.”
“Maybe I should take off the ring until we tell him?”
“The only time I ever want you to remove that ring is when we’re saying our vows and I’m putting it back on you.” He takes my hand and leads me forward, his words and actions warming me all over. Everything he does is right.
We enter the house and find his father in front of the TV watching the Yankees play. “Holy hell,” he shouts at the TV. “Hit the damn ball.”
I laugh at the behavior that has become familiar these past few months and somehow makes him far more human than the billionaire businessman would be otherwise. He turns to look at me. “Mia,” he says, motioning me forward. “Come give me a hug.”
I warm with his invitation that is also now quite familiar. He treats me like the daughter he never had and has since that night at the gallery event when we’d come out of the closet. I hurry forward and give him a hug. “Don’t worry,” he says. “I have a hot date tonight. I won’t be here bugging you and Grayson.”
I pull back to look at him. “A hot date? That sounds promising. You’re finally going to start dating again?”
“A date with a whole lot of money,” he says. “She’s about twenty years younger than me and a client, but the money works. I’ll take the money.”
Grayson steps to my side and pulls me under his arm. “It’s time, Dad. You need to date.”
“No,” he says. “Your mother was it for me.”
“She wouldn’t want you to be alone,” Grayson says.
“She shouldn’t have been so damn perfect then. How the hell can anyone follow that?” He cuts his gaze and I’m pretty sure this big, tough, amazing man is fighting tears. I think he’s here this weekend because he needs Grayson.
“I understand in a way I never did before,” Grayson says, his fingers flexing on my shoulder. “Mia and I are engaged.”
His father looks at me. “You said yes?”
“You doubted that I would?”
“I’ve seen you struggle with your fear of his money,” he says.
“Not his money, though yeah, at first I felt like we had a conflict of power. He had it all and I had none, but he did well. You taught him right. I’ve never felt that he used that against me and so that left me with my fears of him feeling like I was here for his money.”
“And now?”
“And now, I want you both to know that if Grayson doesn’t draft a prenup, I will. I’m never going to give him a reason to stay with me to save his money.”
Grayson turns me to face him. “I will never—”
“Time and years change things,” I say. “And when we reach the downs of the ups and downs, you will never think about the money and neither will I.”
“Mia—” Raymond says.
“Mia,” Grayson interrupts. “We’re not doing a prenup.”
“Both of you look at me,” Raymond orders.
We both snap to his command, which is just a sign of how much respect we share for this man. “This is how this works. Mia, he needs you to know you have money if you divorce because then he knows you’ll never stay for the money. Grayson, she needs you to know that money is limited, so you know she’s not here for all that fucking money you have. Don’t either one of you argue. It won’t matter if you stay together like I did with Melanie, but it makes sure there is never a fight about money. Agree now, both of you.”
“I don’t want a guarantee of anything,” I say.
“I don’t want her to have limits,” Grayson adds.
“Neither of you has a choice,” his father says. “This is the complication of money. It is what it is. Do this. It worked for me and Melanie. I’ll leave you both to talk about it.” He grabs the remote and turns off the TV before he heads for the patio door.
I turn back to Grayson and before I can even speak, he’s pulling me close. “My parents were happy, Mia. They didn’t need that agreement. They were so in love, just like us.”
“Then we need to listen to your father. If he says this is how we avoid conflict, we need to listen. Please. We’ll let him guide us.”
Grayson pulls me to him and kisses me. “Let’s just plan the damn wedding, woman.”
“I want nothing more, but please. Let your father guide us, Grayson. Please. I’m begging you.”