Grace (The ‘Hello’ series)

31. Epilogue

6 months later

T he cool air of the air-conditioning brushes over my face as I stare at my phone.

“Oh, Daniel, it was amazing. I never want to leave this place.” Grace beams as she shows me all the pictures she has taken while she was exploring Florence.

I shift in my seat and adjust my phone as the driver keeps a steady pace. “It looks amazing, darling.”

“Are you almost here?” she asks, her eyes glinting in the afternoon sun.

“Of course. I’m already on my way, but it will still take around half an hour to get to you.”

“I can’t wait to see you,” she whispers, a blush reddening her cheeks.

“You missed me?”

She smiles. “I know it has only been three days, but… it feels too long.”

“I know, I feel that too,” I say, and my gaze drops to my hands as I fiddle with the black velvet box. I bought it when we were in London two months ago. But I never found the courage to ask her because I knew she would say no, thinking it was too quick. And she’s probably right. Still, I carry it with me every day.

I’ve already made my choice. I’m only waiting for her to catch up and take the jump with me.

“Oh, before I forget. Bash called and asked where you were. He couldn’t get you on the phone,” she says as she scrolls through her phone to find another picture.

“I’ll call him in a bit.” I’ve seen the missed calls, but once the meeting was over, I had only one person on my mind and that was her.

The bond with my son… it’s a lot better than before. Perhaps tearing it apart, breaking it fully was what was needed for us to grow toward each other.

He’s stepped up, taken the job I had lined up for him, and after a few weeks, he had finally found his footing.

Stacy, on the other hand, left him the moment she found out he didn’t have access to my funds.

But even that has helped him grow. He apologized to Grace, took his responsibility for why the relationship didn’t work out.

Victoria… well… she’s still a very special woman. She’s has accepted Grace, but it will never be more than that. And I’m okay with it.

“Oh, the food is here,” Grace says and rises up from behind her desk in her hotel room.

Grace’s strength has amazed me over these last months. The whispers, rumors, everything that has been thrown our way, she has handled perfectly. She has become a woman who takes what she wants and claims her place in the world because she knows she is worthy enough for that spot. She doesn’t hide or cower away, and no one takes advantage of her. She won’t let you.

She comes back into view. Her freckles are showing even more now that her skin has seen more sun.

“Are we still going to my parents’ once we are back?” she asks as she opens the container and steam wafts her way. She blows carefully, picking some penne out, and takes a bite.

“We are,” I say as I recall how calm they were when Grace told them she was going to Europe with her boss who was also her boyfriend.

“I think they are still in denial,” she mumbles as she takes another bite.

“About us?”

She nods as she swallows her food. “I was clear about everything.”

I laugh. “My age?”

She freezes. “Well, I did say you were older than me.”

“I’m sure we can handle it,” I say and loosen up my tie.

She shrugs. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I’m not leaving you,” she says, and her eyes flick up, staring straight at me.

The corner of my lip twitches. “Really? Never?” I tease.

And a small grin tugs on hers. “I don’t want to be with anyone but you.”

My heart picks up a beat as the grip on the black velvet box tightens.

“That’s my good girl,” I groan and watch as she shifts in her chair, how her cheeks flush and her breathing changes.

The car slows, and I glance out the window. A smile spreads on my lips and I grab my phone.

“I’m here, darling,” I whisper, and the car stops in front of the hotel.

She blinks, her eyes widen, and these tiny bits of nerves crawl up my skin. It has only been three days, but sometimes, it feels so unreal for her to be with me. Someone twice her age… there’s this bit of fear lingering inside me that warns me that there is going to be a moment in my life when she’ll leave me.

Perhaps that’s why I try to make the most of every moment we do share.

The car door opens, and I step out of the air-conditioned car into the summer heat of Florence.

“I’m coming down!” Grace says quickly, and she disappears from view.

My strides are big as I quicken my pace and stuff the velvet box into my pocket. The double doors are opened, and the freshness of the cooled space hits me.

But what catches my breath is when the elevator doors open and her petite frame sprints out.

With a smile that makes all the fears fade, she runs up to me, and I catch her as she jumps in my arms.

“I missed you so, so much,” she whispers as her head snuggles in the crook of my neck.

My hands wrap around her thighs, keeping her high up my frame as I continue my walk to the elevator.

“I missed you too, darling,” I say and press the button to our floor.

I’m not putting her down when the elevator takes off, nor when I walk to our room, nor when I have to close the door when my driver leaves after he brought in the bags.

Because I can never let her go as she has stolen my heart and taken my soul.

She’s my everything.

My darling.

My good girl.