Keeping You (Destined Love #3)

33. Hannah

CHAPTER 33

Hannah

L eaving Grayson Friday morning is hard. We spent Wednesday and Thursday wrapped in each other, only leaving the bed to eat and replenish our energy before falling back together. I’m not sure which of us was more insatiable. This morning, he watched me dress before making me a cup of coffee and kissing me on the cheek before I left. No matter what I do, my thoughts continue to return to him, even when I’m surrounded by the girls.

“Earth to Hannah,” Zoey says as she waves a hand in front of my face.

“Hmmmm?” I say.

“You’re day dreaming, and you walked in a little funny.” She grins. “You and Grayson had some fun last night.”

She’s not wrong, just missing the forty-eight hours before that, too.

“You’re not telling us something,” Liz says, ever the observer.

I sigh.

“She’s fallen in love with him,” Bailey says, and my gaze moves to her. She’s looking at me with a soft, knowing smile.

Hearing someone else say those words out loud has it hitting so much harder. Knowing I’m still missing something in the relationship has tears gathering behind my eyes, because I also know I won’t ever find a love like this again. It’s one of those ones that buries itself into your soul and when you lose it, it takes a piece of you with it.

I blink a few times and plaster on a smile. “Today is about you, Bailey. You’re getting married tomorrow. So let’s focus on that,” I say.

She shakes her head. “You’re my friend, Hannah, and seeing you find love will always be important.”

Ughhh, this girl. As if I wasn’t already feeling enough.

Lily, Bailey’s best friend, walks in the door at that moment. “I’ve got several bottles of champagne, homemade chocolate chip cookies, and chocolate,” she says while carrying a big box. She sees all of us and places the box down. “What’s wrong?” she asks, worry filling her voice.

Bailey stands and gives Lily a hug and says, “Nothing, just Hannah falling in love with her husband.”

I collapse back on the couch. “Can we please move on?” I huff.

Everyone shakes their head, and I cross my arms over my chest like a toddler.

Olivia laughs. “Oh, babe, you’re just proving Bailey’s point.”

“I know falling in love can be scary,” Bailey says. “But it’s so worth it. Don’t deprive yourself of it.”

Bailey knows what she’s talking about. She left an abusive marriage and thought she wouldn’t find love again until she met Caleb. I’ve seen how he dotes on both her and her daughter, Charlie. I know I love Grayson, but we’re like a puzzle with one missing piece right in the centre and you can’t say it’s finished until you find it. It’s as though he’s holding something back from me and my soul can sense it. I need us to both be in this relationship one hundred percent. I need him to trust me enough to share whatever it is that he’s holding back.

“I’m missing something,” I admit, and they look at me quizzically. “I don’t know what it is. I can’t put a finger on it. I just know that even though we enjoy each other’s company, he makes my day’s better, and the sex is out of this world, there’s something missing.” I straighten. “But enough about me and my marriage. We’re here to celebrate Bailey and Caleb getting married. So let’s pour the champagne and head out and get pampered.”

The girls, knowing I’m done with this conversation, agree, and we pop the first bottle of the day.

Saturday morning is a rush of excitement as we get ready for the wedding. Caleb stayed at Josh and Liv’s last night so we could have the entire house for the girls. They decided to have the wedding at a local park with a gorgeous view and floral area. They wanted to get married somewhere that meant something to them.

Caleb’s mom comes over with Charlie after breakfast. With Bailey not having her mom anymore, Lorraine is taking over some of those rolls.

I gasp when Bailey comes out of the bedroom in her wedding dress. It’s simple and elegant, very her. It’s a white satin dress with a square neckline, and it hugs her body. The way it clings to her is different than anything she would have worn when I first met her, but I’ve seen her embrace herself since her and Caleb started dating, and I love it for her.

The front of her dress just brushes the floor, and a train flows behind her. Braids pull back the front pieces of her hair into an elegant chignon. Baby’s breath is delicately placed into the braids, and her smile makes her glow. She’s a vision.

We take a few photos before piling into the cars and making our way to the venue.

The girls all head inside with Bailey, while I take Charlie’s hand and lead her to the back of the building. I’ve taken charge of taking her to her first look with Caleb.

When we turn the corner and she spots him, she calls, “Daddy!”

He spins around, and I hear him gasp as he takes in her pastel-pink dress with a white satin ribbon around her waist. She lets go of my hand and runs towards him as he crouches to catch her. He wipes away a tear as he holds her.

After a few minutes, he puts her down and kisses her cheek before she comes back to me and I lead her inside so we can start the ceremony.

The ceremony is beautiful. Caleb starts crying the second he sees Bailey standing at the end of the aisle. He’s usually such a strong and stoic man, so it’s not often people see that side of him. Grayson is Caleb’s best man. His eyes never leave me as we stand opposite each other. To think we did this eighty-nine days ago.

Everyone filters into the reception hall after, and Caleb and Bailey have their first dance. I couldn’t be happier for them as I sit and watch. When the song ends and the MC invites others to join them, Grayson stands and offers a hand to me.

“Would my wife do me the honour of a dance?”

I smile and take his hand, and he leads us to the dance floor. My arms wrap around his neck as his wrap around my waist, his hands resting above my ass, and we sway together.

“You’re stunning,” he whispers with such reverence.

“You don’t look so bad yourself,” I whisper back.

As the song ends and transitions into another, we don’t separate. We sway back and forth as we stare into each other’s eyes. The thought of all this ending tomorrow has my heart breaking. A single tear rolls down my cheek; I can’t help it. Grayson reaches up and cups my face as his thumb brushes it away and his forehead leans against mine.

“I’ll never say that I regret this,” he whispers.

I look up at him through my lashes, trying to hold back my tears as I grip his wrist. “Same,” I barely choke out.

At those words, something in his eyes changes. He leans down and, for the first time in eighty-nine days, kisses me. The world fades away as I take in this moment. The kiss is soft at first. His lips gently brush against mine. When I kiss him back, he takes it to another level. His tongue explores my mouth, and mine meets his. When we finally break apart short of breath, it’s like I’ve found that missing puzzle piece. I was waiting for Grayson to give me the last thing he had been holding back.

The song changes to one more upbeat, and I take his hand and lead him off the dance floor and down a hallway until I find the door to a storage room. They seem like our thing. When we’re inside, I close the door and I’m on him again. I take control of this kiss, exploring his mouth the way he explored mine. I’m staking my claim, letting him know he belongs to me in all the same ways I belong to him. I’m showing him I’m not done with us. I never will be.

Grayson fights for control. He pulls the fabric of my dress up my legs until it’s hitched at my hips and lifts me by the back of my thighs, and my legs wrap around his waist. He nips at my neck, and I moan his name. I’m feral right now, and I’m not ashamed that I need my husband. I reach a hand between us and start working on his belt.

I release my legs from around his waist and work on his belt as he continues nibbling on my neck. When it’s finally undone, I grip him through his boxer briefs.

“Condom,” I say, and he pulls his wallet out and hands me one. I open it as he pushes his boxer briefs down. The second he pops free, I’m rolling the condom down his length. I hike up my dress again, and he lifts me. Reaching down, I push my panties to the side and position him at my entrance before sinking down. He kisses me, absorbing my moans of ecstasy.

I ride him like my life depends on it and kiss him as if he’s the only air I can breathe. Each kiss is like I’m giving him another piece of my soul, and he hungrily devours them.

I’m close as he trails his lips across my jaw and down my neck. He’s whispering to himself I think, but I hear him. “My wife. Mine. My fucking wife.”

His possessive words send me over the edge. I bite my hand, trying to conceal the sounds he’s pulling from me. He follows me, biting my shoulder as he comes. He helps me down and rights my panties before he fixes himself.

Before we leave, he tucks a stray piece of hair behind my ear and kisses me softly. We pop into the washroom before returning to the reception. I guess now I just need to make sure Grayson is on the same page I am.

Grayson’s not in bed when I wake up in the morning. I make my way into his home office, hoping to find him there. When I see he’s not, I make my way to his desk, taking in the degrees he has framed on the walls and the few family photos he has in here. I sit in his chair, trying to feel and see what he does when he’s in here. There are two stacks of papers lying on the desk. My eyes scan the first page of the stack on the left. In bold writing, it reads:

CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT BETWEEN

Thompson Memorial Hospital of 8769 5th Avenue, Toronto, ON L5J 6K9

AND

Grayson Randall Maxwell of 3005 - 481 Smithe Street, Vancouver, BC V5L 4N8

My heart drops. I can’t read any further. Is Grayson planning on leaving me and moving across the country? I thought we had finally got to a good place and things were going well, but I guess I was wrong. I shouldn’t be surprised as I haven’t told him that I love him and want this relationship. This marriage. Sitting in his chair as thoughts race through my mind, my eyes catch on the second stack of documents.

DISSOLUTION OF THE MARRIAGE OF GRAYSON RANDALL MAXWELL AND HANNAH MARIE SMITH

A lone tear I didn’t realize was there falls down my face, and I wipe at it furiously. I take a deep breath, but all it does is make the tears fall in earnest. I’ve never cried over a man before, but I’ve also never fallen in love with anyone the way I have Grayson. He promised that after the ninety days, he’d sign the papers and give me the freedom I wanted. I never thought I’d have this kind of reaction to seeing these papers. I thought I’d be happy or excited. I’d be getting what I’ve wanted this whole time, but he’s worked to show me he’s not the douchebag I thought he was. He’s just as damaged as me and let it get in the way. I guess I should be happy that he always intended to keep his word, and it just breaks my heart, even more, knowing we missed out on being with each other for so long because of someone else and our own trauma that we needed to deal with. But I’m happy that he did exactly what he set out to do. He showed me that, despite our past, we can work.

Now, it’s my turn to show him I’m so head over heels in love with him and I don’t want to end our marriage. It might not have happened the way I always envisioned, but he’s the man I want to spend the rest of my life with. I’m choosing him as my family. Whether kids are in our future or not. I want him. I’d rather live a life without children of my own and be with him than end up with someone else and a huge family.

Grayson Randall Maxwell is my person. He’s become the first person I want to talk to in the morning and the last before I go to bed. I want to share the good and the bad with him.

I know I need to rectify this. Grayson deserves to know he’s loved unconditionally and that he’s my first choice. My only choice.

I pull my phone out and do a quick internet search and make a few phone calls. I push up from the chair and leave his office resolute in my decision.