Skylar
The room was awash in the early morning light. Thin blankets were wrapped up around my legs as I arched my back and stretched, my knuckles hitting the wood headboard above my head. I looked around for Greyson when I discovered that he wasn’t next to me in the bed.
I spotted him after seconds of searching.
At the foot of the bed was a pair of French doors that opened up onto a small but functional balcony. Greyson was standing out there with his back to me. His hands were out to the sides resting on the balcony, causing his shoulders to bunch up beneath the thin fabric of his white T shirt.
Even now, a year after he arrived at the hospital in Houston to take me to that dinner, I was still astounded by his presence every single day.
I untangled myself from the blankets and slipped off the bed. I padded barefoot to the doors and stepped out into the morning sun.
The concrete of the patio was warm beneath my toes. The air was still and the sun kissed my skin. I wore nothing but my silk sleeping set, and as I hugged Greyson from behind the fabric grazed my nipples and tantalized my skin.
Greyson turned to face me and leaned back against the railing as he put his hands on my waist. “Good morning, gorgeous,” he said, his hands slipping beneath my silk tank top to touch my bare skin.
“Good morning,” I smiled, stretching upwards to plant a kiss on his perfect lips.
He nodded towards a small wrought iron table in the corner of the balcony. Two mugs of coffee sat there, along with a bowl of assorted fruit. A strawberry beckoned me, and I popped it into my mouth before taking my cup of coffee and sipping it greedily as I took up a spot beside Greyson to look down at the sprawling view below us.
We were in Rome, and Greyson hadn’t held back on the luxuries. Our room boasted a spectacular view of the city, and we were just a mere six or so blocks from the Coliseum, which stood like a proud beast above the Tuscan colored roofs of the other buildings.
“I still can’t believe we’re here,” I said softly, letting my hands graze his as he turned back around to face the city with me. “It has all been a dream.”
“That’s how a vacation should feel,” Greyson said.
I took another mouthful of my coffee and sighed happily. I tilted my head so that it was resting on Greyson’s shoulder. “I’m looking forward to being back in one place for a while,” I admitted. “It will be nice to come home to the same bed every night again. And to cook in the same kitchen.”
“Cook?” Greyson asked, amusement coloring his tone.
“Okay,” I giggled, “It will be nice to watch you cook in the same kitchen while I drink wine.”
“That sounds much more accurate,” Greyson chuckled. There was a long pause before he spoke again. It was a comfortable quiet that we shared, and when he finally gave voice to his thoughts he watched me out of the corner of his eyes. “You’re sure Nevada is where you want to head back to?”
We had discussed where we should eventually settle down over the last few months as we hopped from one European city to the next. Greyson had been more than willing to return with me to Houston. But something about that idea felt wrong to me. I wanted somewhere that would be a fresh start for me; somewhere that I wouldn’t feel like the shadow of my old life was following me around. I wanted to start new with Greyson.
So I had chosen Nevada. I knew how much Greyson loved it there, and away from the lights and noise of Vegas was actually quite pleasant. I liked the desert and how close it was for Renee to fly out to visit us every couple of weeks- on Greyson’s dime, of course.
“I’m sure Nevada is where I want to go,” I said confidently. “It’s where we’re supposed to be. Can’t you feel it?”
Greyson didn’t say anything.
“Greyson?” I asked.
He looked down and the corner of his mouth that I could see curled upwards. Then, slowly, he turned to face me. He let his coffee mug rest on the railing and then he took mine from me and did the same. He clasped my hands in his and held my gaze.
“I can feel a lot of things,” he said softly, “And you’re right. It is where we’re supposed to be. Skylar I’m ready for the next step with you. I want to return to Nevada with my fiancée on my arm.” I sucked in a sharp breath when Greyson dropped to his knee in front of me. He still held my hands in one of his. His other hand went to the pocket of his pants and he withdrew a royal blue velvet box. “Skylar Lindell, I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life doing everything in my power to make you happy. Will you marry me?”
The fluttering feeling in my chest gave way to nervous laughter as a wave of emotion broke over me. I covered my mouth with a shaking hand as the tears started to come. I nodded vigorously but was unable to speak that tricky word: yes.
Greyson seemed to understand me anyways, because he popped open the box, and a blinding flash of light erupted in my vision as the diamond caught the sunlight.
The ring was dazzling. It was a halo cut on a white gold, diamond encrusted band. The centre diamond glittered like nothing I had ever seen, and colorful blotches of light danced on the cement at my feet as Greyson plucked the ring from the box and extended it towards me.
I gave him my left hand. He slid the ring onto my finger, and then pressed his lips to my knuckles. He closed his eyes and stayed where he was on his knee before me.
I took a mental snapshot of the moment before pulling him to his feet and throwing my arms around his shoulders with a joyful cry. His familiar smell of pine flooded my nose and I inhaled a deep breath of him.
“I have to call Renee,” I whispered in his ear.
“You have plenty of time to call her,” Greyson said, pushing me away and wiping my tears away with his thumbs. “For now let’s just enjoy this moment. I’ve had that ring with me since Spain and I’ve been waiting for the right time to ask you.”
“Why today?” I asked, looking up at him like he was the most wonderful thing I had ever seen. Because he was.
He smiled and looked not out to Rome but back into our room, and to the bed of messed up white linens. “I rolled over this morning and watched you sleep for a while. I couldn’t wait another day to ask you.”
I hooked my thumbs in the waistband of his pants and tugged his hips towards me. He chuckled as I held him against me and tilted my head back to stare adoringly up at him. “How do you feel about getting married sooner rather than later?”
“Really?” Greyson asked, arching an eyebrow. “You’re not one of those girls who needs at least a year to plan the whole thing? Because if you are, I’m willing to wait. I’ll wait for as long as you need me to.”
“I’m not willing to wait,” I whispered.
Greyson lifted my chin and kissed me softly. “Then you won’t have to. Summer is just around the corner. How do you feel about that? Any venue you want, it’s yours.”
“I don’t care where we get married,” I said, “We can do it at your house. Outside. All I need are twinkle lights and candles and I’m happy. And my wedding dress, of course.”
“Of course,” Greyson said sheepishly. “The thought of you in a wedding dress…” Greyson trailed off, and his eyes did a slow sweep of my body.
I looped my hands behind his neck and bit my bottom lip in the way that I knew drove him wild. Greyson’s hands fell to my hips and he leaned in to give me a kiss so tender I thought I might melt. But his hands held me in place until the kiss was done, at which point he took my hand and led me back into our room.
He closed the French doors behind him and turned to face me as I perched on the edge of the bed. The sunlight streaming in through the windows at his back cast his whole front into shadow, but outlined his silhouette as he stood and looked upon me.
“Come here, fiancé,” I said, curling my finger towards myself.
Greyson closed the space between us.