Five days. Five days without Gregor.

Kara blended back into American life with difficulty, finding even small reminders of Gregor to be painful. How had she fallen for him so fast?

It was those damn blue eyes. At least she had Lexie to keep her mind off things. She rejoined the improv classes as quickly as she could, eager to find the stream of daily life as she’d known it before private jets and expensive dinners and penthouse suites in foreign countries. The contours of her little apartment in Seattle were a welcome sight, one that made her burst into tears the second she got home.

But they weren’t happy tears. And five days into her Gregor Recovery, she was still smarting from his absence. Almost daily she wondered if maybe she should just call him up. Send him a text. Get it sorted out, lower her standards, suck it up.

But no. Gregor was impossibly driven to live life on his terms only. And while she admired that from a distance, it wasn’t a healthy aspect for the relationship she wanted. She needed a costar, not an egotistical producer hellbent on slapping his name on everything.

Even if the producer was the single greatest love—and now heartbreak—of her life.

The fate of the theater rested in uncertain hands. Now that she’d walked away from Gregor, she didn’t trust him to uphold the deal. Why would he? Besides, that check he’d offered her last week only stirred up the confusion about how he truly felt. Why offer her money to stay, when all she wanted was his commitment to compromise?

It didn’t seem that hard to understand. But men were different beasts. That was the only truth she could tease out of the tangles of life.

She’d begin delving into the ownership issue soon. But for now, she went back to researching grants and finding alternative sources of funding. There had to be a way. A way that doesn’t involve selling yourself for love.

Kara whiled away Sunday morning ignoring her computer, trying to resist the urge to see what was happening in Italy for the race. Gregor would be racing, of course, with the same old wonky engine, and tuning in to watch the race just seemed like asking for it. Her heart couldn’t handle it. Not yet.

She busied herself as best she could with planning and organizing her apartment. Around eleven, she got a text from Lexie.

“Hey girl, can you stop by the theater? Wanna run something by you for tomorrow’s class.”

Kara jumped on the chance. Anything to resist the temptation of the race. “On my way.”

Kara tugged on a light sweater and a pair of leggings for the unseasonably cool summer day, opting to walk to the theater instead of driving like normal. She needed the time to think, to clear her head. To remind herself not to text Gregor. To remember why she preferred her little old life in Seattle to anything that arrogant Brit had to offer.

As she walked down tree lined streets and walls covered in murals, her mind circled back to something else that bothered her. In five full days, Gregor couldn’t even reach out to her once? Not even to say he was sorry again, or that he actually loved her?

His silence seemed like the proof she needed that he didn’t actually love her. No matter how desperately she wanted to believe that he did. How could he love her and just let her go like that? Nothing made sense. Men didn’t make sense. Man logic was one of the wonders of the world, and she was yet another victim left gaping in its wake.

It’s fine. You’ll be over him soon. Someday, at least.

That, for now, was all she had to go on.

After a brisk fifteen-minute walk, she rolled up to the familiar little theater, smiling as she tugged open the side door. The darkness of the auditorium flooded her, and after her eyes adjusted a few moments later, she noticed a strange sight.

It wasn’t just Lexie waiting for her.

It was almost a full theater of people.

She blinked, trying to understand what she was looking at. This didn’t make sense. They were…students. Of all her classes. Not every student ever, but a healthy sampling. Her mouth parted as she stepped inside carefully, unsure what she was walking into. This didn’t seem right. Maybe she’d missed something. Maybe Lexie was holding her own class. Maybe…

“Kara, come here!” Lexie hopped up and down from the far side, waving her hand in the air. “Come here, I need your help!”

Her students waved and smiled her way, and she greeted as many as she could as she made her way toward Lexie. “It’s time for improv!” Lexie yelled with a clap of her hands. At least half the students flooded the front area, rushing past them to climb the side stairs to the stage.

“What is going on?” Kara asked in a low voice.

Lexie looked at her with a strange pinched look on her face, like she might explode. “It’s improv!”

Kara creased her brow, looking up at the stage. It seemed that everyone certainly knew where they were going. Hardly improv at all. “So what’s with the stage direction?”

“They’re practicing a scene,” Lexie said, her voice coming out strange. “You should go help them.”

Kara sighed, curiosity mingling with frustration about being left in the dark. What the actual hell? She slid her messenger bag off, plopping it near the side of the stage as she climbed up the stairs.

“The scene is somewhere in Italy,” Lexie directed as Kara joined the chatter on the stage. “You’re looking for a friend.”

Kara nodded, shrugging. Why not? She assumed a happy go lucky tourist persona, imagining herself back in Milan, going up to her former students and asking them questions in stilted Italian and brash English. Plenty of laughs ensured as the students took on various Italian and foreign personalities, including a brief skirmish with a sunglasses vendor who tried to rip Kara off for a pair of Ray bans. The scene was lighthearted and fun, a perfect chance to reacquaint with her old students and get some practice in for the day.

But as she made her way toward the back of the stage, someone else came forward. Someone who was most definitely not her student, as least not for longer than one fateful class. Kara stilled, her persona falling away as her eyes landed on Gregor.

He came forward, his face full of mischief and soul. All the words she had on the tip of her tongue evaporated, and all she could hear was the hammering of her heart between her ears. She could barely breathe.

“Kooky Kara,” he whispered, and for a moment she thought this was a dream, something she’d conjured into being from wanting it too hard.

“Stop it.” She turned, looking back at Lexie, who peered over the top of her clipboard. Most of the students had returned to their seats, conversation swelling in the auditorium. “This isn’t real.”

“No, it’s real.” Gregor reached for her hand, his touch sending a jolt through her. She caught a hint of his scent, that damned Burberry and fine wood mixture.

“You’re supposed to be racing,” she whispered. “Or recently done, at least. Maybe standing in winner’s circle again. Or maybe in the hospital.”

“But I’m here.” He smiled softly, sweeping her hand into his. He bought it to his chest, pressing a small kiss to her knuckles. “With the woman I love.”

She crumpled at his words, too flabbergasted to really understand how this was even possible. “But how…?”

“Christian raced for me. He’s agreed to fill in for the rest of the season.” Gregor took another step closer, his heat sinking into her. Her bottom lip trembled as her gaze crossed over the familiar contours of his frame.

“But what about…?”

“Darling.” He cupped the side of her face and she nuzzled against it, desperate to feel him. Her lips dragged across the palm of his hand and she inhaled sharply. God, she loved this man. She needed this man. Five days apart had been unbearable. Now it was like a sip of ice water making her realize just how parched she’d been.

“You were right,” he went on, his voice soft. Behind them, the students were engaged in their own chatter, oblivious to their intimate conversation. “Bringing on engineers was a good idea. I was just too full of pride to allow you to be right. To allow my grandfather’s legacy to interfere with what I thought I was creating.” He paused, rubbing a thumb over her knuckles. “I’ve decided to show off the joint efforts of the companies to remedy the issue. I’ve renamed the car the Beaumontgomery, which honors his company and mine. To showcase our joint contribution to perfecting the engine and making a safer product overall. My brothers are on board with it, though they can scarcely believe I’m doing it. But more importantly, I realized what’s more important than any of that.”

“And what’s that?” She poked at his chest, pleased by the hardness there, the realness of him.

“Together more can be achieved.” He smiled in that lopsided boyish way that made her heart pool in her stomach, and she nearly tipped over into his arms.

“That sounds like an inspirational school quote,” she cracked.

“How about this one? The best parts of life can be found with others. Not alone. And that’s precisely why I asked your students to help me today.”

“God, you’re sappy,” she said, tears filling her eyes.

“Like a pancake breakfast,” he retorted. “Trust me, this class was more than willing to help me orchestrate the final scene.”

“What scene?” She clutched at his shirt. “Don’t tell me we’re doing that remake of Romeo and Juliet again.”

“Oh no. It’s a new one. One that doesn’t take much imagination. In fact, you don’t even have to play a character for this scene. You just get to be Kooky Kara, and I get to be Gregarious Gregor.”

“Gorgeous Gregor,” she corrected, smoothing her hand over his heart.

“Kinky Kara,” he whispered hotly into her ear. “Now come here.”

He urged her toward the front of the stage. At the very front he paused, positioning her in front of him like they had to hit specific marks. The class in the auditorium became oddly quiet, waiting for the play they knew was about to start.

“You ready?” he said. She nodded. “Here’s how it begins.” He shoved a shaky hand into his pocket at the same time that he dropped to one knee. Kara’s mouth fell open, knowing exactly what this was but too incredulous to believe it.

“Oh my God,” she murmured into her palm.

“Kara,” Gregor began, looking up at her with a mischievous smile. He popped open the little black ring box, showcasing a brilliant, sparkling diamond ring that made her gasp. “Will you marry me?”

“Oh my god,” she wailed into her hands, emotion flooding her, making her knees weak. “Yes! What the hell! Yes!”

The auditorium erupted into cheers and hoots, and while her former students cheered, Gregor slipped the ring onto her finger, looking up at her with tears in his eyes.

“I love you, Kara.” He pressed his lips to the back of her hand, over and over again. “I just want to be with you. For as long as you can stand me.”

She fell to her knees, throwing her arms around him, letting out a sob against his shoulder. Mind swirling, head spinning, the only thing that rose above the rest was that this man was the one. The only one she’d ever needed without even realizing.

“I love you. Even though you’re sometimes an asshole.”

“Mostly an asshole,” he corrected.

“Actually not an asshole at all,” she said. “And that’s why I’m marrying you.”

She pressed her lips to his, clutching his face in her hands, unwilling to ever let this man get away.