Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 75553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
32
Remy
The view before me was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. The whole of New York was laid out in front of me and it was lit up like a Christmas tree. The dark night above us was illuminated by the yellow lights of the office buildings and I could see the whole of Time Square lit up like a beacon straight ahead of us. It was beautiful and I couldn’t stop staring as I took it all in. I’d always wanted to come and visit this place, but I’d never had the opportunity. I couldn’t believe this was the place Griff had chosen to take me. It was perfect, but I still didn’t quite understand why we were here.
I tore my eyes away from the picturesque view and turned to look at Griff. He seemed like the usual Griff, but there was something worrying about the way he looked down at me. His usual stoic expression was replaced by one that I didn’t recognize. His eyes were shining like he had been crying recently or like he was close to tears. I guess it made sense since his dad just died, but I wondered if there was something more to it.
Was he going to break things off between us? I’d known we weren’t going to last forever under the guise of this fake relationship, but I still wasn’t quite ready for things to be over. Did he bring me to the Empire State Building because he wanted to cushion the blow? The thought alone was enough to make my stomach turn and my throat to feel thick.
I remembered Mr. Anderson’s job offer for Griff and another wave of grief rolled over me. Would Griff relocate to New York for that opportunity? Would I be left in a world without him back in Seattle? What about the baby? If he wanted to move, should I tell him about the child? But I didn’t want to act like a ball and chain weighting him down. If he stayed in Seattle, I wanted it to be because he wanted to be with me, not because he had to. The thoughts were consuming me and the feeling was almost unbearable. I wanted to get some answers—no, I needed answers. I couldn’t wait any longer.
My eyes met his and I desperately tried not to lose myself in the cloudy gray depths of them. He was just as devilishly handsome as always and I tried not to let it distract me. There were some problems that couldn’t be solved between the sheets and this was one of them. “Griff, what’s going on?” I asked in a thick voice with tears blurring my vision. “Why did you bring me here?”
Unexpectedly, Griff reached out to take my hand. He held it tight in his and began brushing his thumb over the engagement ring still firmly attached to my finger. I’d almost forgotten about that piece of jewelry. It was something so important and meaningful and yet, as it sat on my finger, I knew it didn’t belong there—not in the way Griff had given it to me. The sight of him looking so open and emotional was something I never thought I’d see and I held my breath as he began to talk.
“Remy, I brought you here today because I realized something,” he began to explain, his eyes never leaving mine. “During everything that’s happened between me and you, I’d been blind to what was really important and I was too caught up in my own little world to understand what was real and what wasn’t. I’ve been blind for far too long, Remy, and it’s about time I opened my eyes.”
I watched him with a blank expression, feeling a little lost still. I didn’t really understand where he was going with all of this, but I didn’t want to interrupt him while he was on a roll. Instead, I nodded my head and looked up at him expectantly.
“I spoke with my father before he died and a lot of what he said made me realize just how foolish I’ve been,” Griff continued, “for too long now, I’ve been cut off from the people around me and I’ve been bottling up my emotions instead of expressing them or dealing with them properly. It got so bad that I was even pushing away someone who truly cares about me, someone who didn’t deserve to be treated like that.”
He gave me a pointed look and I gasped as I realized he was talking about me. I didn’t know what to say. I just stared at him open-mouthed and waited for him to continue, but Griff always liked to surprise me. Before continuing, he dropped down on one knee and looked up at me with a smile.
Oh. My. God.
Griff pulled the engagement ring off my finger. “It’s about time I did this right, don’t you think, Remy?”