Page 268 of Just for the Cameras
“You did in your letter.”
“Let me apologize in person.” His eyes meet mine, pleading, so I nod. “I know you deserved better than to be avoided all week and I wish I could be smarter, stronger, more emotionally intelligent for you, but it’s going to take time for me to learn, to understand just how goddamn strong you are.”
“You’re not giving yourself enough credit.”
“Please, Maple, please just let me say this.” I nod and let him continue. “I didn’t understand that I’ve been going through life with this empty hole in my chest. I just assumed it was from the loss of my mother, and yes, that was part of it, but I also think that hole has been waiting for you to come along this entire time, and when you filled it, I got scared. I got scared because I know I’m not perfect. I know that I have anger problems, and I know that I can be too possessive and protective, and that’s something I’m going to work on. But I didn’t know that the girl in the high-water pants was going to steal my breath away and show me what true love is all about. I promise, moving forward, I will trust you, your instincts, and protect you—when you want me to. All I ask in return is that you love me, beautiful. You continue to love and accept me for everything I am, everything that comes along with my name, and the baggage trailing behind.”
I sift my fingers through his hair and look him in the eyes.
“That’s not something you ever need to worry about because this love I have for you, it’s unconditional. You and me, we will fight the good and the bad together, by each other’s sides, because that’s what true love is, Graydon. What we have is true love, and I will battle through everything that comes at us because that’s how much you mean to me, how much I care about you…and I need you just as much as you need me.”
He slowly nods. “Fuck, I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
And then his lips are on mine again, but instead of the soft, hesitant kiss he gave me out on the field, this is more intense as his hand cups the back of my head and his pelvis drives into mine, a growl parting his lips…
“Hate to break this up,” Gretchen says from the side, causing us to pull away. “But the cameras can still see inside the tunnel, and you’re giving all of America quite the show. Maybe take the make-out session somewhere else?” Her smile stretches across her face as she looks between the two of us.
“Right, sorry.” Graydon sets me down but quickly grabs my hand.
Gretchen’s phone dings, and she glances down at the screen. With a giant roll of her eyes, she starts tapping away on her phone.
“OC is watching your make-out session and said I was standing in his way. God, that man is so freaking annoying.”
Graydon chuckles. “I don’t know…maybe he’s not all that bad.”
Gretchen raises a brow at him, causing us both to laugh.
“You’re right, sorry,” he says. “What was I thinking? He’s fucking terrible.”
“That’s more like it.” She thumbs toward the hallway. “Now go get showered and changed. I know you have more important things to attend to now.”
She wiggles her eyebrows at us and then takes off down the hall.
Graydon turns to me. “Did she just infer that we are going to go have sex?”
“You would be surprised to know that she can actually be pretty chill when you give her the chance to be.”
Graydon chuckles. “I’ll believe it when I see it.” Then he loops his arm over my shoulder. “Let’s get out of here, beautiful. There are a million things I want to do with you, and none of them involve a crowd.”
EPILOGUE
GRAYDON
“Do I look okay?” Maplefidgets in front of me in a beautiful pink silk dress, one that I helped her pick out from the many that Everly brought over for her to try.
“You look stunning,” I say, walking up to her in my all-black suit with a flamingo brooch attached to the lapel.
“Are you sure?” She presses her hands down her sides and over her stomach, where she’s just barely showing now.
“Perfect, beautiful,” I say and then walk up to her, placing my hand on her stomach, where our baby is growing. “So fucking perfect.”
It happened after we won our bid to the playoffs. We celebrated like never before since the Foghorns hadn’t been in the playoffs for several years. Maple missed her birth control, we fucked for twenty-four hours straight, and well, here we are.
And I couldn’t be happier.
I planned on proposing soon, but Maple said she wanted to wait to get married. She didn’t want me to propose just because she was pregnant. I told her I planned on proposing after she told me she loved me, but she still wanted to wait.
