Page 152 of Capturing Love

Grayson’s smile melted my insides. “Are you ready to see number one?”

Happiness swelled within and I threw myself against the window of the plane. The glowing casinos and twinkling lights below confirmed what Grayson was trying to tell me. We were back where it all started. Las Vegas.

***

Epilogue

***

Grayson

I stood behind Josie, watching her kaleidoscopic hair blowing back in the breeze as she gazed over something almost as beautiful as her. The Grand Canyon.

A smile played on her lips as she reached back and took my hand, tugging me beside her. “It’s incredible,” she gasped and peered up at me. “I never thought I’d get here.” Her striking bronze eyes glistened. “Thank you, so much.”

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her close as the sun set over the rocky horizon. The sky glowed deep shades of orange and pink, leaving Josie so awestruck, she was forgetting to take her own photos. Giving her a nudge, I motioned down to her camera with a raised brow.

“Shit,” she muttered. Quickly lifting it to her face, she began clicking relentlessly.

I let out a little chuckle and watched her in wonderment.

It may have taken a while for me to convince her, but she was it for me. Her walls were built so high, I feared I’d never get through to her. But brick by brick, she let me in and I felt like the luckiest man alive.

I’d never met a girl like her in the circles I ran in. So strong willed, independent, hardworking and loyal. Traits my parents weren’t comfortable with in a female, let alone one who didn’t come from old money like ours. Josie had no ulterior motive, wanted nothing to do with our fortune, and refused to play into any part of that world.

If it wasn’t for her, I never would have stood up to my parents, and Mel and I would’ve been in the same position we’d been in for years. Unhappy. Our parents were so consumed with their desire for power, they lost sight of what it cost to attain it. I wanted to marry for love, not for money or status. For simple, old fashioned, heart pounding, butterfly inducing love. The love I felt for Josie Spencer.

Finally letting go of the guilt I felt over Melanie’s health and my parent's expectations, I was free to make my own decisions. Josie was my first. Maude was my second.

My brother and I could both see the potential of our little publication, and with my Grandfather’s help—and my healthy trust fund—I made an attractive offer to Harlow Corp. and Warren Enterprises, knowing they’d take it. They didn’t know who they were dealing with until the contract was signed.

Adam still worked for my father, and was content to live that way, but I wasn’t anymore. I wanted to build something and watch it prosper, not just buy, build and sell, which my family were notorious for. I wanted to make a difference and do something worth putting my name on.

I dropped my arm from Josie’s shoulders, and fished out her list again.

“So, I may not be ‘devilishly handsome’, but I was hoping to cross the last item off your list.”

She frowned. “But we did them all…I don’t kno—” Her voice caught and her eyes widened as I unfolded the napkin and slid my glasses over my nose.

I cleared my throat. “I believe there was a bonus item…”

Josie gasped and snatched the list from my hand, letting out a nervous laugh. She turned away to hide her reddening face as she reread the miniscule scrawl at the bottom of the napkin.

While her back was turned, I knelt down and pulled a tiny box from my pocket. “Josie…”

She shook off her embarrassment, and turned back to me, dropping her eyes to where I rested on one knee. Her mouth fell open.

My heart raced, but I tried to keep my voice steady. “Josie Spencer, will you marry me?”

She clutched her chest when I lifted the lid to reveal a shimmering opal ring surrounded by diamonds. She took deep breaths but said nothing.

“Josie?” I called, hoping to break her trance.

Her eyes gleamed. “Grayson, you’re wrong…”

My heart dipped, but her face didn’t match her words of rejection.

She stepped towards me with a glint in her eye. “You’re the very definition of ‘devilishly handsome’.”