“I don’t care, Professor. You two, quite frankly, deserve each other. I’m only asking that you stop hurting other people.”
“I’m so sorry I ruined your life. That was never my intention, or any of this humiliation.”
Laughter bubbled up, taking with it the last vestiges of shame or embarrassment as I thought about the envelope I kept securely tucked away in my purse. “You think my life is ruined? How self-centered can you be? Sure, I slept with the wrong man, trusted you, but I’m done paying for that. You knew you were married. I didn’t. I’m going to finish college and be with the man I love. You’re not a factor in my future, but I doubt you can say the same about me. Every time you apply to teach, this will follow you. Every time you look at your wife, this will be between you. What you’ve done will haunt you…not me.”
I shut my door, but Harrison wouldn’t let me pass. Every step I took, he matched. “You haunt me now.”
“Let. Me. Go.”
“No, not until you listen.” I sidestepped his reach again.
Grayson stepped behind Harrison, and the tension drained from me. “Please, give me a fucking reason to end you. Do it. Put your hand on her again.”
Harrison turned to look up, and up at Grayson. Then he moved to the side as Grayson reached for my hand. I took it and left everything about my past behind as he tucked me under his arm and walked me to his truck.
“Is this really necessary?” I asked, fumbling for the door handle forty-five minutes later. The damn blindfold on my eyes wasn’t helping matters. I heard the door open, and a gust of cold air hit my face.
“Be patient,” Grayson said softly. He undid my seatbelt, then easily lifted me into a bridal carry.
We paused, and I heard another door open, then close as warmth surrounded us. “Well, at least we’re inside,” I teased. There was a faint echo. Where the hell were we? I could feel his heartbeat jump through our coats. “Are you nervous? Because your heart is racing, and I know you’re not tired from carrying me. Hell, I bet you could carry me for an hour and still not get tired.”
He stayed silent, which was enough to almost make me rip off the blindfold. Whatever we were doing was obviously way outside his comfort zone.
“We’re here,” he said as he gently set me on my feet. “I’m going to take off your shoes.”
He dropped, leaving my hands on his shoulders for balance. Then he slipped off my boots one by one. The floor was cool and hard under my socks.
“We might need to work on your foreplay.”
He laughed softly, and the tension dissipated from his shoulders. He stood, and right after I heard a squeaking sound, I felt a soft pressure at the top of my head, and the distinct scent of…magic marker?
He kissed my lips with a reverence that had me aching for more as he pulled back and turned me around. The blindfold slipped free. “Okay, take a look.”
I blinked several times, letting my eyes adjust. A door stood open in front of me with a black line etched into a spot on the left panel that read “Samantha.” Farther left was another line marked “Grayson,” with today’s date written between them.
“You got me a door?” It was the sweetest gift I could imagine.
“A place to mark your height,” he said from behind me. “To start our story.”
I turned to face him, and then got distracted by the rest of my surroundings. There was so much light, so many white walls. “An empty house?” I asked, taking in as much as I could. The front door had a glass panel and a tile entry, then a nice-sized living room. Looking to the right, I saw a den, and a kitchen that had raw maple cabinets but no counters.
“There’s a window seat.” Grayson pointed to the den. “Like you wanted.”
“W-w-what?”
“Hardwood in the kitchen. You said that was important, and there’s a small porch out front. I put the swing up last week. I know you wanted granite counters, but that’s kind of personal, and the granite guys said they could be here to install next week if we pick everything out in the next few days.”
“Grayson.”
He swallowed. “It has a good-sized backyard that’s kind of flat. Do you know how hard it is to get a flat backyard on this side of town? Or how expensive this school district is? It’s ludicrous.”
“Grayson.”
“And if there’s something you don’t like, I can remodel it. I bought it, so it’s not like we have to ask permission or anything. But we will have to buy furniture.”
Holy shit. He bought a house. In Colorado. For me.
“Grayson!”
His eyes flew to mine, a state of subdued panic rolling through them. “Samantha.”
“Why would you buy a house here?”
His eyebrows rose. “Because you’re here.”
“But you live in North Carolina.”
A slow smile spread across his face. “I found a loophole, and asked another flight student to trade me at the last minute. I live here. I’m assigned to Fort Carson.”
I sucked in a breath. “But your family…” Tears pricked at my eyes, welling so fast that he blurred in front of me.
His thumbs wiped away the tears that fell. “You are my family, and you’re here. I don’t work without you, Samantha.”
I reached into my purse and pulled out the letter I’d been saving. “But I got into UNC. Just in case.”