When the spotlight hit the figure striding towards the lead microphone, Suzy almost dropped the drink she was holding. There standing at center stage in an old pair of faded jeans and a Bon-Jovi shirt from their Crush Tour, stood Gray.
Beth grabbed her arm, pulling frantically. “Did you know about this?”
“OH MY GOD, of course not. What is he doing?”
Suzy’s eyes were riveted to him as he started to speak. “Hey everyone, sorry to interrupt this fabulous band, but they have been nice enough to humor me. I’ll warn you now I have very little singing talent so this might be a good time for a bathroom break.”
As laughter rang out in the room, Gray continued on. “There’s a special lady here tonight who has no idea how much she means to me or the lengths I’d go to in order to show her that she’s now and will always be first in my life.” Then squatting down to eye level with the audience, as if they were old friends, he said, “The woman I love is a free spirit. She was always accusing me of being something of a stuffed shirt, and maybe she was right.”
Gray smiled at the choruses of “no” that rang out in the audience. “Ah thanks guys. One of the things that Suzy said about me early on was that I was probably too uptight to own a Bon-Jovi tour shirt, but as you can see in the name of love, I now have one.”
Suzy couldn’t help but laugh at the way the audience was hanging on his every word. As he looked towards where she was standing in the back of the room, she could have sworn he could see her even though she knew it was impossible. My God, what was he doing? If he tried to drag her on the stage, she’d kill him.
“Well guys, since I now own the tour shirt, I thought it was only right that I also do something to show Suzy how much I love her. Anyone who knows me knows that I’d normally never do anything like this. There is only one person in this world that I’d do or be anything for and that’s Suzy Denton.”
Suzy was glued in place when the opening strains of Bon-Jovi’s Born to Be My Baby suddenly filled the room. Oh shit, he’s not going to sing that. No way would her uptight man be up there in front of an audience preparing to belt out a rock song for her.
Beth grabbed her arm, squeezing it tight. “Oh Suzy, I can’t believe what he’s doing for you. He’s crazy, but oh man, how romantic.”
When Gray started singing the first part of the song, there was absolute silence in the audience. “Holy moly, he’s actually good, sis, I mean really good and that hip action, wow!”
“Hey, keep your eyes off my man’s hips,” Suzy growled. Oh brother, Beth was right. Gray was good. He wasn’t Jon Bon-Jovi, but he brought his own brand of sexy to the song. She wanted to march up to that stage and rip his shirt right off his back. When he got to the part of the song that said, ‘I know you’ll live in my heart until the day that I die,’ Suzy felt tears well up in her eyes. He was doing something that he knew would take him completely outside of his comfort zone. He was trying to show her with actions rather than words how much he loved her. She could never doubt the love of someone who would do something like this for her.
Suzy started making her way to the front of the room before Gray finished the song. Gray’s eyes tracked her progress as she drew closer to the stage. When he finished the last line of the song, the audience started chanting, “Suzy, Suzy, Suzy.” Oh God, they wanted her to go up on the stage. Well hell, try to stop her. If Gray could belt out a song in the name of love, she could at least kiss the man.
Nick stood at the top of the stairway to the stage as she made it up the last step. “Wipe that shit-eating-grin off of your face,” Suzy joked as she ran by him. His laughter followed her as she was suddenly under the bright lights with Gray. She didn’t bother to act coy, she literally launched herself into his arms, and he caught her in mid-air. “Oh my God, you’re crazy, but I love you,” Suzy shouted as her lips locked on his.
The cheer from the audience was deafening as Gray’s mouth devoured hers. How long they stood locked in each other’s embrace she had no idea. When Gray settled her back on her feet, he immediately went down on one knee. Suzy froze, hardly able to believe what her eyes were telling her. The audience had like-wise stilled, completely captivated by the events unfolding on the stage.
When Gray drew a box from his pocket and looked up into her eyes, Suzy could feel the tears starting to flow. “Suzy, I hardly remember a time when I haven’t loved you. Before we met, my life was mostly in shades of black, white and gray. When I first met you, color exploded in my world making everything in it exquisite and vibrant. You’re my love, my life, my heart and every color under the rainbow all rolled up into one. Please marry me and keep me outside of my comfort zone every day of my life.”
With tears running down her cheeks, Suzy shouted, “Yes! You’ve completely lost your mind, but I love you with all my heart.” Holding a trembling hand out to him, Suzy watched as Gray slid a beautiful blue sapphire ring set in platinum and surrounded by pave set diamonds onto her finger. My God he did know her. A normal engagement ring after this evening would have seemed just wrong. This ring suited her completely; it was fiery, sassy and unique.
The applause continued as they made their way from the stage. When she saw Jason and Nick standing near the steps, she walked up to hug them both. “Sorry about this, Jason, I’m sure you would have rather we took our profession of love elsewhere.”
Jason laughed and said, “Are you kidding me? We already have people scrambling to sign up for the conference next year. You can’t buy this type of advertising. I’m happy for you both, you guys deserve it. I’m pretty impressed with the singing, my brother. It took some balls to do that.”
Gray clapped Jason on the shoulder and pulled Nick in for a quick hug. “Thanks for the help. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like some time alone with my fiancé.”
Suzy snuggled against him as they made their way through the crowd. Gray had apparently picked up something of a fan club, and she figured someone would be throwing their panties at him if she didn’t get him away soon. They finally made their way to the back, and she spotted Beth waving frantically as she made her way to them.
Beth squealed and threw herself at Gray. “You totally rock future brother-in-law! Welcome to the family.”
She then turned to her sister and grabbed her ring finger. Tears were swimming in her eyes as she pulled her close. “I told you that someday you would find your prince. Our parents might believe that fairytales are silly, but you and I know the truth, don’t we?” Beth whispered.
Suzy gave her sister one last hug and allowed Gray to pull her back into his arms. Finally, she was where she’d always belonged, in the arms of the man who completely understood every crazy part of her and loved her anyway.
Gray looked down at her, “Ready to go, baby?”
Locking her gaze with his, Suzy replied, “I’m all yours, lead the way.”
Epilogue
Gray led her quickly out the door of the house that they shared on the beach. When they were both settled in the car, he took off at a fast clip. He reached over and took her hand giving her a squeeze of encouragement. “You ok, baby?”
Suzy’s face was flushed and her heart raced in excitement. “Yes, but please hurry! At the rate we are going, the baby will be born before we even make it to the hospital.”
“Honey, calm down before you have a stroke. What good is it going to do us if we have an accident on the way? I can’t risk your life by driving too fast. If the baby is born while we are in the car then it will just have to be.”
Suzy turned towards the man who filled her days and nights with such love that she literally had to pinch herself often to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. True to her word, she kept him on his toes and he kept her grounded. She couldn’t imagine how she ever thought of him as a stuffed shirt because the man definitely had a bit of freak in him.
When they finally made it to the hospital, Gray pulled up to the valet stand, grateful that the hospital offered that amenity. As he handed the keys over, he asked the valet, “Where can we find the maternity floor?”
“It’s on the third floor, sir; go left when you get off the elevator.”
Gray muttered a thanks and quickly led Suzy towards the elevator. Once inside, he rubbed her back trying to calm her. “It’s ok baby, just breathe.”
As they exited the elevator, they ran into Beth, Nick and Ella. “Hey guys, any news yet?”
Beth walked up and quickly gave them a hug. “Nothing yet and it’s making me nervous. Maybe we should ask someone at the desk.”
As Suzy approached the nurse’s station, a tired but beaming Jason walked towards her. She squealed and threw her arms around him. “How’s Claire? Where’s the baby?”
“Claire and the baby are both doing great. They’re checking her out now and then I’ll bring her out for a minute for you guys to meet.”
“She? It’s a girl!”
“Yeah, I got my two girls now. We are naming her Christina Louise.”
“After her sister and her second mom,” Suzy said softly.
“Claire was planning to name her Christina Evelyn, but her mother asked that she use Louise. She felt like she deserved the honor of having our first child named after her. Speaking of them, they’re all in the room with Claire.”
Suzy put her hand on Jason’s arm. “I’m so happy for you both. I know you’ll be wonderful parents.”
Squeezing her hand, Jason said, “Thanks Suzy, that means a lot to me. I’ll see if they’re ready for me to bring the baby out, stay right here.”
“Great, let me grab the others and we’ll be waiting.” Suzy ran back to the waiting room and motioned for everyone to follow her. When they got back, Jason was standing proudly where she’d left him with his new daughter in his arms.
There were tears of joy and laughter as everyone welcomed little Christina into the world. Suzy’s heart was full to bursting. She was standing in the circle of Gray’s arms surrounded by family and friends while she gazed into the eyes of her new Goddaughter. Even a cynical person like herself, couldn’t help but feel blessed. She’d waited a long time for her happily ever after and here in this hospital, in the hallway, she was surrounded by it. Happily ever after was neither one person nor one place, it was a collection of things that brought you peace, love and contentment, and if you were lucky, a little magic.