“Can I give you my heart and my name?”
“What?” My nose tingled as I realized he was doing what I thought he was doing.
“Will you marry me, Grace?
“Marry you?” I stupidly repeated. He started to turn into a blurry vision in front of me as my glasses started to fog up.
“You’re already mine, Gracie. I’m yours. You know that.”
“I do.”
“So let’s make it official.”
“Are you messing around with me right now?”
“Not one bit.”
“If this is a joke…”
“Marry me, baby. Let me be a part of your family. Let me be a dad to Lexi. I love you both. I don’t think I could love her more if she were my own blood.” And I knew he was being a hundred percent sincere. He adored Lexi, and she adored him.
“This is fast.”
“When you know, you know.” He wasn’t wrong about that.
“And you know? I mean, about us? Or like me?” I rambled. He smiled and leaned his handsome face down to kiss our joined hands.
“Nervous?” I scoffed, feeling the ring box between us.
“No,” I totally lied.
“No to being nervous, or no to my proposal?” He frowned. I couldn’t believe I had made such a mess of his sweet proposal. So much, I giggled nervously.
“Yes. No. I mean…” My cheeks warmed, and I closed my eyes. “I’ll marry you,” I whispered, and when I opened them, I was almost blinded by the brightness of his smile. He stood and lifted me in his arms, my legs wrapping around his waist. “Marc! You’re going to hurt yourself.”
“Hardly.” He smiled, his lips coming down on mine.
My hands held on to his shoulders, and I let myself get lost in his kiss. It was slow and tentative. He took his time, was unrushed and sweet. I heard the door slam shut as he walked us into the house. Vaguely aware we were in the hallway, I felt the wall against my back. His mouth trailed down to my neck, and I tightened my grip around his waist as I tilted my head to give him better access. God, his mouth felt good. He was talented and observant and used his amazing powers for good as he teased me and worked my body up into a puddle of hot desire.
“More,” I unashamedly begged, having been missing his touch. When his teeth skimmed my neck, my entire body shivered.
“Laundry room,” he whispered roughly against my skin, and I whimpered, feeling the wetness pooling between my thighs. He gripped my ass and walked us to the back of the house, shut the laundry room door behind him, and immediately set me down onto the washing machine.
“Marc…”
“You know how many times I’ve jerked off to the idea of loving you in here?”
“Really?”
“Fuck.” He took a deep breath, his forehead resting against mine, his big, strong, sexy body between my legs. “You said yes.”
“Yes.” I grinned. He turned the light on and pulled out the box he must have slipped into his pocket. Then he slipped the ring on my finger. My ring. His ring.
A ring I couldn’t get myself to look at. My eyes stayed glued to his face. His expression was soft yet primal as he took in the sight of his ring on my finger. “Fucking terrified you were going to say no, Grace.”
“I don’t think I could ever say no to you, Marc.”
“Love you, baby.”
“Love you too,” I told him and kissed him gently. I pulled away to see the rock on my finger. “Oh my God, Marc. This is too much…”
“No, it’s perfect.” It was. Absolutely prefect. A two carat princess cut diamond over a platinum band. It was beautiful.
“I love you.” I looked at him and held his face. “This is crazy, but I love you and I’ve never been more sure about what I want than what I want with you, Marc.”
“Thank god.” He smiled and kissed me. Our bodies were warm, and the moment only got warmer as we lost more and more of our clothes.
***
He was sitting on the floor, his back against the washing machine, his hands around my waist, my head resting back, as we both caught our breath.
Round one had taken place with me sitting on the edge of the machine while our hands roamed in a frenzy of need and passion. The second, I had been bent forward while he had pounded away roughly until we came together.
“We should get dressed.”
“Mmm…” His face moved to my shoulder. I loved how we fit. “Love you, sweetness.”
“Love you too, but I need to finish packing and—”
“Shh. Flight is tomorrow. A private plane. Gabby was in on me being here. She has Lexi. But we do have to get ready.”
“For?”
“Surprise.” I could feel him smiling and looked at him.
“Surprise, huh?”
“Yup.” I turned to look at him. His very satisfied gaze fell to my lips.
“Trust me.”
“Okay, pretty boy. Let’s get ready then.”
***
Wearing a one-shoulder, royal blue, fitted dress that hit right above my knee and white heels, I carefully got out of his car as I held the hand he offered. The whole drive I had been so busy in conversation with him I hadn’t been paying attention to where we were going. Now, I looked beyond him just as the valet took his car. I looked back at him, smiling.
“Marc?” I asked, surprised, but he only smiled at me. “What?”
“Come on, sweetness.” He held my hand tighter, and I followed him.
The Ritz-Carlton was busy, as I imagined it usually was, but as we stepped in, I could feel the stares and hushed murmurs. We were walking side by side when he leaned down and whispered into my ear.
“You look so fucking beautiful in that dress. Everyone’s whispering, wondering how the hell I got so fucking lucky.” I giggled, my cheeks warming at his silver-tongued compliment, and shook my head.
“It’s because you’re my Mr. Wright,” I told him. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked at me, obviously surprised.
“Yeah, I am,” he responded in a deep voice before he pulled me in and kissed me thoroughly on the lips. Before pulling away fully, he slid his nose over mine, and I wished we were alone instead of in the lobby of a semi-crowded hotel.
Someone cleared their throat, making us both turned our heads.
“Mr. Wright. Miss Rivera. It is great to have you back.”
“Manny, is everything…”
“Ready, Sir. If you would both follow me.”
“Marc, what’s going on?” I asked as we followed the hotel manager toward the elevators.
He opened his mouth then shut it. I was about to ask again when he winked and brought my hand up to his lips just as we reached the elevators.
“Go right in, Sir.”
“Thanks, Manny.” The older gentleman nodded at Marc and beamed at me.
“Congratulations, Miss Rivera.” His expression was warm, and I felt a blush cover my face as he looked down at my left hand.
“Thank you, Manny.”
The elevators opened, and I took a step back, bumping into Marcus’ strong frame from the surprise.
“Oh my…”
“Surprise,” he whispered into my ear. I giggled.
Bright gold, pink, and black helium balloons filled the top of the elevator ceiling, a veil of golden ribbons hanging down. When he took my hand in his, I followed without any apprehension whatsoever of being confined in the small space.
“How did you…”
“Magic.” He winked and took me into his arms. The doors closed, and just when it started to go up, he let go of me and pressed the stop button, jerking the elevator to a halt.
“What are you—” I started to ask, but he put a finger up to silence me. Taking out his phone, he pressed a couple of buttons, and the small space filled with music.
But not just any kind of music. “Jazz?” I asked him, and he shrugged. He took me in his arms, and we swayed to the beautiful melodic beats.
“I like dancing with you.”<
br />
“Me too.” My voice was slightly low. “You surprise me,” I admitted, and his fingers lifted my chin up to meet his stare.
“Happy surprise, I hope.”
“Of course. It’s just…”
“What?”
“Aren’t I the one who writes romance?”
“What can I say? My new job as your man is to inspire.” He winked. I laughed softly. He led our dance, while his fingers skimmed my bare skin with feather-light touches.
“You okay?” he asked, and I looked up at him in wonder.
“More than okay.”
“I need to tell you something,” he said before turning me halfway, his front pressed to my back, his arms around my waist as we swayed to the beat.
“Hmm?”
“I asked Lexi, Gloria, and Gabby for permission to ask you to marry me.” He kissed the spot where my neck met my shoulder, and I melted further into his body. “They gave me the green light.”
“Obviously.” I smirked. He pressed his cheek to mine.
“I asked Gloria to get the paperwork started so that I could adopt Lexi. If that’s okay with you.” My feet stopped swaying, and I turned to look at him.
“You did?”
He swallowed hard, making his Adam’s apple bob. He was nervous. “I love you, and I love her. You know I love her like my own blood, Grace. I want her protected and taken care of.”
“You want to be her dad?” I asked. My eyes burned with unshed tears.
“I want it all. I want to be her dad. I want to have more kids with you. I want you to lie in my arms every night for the rest of our lives.”
“I want that too,” I whispered. He closed the space between us, wiping away the tears that escaped. “Can I cash in the hotel stay rain check?” I asked, and he laughed.
“Tonight.”
“Right now?” I stood on the tips of my toes and kissed him deeply. My hand ran through his now short cropped hair. “Please.” He groaned and flipped us around, caging me in between the elevator wall and his body.
“After.”
“After what?” I asked breathlessly, enjoying the air we shared and the way his body was hard pressed up against me.
He pressed the stop button on the elevator keyboard, and the elevator jolted again. This time, it didn’t frighten me. It moved up to the roof.
“Kiss me again before the doors open, sweetness,” he ordered, and I was more than happy to obey. We got lost in the haze of passion and desire. The elevator stopped, and he pulled away from me just as it pinged its arrival. I wiped his lower lip clean of my lipstick.
“I love you, Grace.” His eyes were hungry, not hiding his desire for me.
“Love you too, Marc,” I whispered just as the doors opened and a melody of ‘SURPRISE!’ rang in the air.
What looked to be all our family and friends was on the rooftop. I looked back at him. He grinned at them and took my left hand, shouting back, “She said YES!”
I laughed as he pulled me close and held me tight in his arms as those we loved cheered and cat-called.
“Mommy! I knew you would say yes!” Lexi said, who was now in Marcus’ arms. “Are we a family now, Mom?”
“Yeah.” I sniffled, letting my happy tears flow. “Yeah, baby, we’re a family.”
Lexi leaned in and whispered loudly, “I knew he was it for us, Mom, I knew it! I knew he wouldn’t give up till he got it.”
“Got what?” I asked her, and she winked.
“Our heart.” She smiled and rolled her eyes playfully. Both Marcus and I laughed.
Our engagement rooftop party was filled with laughter and love and tons of dancing, which was a good prediction of what the rest of our lives were going to be like.
Epilogue
Four years later
Marcus
He was sitting, Lexi’s head snuggled in close as they watched Monster High. He had no idea what the hell was going on in the movie, but he knew that his girl was loving the music as she softly sang along.
“Dad, you think we can go to Montana soon? Nicola called and said there was a new pony on the ranch.” His throat still tightened every time she called him that.
Legally, he had adopted Lexi the same day Grace and he had been married. It wasn’t until about three months later on a trip back home that she had asked him if she could call him Dad. Gruff with emotion, he had nodded, and she had thrown her little body close against his, hugging him tightly. She hadn’t called him anything else since.
“Yeah, honey.” Nicola and his parents lived full-time on the ranch now. They were more than happy about their new instant granddaughter and had fallen in love with Lexi from the moment they had first met her. Just like he had.
Then last year, they had added another little lady to their family. Layla Wright had just turned a year old two weeks earlier and was a bouncy ball of energy with dark hair, tanned skin like her mom, and eyes like her daddy.
“Are you nervous?” she asked, tilting her head up to him, her green eyes on him.
“You worried about me, pretty lady?”
“No,” she scoffed, and his own lips twitched as he tried to fight his grin. Lexi was so much like her mother in so many different ways. “If you win, will you say my name in your acceptance speech?”
“Of course, Lexi. You’re my girl.” He hugged her and kissed the top of her head.
“If you don’t win, make sure you keep smiling. They always put the cameras on the losers.” He chuckled and nodded.
“I’ll remember.”
“Mom, Layla, and I will still love you if you don’t win. You know that, right?” She sat straighter, looking at her hands, and his heart flip-flopped. She wanted to reassure him because she was worried about him.
“Lex, look at me.” Her green eyes met his, and he smiled at her, holding her hand. “I know my girls love me. Just like you girls know I love you. This thing today…”
“Dad, it’s more than just a thing! It’s the—”
“I know. It’s big. But it’s not the end all, be all. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Da-Da!” Layla wobbled toward him. He smiled and picked her up.
“Hey, baby. “
“LeLe!” She extended her arms out to Lexi and grabbed her.
“Okay, guys,” Grace said as she stepped into the living room. His mouth went dry as he took in the golden vision that was his wife in her beautiful designer gown. “Tia Gabby is here. We need to get going.”
“Babe…”
“One sec, baby. What do you think, Lex?”
“You look like a movie star.” She smiled and got off the couch so she could admire her mother from up closer.
“I love you, baby. My make-up okay?”
“It’s great. I love the lip color!”
“Okay, Lexi. Tia Gloria is coming over later and so are your grandparents.
“They are?” His head popped up, and Grace smiled.
“They want to surprise you, so you know, act surprised.” She winked at him, and he smirked, shaking his head. His own dad had told him about their plans a week ago. They would be at the house, which was also why he had reserved the penthouse suite at the Ritz for the night.
“Gracie.”
“Hold on. What do you think about these shoes?” He could feel her nervous energy
“Sweetness, come here.” She looked at him and shook her head, giving him a mischievous little smile, and walked over to him. His eyes were glued to her as her hips swayed hypnotically. He swallowed hard. She was fucking sexy as hell. More beautiful every day that passed.
She sat on his lap, and he looked at her dark brown eyes. “I love you, Graciela Wright.” She smiled like she always did when he said her full name, his attempt of saying it in Spanish not very good.
“I love you too, pretty boy. You ready?”
“Always.” He smiled and stood after she got off his lap. After saying good-bye to his girls, he opened the door for Grace, and hand in hand they stepped
out into the sun.
***
From the moment their driver opened the door when they arrived at the Dolby Theatre, everything had been a blur. He had talked to reporter after reporter. About fatherhood, to what he was wearing, to the future movies his production company was going to kick off and currently filming.
Grace had held his hand the entire time, that was until it was her turn to talk about her own contribution to the film. She had been snubbed best original screenplay in his book, but being Grace, she shrugged it off, winked at him, and jumped into their next project together.
When she had handed him the signed rights, she had also included a flash drive with the screenplay. He’d been shocked when he’d seen it.
Now they sat hand in hand, last year’s winner up on the stage, and he was amazingly calm. She squeezed his hand, and he looked at her.
“Nervous?” she asked, worry in her eyes, and he grinned, shaking his head.
“Not at all. Is that weird?” he asked in a hushed tone, tilting his head closer to hers so that no one would be able to tell what he was telling her.
“You sure? This is your first nomination, Marc. It would be completely normal if—” But he didn’t let her keep talking. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the top of her wedding band.
“I already won, Grace,” he told her and loved the way her face softened. “I won the moment you forgave me for being a dumbass. I won the moment you said yes to marrying me, then again when you said ‘I do.’” Her eyes went glassier as he kept sharing, “I won the moment you let me adopt Lexi and when you gave me another daughter.” He smiled, and she sniffled.
Choked up with emotion, she leaned in and kissed him just as the announcer started to say, “And the winner is…”
LIE (Right Men Book 1) Page 30
