“You changed your hair?—”
Without hesitation, my right hand swings out and smacks theside of his face with a harsh slap that echoes through the empty street.
I regret it immediately, but don’t say a word.
Grayson rubs his cheek and nods, keeping his eyes down. “I deserved that.”
My eyes water, a mix of emotions swirling inside me. I want to jump into his arms, kiss his full lips, and thank him for the gifts, yet I don’t want to give in so easily after two weeks of no contact and almost a month of not seeing each other.
“Say something, Princess.” He tilts my chin up so our eyes meet. The nickname gives me goose bumps, and I hate how my body reacts to him.
My teeth grind together. “Two. Weeks,” I grit out, and step back before I do something else I’ll regret. “I haven’t heard from you in two. Weeks.”
“Did you get my gifts?” he asks in such a quiet tone I almost don’t catch it.
“Yes, and they were amazing.” I throw my arms in the air. “But you don’t send anything, text me, or call me for two weeks, skipping over New Year’s entirely, and now what? You expect me to jump into your arms when I have no idea what the hell you were up to?” He opens his mouth to speak, and I hold up a hand to stop him. “Those presents meant a lot to me, Grayson, but you had the upper hand the entire time. You had my number and address, while I had absolutely nothing for almost a month. Where were you?” I swallow past the lump in my throat.
His sad eyes look between mine. “I’m sorry, Emma, but there’s a reason for all of this. I had to do a few things before coming back to you.” Grayson takes a cautious step toward me, as if I might run away, but I stay put, needing to hear his explanation. “I never stopped wanting to be with you. I wouldn’t have asked you to wait if I wasn’t one thousand percent sure I was coming back.”
“I still don’t understand.” He’s talking but isn’t really saying anything.
“Let me show you,” he responds, and I shake my head in confusion. Grayson smiles sadly. “Please, just come with me, and I’ll explain everything there.”
Scoffing, I adjust my bag. “Give me one reason why I should.”
“Because I love you,” he breathes out, and his body sags as if he’s been holding on to a massive secret.
My mind goes blank, and my heart stops at the three words I’ve been waiting to hear longer than I realized I had.
“I’ve also been waiting on those steps for four hours, and my toes feel like they’re about to fall off. I need to get somewhere warm.”
I nod absentmindedly, still in shock and unsure of what to say. Words are just words until they’re not, and for now, they’re only words.
Wait—he waited outside my house for four hours when he could have just knocked on the door?
“How did you know I wasn’t home?”
Grayson rubs the back of his neck. “Your dad told me.”Oh jeez.“Then he said that if I really cared about you, I’d wait until you got back from wherever you were.” I stifle a laugh. My dad is really putting him through the wringer. He knew where I was and what time I usually get back. “But your mom was very kind and came outside to give me a thermos with hot chocolate in it.” He smiles and lifts the cream-colored thermos, decorated with blue bows, that I used to use in high school.
Of course, she gave him that one.
“Why didn’t you call me?”
He smiles. “I wanted to prove to your parents that I love you.” A hummingbird makes it into my stomach. “I would’ve waited all night for you, Emma. It’s the least you deserve.”
Pursing my lips, I give him a once-over, acting as if his words haven’t affected me at all; meanwhile, it’s something I’ve been waiting for a man to say my entire life. Still, waiting four hourswhen I had to wait almost a month to see him and two weeks of no contact doesn’t seem like quite enough…
“There’s a ball tomorrow,” I announce.
He frowns. “Okay? Are you going to this ball?”
Keeping my lips straight, I nod. “It’s the one event my parents want me to go to because it has a theme to it.”
Grayson quickly guesses the theme they picked this year. “Another masquerade ball?”
“Yes, and I know you despise these snooty rich people’s events.” He shrugs, not disagreeing. “Which is why I’ll see you there.”
I turn toward the staircase and take my first step when I feel a hand wrap around my wrist. The touch itself is electrifying. Desperate blue-green eyes meet mine, and I know he wants me to leave with him tonight, but it’s my turn to have some control over this relationship after weeks of feeling powerless.