Never Let Me Go: Part 2 (11 page)

“You didn’t have to do that,” I whispered.

“Yes, I did. I won’t tolerate anyone making you feel less than who I know you are. They can go fuck themselves. I don’t need to do business with him, but he sure as hell needs my business.” He kissed me gently. “I love you, Kitten.”

“I love you, too. Thank you for being my knight in shining armor.” I touched his cheek.

“I may not always be the white knight but know that I’ll always protect you.” He kissed me again. “Now, how about we grab the limo so we can go back to the hotel and I can unwrap my present.” He fingered the zipper on my dress, a wicked grin on his face.

PARIS, ONE OF MY FAVORITE
places in the world. Grace was asleep on the bed. Jet lag was a wicked beast. I wanted this trip to be magical for her. She deserved it after what she went through at the wedding. I wanted to take her everywhere, to have her see all of my favorite things.

We had plans to see my sister, Leah, while we were here, but there were more pressing matters I wanted to attend to before then. After Paris, we were headed to London to spend some time with her younger sister, Charity. I knew how much Grace missed her. I had arranged it all before leaving for California.

I sat in the living room of our suite with a little blue box in my hand. She was my one. The only other person I would ever need until the day I died. I hoped to God she felt the same way, and I wasn’t about to jump the gun.

As the sun skated farther across the sky, and light poured in through the windows, I went to wake Grace up.

“Kitten, it’s time to get up.” I brushed my lips against her ear.

“Mmmm.” She rolled over and slapped at me to get me to stop talking.

“Come on sleepyhead, get out of bed. We’re in Paris. I want to take you exploring.” I laughed.

One eye opened and glared at me. “What time is it? I swear to God if you tell me it’s before seven I’m going to murder you.

“It’s past eight. I let you sleep in a bit.” I yanked the covers off of her and pulled her to her feet. “Come on, let’s get showered and dressed. We have a busy day ahead of us.”

She grumbled as she shuffled off to the bathroom ahead of me. I could only smile. This was going to be the best day of my life. I hoped.

After her second cup of coffee, Grace was more herself. “Where are we going today?” she asked in between bites of her croissant.

“Everywhere, Kitten. I want you to see everything.” I grinned and stole a piece of her breakfast.

I took her to the Louvre first. I had spent a lot of time here in the past. Not so much for the art, but for the overall feeling of the place.

“I could live here and be happy forever,” she sighed as we strolled along looking at paintings.

“Here in the museum or here in Paris?”

“Paris. It’s so beautiful here. But maybe the museum too.” She grinned and walked ahead of me.

I grabbed her hand and whirled her around for a kiss. The smile on her face was mesmerizing; I had to remind myself to look at the paintings. I could watch her for hours. Seeing it all through her eyes

“Why have you never moved to Paris?” she asked after we left the museum.

“I actually lived here for a bit a few years ago when we had some trouble with the European branch of the company.”

“What made you move back to New York?” She twirled a lock of flaxen hair around her finger as we walked.

“Leah loves it here. She was already engaged to Henri, so there was no way I would ask her to move to New York. Plus, she gives me a good excuse to come visit.”

“You are so perfect. You know that, right?” She grinned at me and pulled me in for a kiss.

“Why do you say that?”

“You left a place you loved so your sister would be happy. In my book, it doesn’t get better than that. ” She sighed and pressed a kiss to my cheek.

“I can be a nice guy when I want to be.” I took her hand in mine and we kept walking. The box in my pocket felt like it would burst into flames if I didn’t get it out soon. I wanted to wait for the perfect moment, sunset. But maybe there was no such thing as perfect, only our version of it.

“You do that a lot you know,” she said as we walked.

“Do what?”

“Put other people’s needs ahead of your own. You better be careful, or people are going to think you’ve gone soft.”

“What if I don’t care what they think? As long as you’re happy, I’m happy.” I kissed her again; I couldn’t get enough of her lips. The little sounds she made as I kissed her drove me wild.

“Where are we going now?” she asked, a little breathless.

“I don’t know, just exploring I think.” I squeezed her hand.

We walked along the Seine on the way to my perfect location.

“What is that?” she asked as we approached the Pont des Arts bridge. Thousands of locks were attached to the chain-link fence that lined the bridge.

“Those are the love locks. People attach them to the fence as a symbol of their love. So anyone who stops to read them will know how much they love each other,” I explained as we walked past.

“God, that’s so romantic.” She pressed a hand to her heart, her eyes shining. “So much love in one place.” She stopped to read a few. “
Antione and Stella, one heart
.” She turned another over to read it, “
Frances and Melanie together forever
. Seriously, these are so amazing.”

I pulled a tiny gold padlock out with our names and today’s date engraved on it. “Do you want to put one on?” I handed it over to her, and she read the inscription.
Logan and Grace, in love for all time.

“You think of everything, don’t you?” She beamed at me before locking it into place on the fence.

“Now everyone will know how much I love you.” I pulled her in and dipped her back before kissing her quickly.

“Don’t you think this is amazing? So many people have put a lock on this bridge. Now we’re part of it. It’s so romantic, this place, all this love. I’ve never experienced anything like it.”

This was it, my moment. It didn’t get any more perfect.

“Grace..” My hand tightened on the tiny box in my pocket. Suddenly, words failed me. How could I put into words what she meant to me?

She turned to face me. “What?”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too, honey.” She smiled.

“From the moment I saw you sitting in the bar, I knew you would be someone special. Letting you leave is something I can’t change, but I can promise you that I will never let you walk away from me again. You’ve opened my eyes to what love can be. I can never go back to the way I was before.” My voice was thick with emotion. God, I loved her so much. “You’ve challenged me and made me see things about myself I thought were long dead. I was the man without a heart, never wanting to feel anything. I never wanted a relationship, seeing how my parents were while I was growing up smashed that to pieces. You made me want more. Need more. You’re it for me, Kitten. We were made for each other. I want to be yours forever, and for you to be mine.” I dropped to my knee in front of her.

Her lips formed a perfect “o” of surprise as she watched me open the tiny blue box to reveal the ring I had designed for her. A three-carat round solitaire on a narrow band of diamonds. Simple and unfussy, just like Grace.

“I want to love you forever, Kitten. To take care of you, to grow old with you. I want a big house that’s filled with our kids. I want it all, baby. Marry me, Grace. Marry me and make me the happiest man alive.”

Her hand covered her mouth as tears streamed down her cheeks. “Logan, I…”

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A huge thank you to my betas T and Tricia, you both were a huge help!!! Thank you to Kristen, and my Gibson Girls, love you ladies!!

Jessica Gibson is a recovering bookaholic, she's down from four books a week to a more reasonable one. It was that love of words and creativity that made her dream about writing her first book. That dream was hidden for years, always put on the back burner, filed away in the "someday" section, until her husband Matt gave her the kick in the pants she needed to actually get off her butt and write.

Jessica and Matt live in Southern California and have a serious addiction to reality tv shows like Pawn Stars and American Restoration. They have one amazing son who runs circles around them both.

Aside from writing, she runs an online event planning business called the Release Day Diva. In addition to novels, Jessica writes and maintains the blog Book on the Bright Side. Keep up with Jessica and her latest releases and events on her blog.