Page 91 of All In

“Gray,” Harlow says, stepping closer. I’m not looking at him, but I can tell. It’s like my body is attuned to his. I’m sure my nervous system could find him in any room that he was in. Just by the feel of his presence alone. It’s probably why I woke up when he was gone. My heart knew something was wrong. “Grayson, will you put the damn mop down and look at me?”

Sighing, I drop the mop back in the water and turn to him. He’s biting his damn lower lip again, and my heart clenches painfully. I’m so tired of making him anxious.

“I thought I’d be back before you woke up.” He frowns, and I mirror the facial expression. That doesn’t make any sense. “I need to tell you something.”

I nod, too afraid to speak.

He takes a deep breath, shaking his hands out and pulling his lip back between his teeth before releasing it. Beautiful blue eyes lock onto mine. “I didn’t want to say anything last night. I was afraid. Not like…” He shakes his head. “Not of you or anything. Not like that. I just—I never do anything slow, right? And I… Well, I owed it to you to think things over. I couldn’t just make another rash decision. My rash decisions are the reason we ended up in this position to begin with.”

My heart’s slamming against my rib cage, my vision going a little blurry. I’m not sure if it’s my nerves or tears. This is the moment. The moment I’ve been dreading since the very start.

“I’m in love with you.”

At first, I’m not sure I heard him correctly, and I pause, replaying the words in my head. I’m in love with you. No. I definitely heard them right.

Before I have a chance to answer, Harlow—in normal fashion—rambles on. “And I think I always have been. I just didn’t realize it. Which sounds stupid, right? Because how do you not know you’re in love with someone? But I talked to Josh about it, and he said… Well, he said that maybe I just—I don’t know, like, didn’t realize because I’ve just always felt this way about you, and I think that’s true, you know?”

He inhales a deep breath, and I stare at him in shock and amusement and so many other emotions. Such typical Harlow behavior, and I can’t get enough. I’ve never been able to get enough. All the things he hates about himself and his personality are the things I want forever. The things that make him so uniquely him are the reasons I fell in love with him in the first place.

“I’ve just… I’ve always felt this way about you, so I didn’t know that it wasn’t normal. I didn’t know what it was.”

“Harlow—”

“But it’s love,” he says, interrupting me. “It’s always been love. I just didn’t realize, and I’m so, so sorry.” His eyes go glassy, and my heart clenches. “I’m so sorry I didn’t know, and I’m so sorry I hurt you.”

Holding his hand out between us, he starts sliding his ring off his finger, and my stomach falls straight to the floor. I don’t understand what’s happening. “Harlow, what are you doing?”

He shakes his head, sliding the ring off entirely. “Hold your hand out.”

I lift my hand, half numb, and the ring clinks against my own as he drops it into my palm.

Dragging my eyes away from Harlow’s ring, I look up at him, trying to hide my hurt. Why did he give the ring back? I thought… He just said…

“Ask me.” His face is expectant, his eyes shiny with emotion and unshed tears.

“What?”

His eyes fall to the ring, then he lifts his gaze back to mine. “Ask me, Gray.”

Oh. Fuck. Holy fuck. “Harlow.”

He shakes his head. “Baby.”

My lips curve into a shaky smile. “Okay, then. Baby…” My heart’s beating so hard I’m sure it’s gotta be a health concern. Surely a human can’t survive this type of stress on their heart. “Will you please marry me?”

The words come out shaky and rough and garbled. With tears, I think. Harlow is so blurry it has to be tears.

He cups my face, brushing his thumb under my eye. “Yes,” he whispers.

I laugh. Or maybe I choke. Fuck, it could be a sob. I’m not sure. “Yes?” I echo.

Now Harlow’s laughing—this bright, joyous sound that goes straight to my heart. “Yeah, Gray. Or rather, I’ll stay married to you. Forever, please. You know me pretty well, which means you already know I can be a little annoying and demanding and—”

I cut him off with my lips on his. I’ve pictured this so many times. So many fucking times. I never, ever imagined that it would be like this. That I would be standing barefoot in the kitchen with wet floors. That we’d already be married. But somehow, it’s even better than all the things I’ve conjured up in my head.

Because it’s real. Because Harlow is clinging to me like he can’t get close enough. Because I know the exact way his tongue tastes. I know the way he feels in my arms after sex, how soft and pliant he gets. Because of all the things we’ve shared.

It’s so, so much sweeter than I thought it would be. I could have never dreamed up something this perfect. Never.