Keeping You Forever (A Harbor Love Series) (17 page)

“
D
o you think she is going to like this?” Tyler asked as he looked into the glass box at the jewelry counter.

“Of course she is going to like it. It’s beautiful and what girl would not love a pair of diamond earrings for Christmas,” Paige said. “Trust me, she is going to love it and if you are unsure you could always add this matching eternity diamond necklace. It’s a sweet way to tell her you will love her for eternity without the whole diamond ring deal.”

 “You think I should buy her a diamond ring instead?” Tyler said as he looked at the earrings one more time.

Paige was shocked and turned around, whipping her hair off her shoulders “Wait a minute are you saying you would buy my sister a diamond ring and ask her to marry you?”

 He took a minute to think about the possibility of spending the rest of his life with Grace and he knew that it would make him the happiest man in the world to spend his life with her and get married and have a few kids. But he also knew that he had to take things slow with her, she said she loved him but he wasn’t sure how she would handle a proposal. The thought of her closing herself up again was enough to make him want to run out of that jewelry store. “Marrying your sister would make me the happiest man in the world, but I might ruin everything right now if I give her a diamond ring on Christmas Eve.” The thoughts of marrying Grace ran through his mind a mile a minute. He wanted nothing more than to get down on one knee and ask her to spend the rest of her life with him. “I’m right aren’t I?” He asked, questioning he own thoughts and considering buying the ring.

  Paige looked around the store and back at Tyler, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against the glass counter. She looked in straight in the eyes and it was a look that told him she meant business. “Can you stand here right now and tell me that you love my sister with all your heart and she is it for you?”

 Nodding his head, he shoved his hands in his pockets and took a deep breath. “I love her more than my own life. She hit me like a train and I can’t get her out of my head. Being without her just isn’t even something I want to think about.”

 “Wow! I knew you felt something for her but not like this. Grace is a lucky girl to have you. Now that I know how you really feel and that you will love my sister till the end of days I say screw the earrings. Diamond ring is the way to go.” She sighed and patted Tyler on the arm. “Your balls are safe around me, now that I know that you love my sister. But don’t fuck this up, or they are going to get it,” she said with her finger poking him in the arm.

 “You know your obsession with my balls is starting to freak me out.”

 “You will learn to get used to it. Besides I have a new pair of balls to obsess about. Grayson’s are starting to grow on me.”

 “You are very weird,” he shook his head as he walked over to the glass counter that held all of the diamond rings.

 Tyler looked at every ring in the store that day until he could barely even think straight. With Paige’s help he picked a ring that he knew Grace would love. The ring was a pear shape halo diamond, with little diamonds all around the band was sure to make Grace fall even more in love with him Paige told him. Before he even left the store he felt the nerves start to build. How was he going to walk around for the next day knowing what was in his pocket and not tell her? He wanted it to be special and he wanted to make sure everything was perfect when he asked her to marry him.

 Christmas Eve was finally here. The lights on the tree twinkled and Paige put on some Christmas music while Autumn finished wrapping the last of the gifts she bought for her sisters.

 “Do you think they are going to be here soon?” Paige asked as she looked out the window to see if she could see her sister and Tyler.

 “They will be here soon. Grace said she wanted to finish up wrapping your present. I think she said it was some sort of mouth filter,” Autumn said and shrugged her shoulders. “What is wrong with you? Get away from the window! Why are you in such a hurry for them to get here?”

 Paige chewed on her thumb nail and looked out the window one more time. “No reason I just… I am nervous that’s all”

Autumn put the tape down and looked at her sister with a confused look on her face. “Ok spill it. You are never nervous or this anxious for Grace to come home. What is going on?”

 “Nothing is going on! Why would anything be going on? Nothing is going on.” Paige was definitely nervous.

 “Paige Carter, what are you hiding?”

 “This is killing me; you know I can’t keep secrets.”

“What the hell is going on Paige? What do you know that I don’t know?”

 Paige took a deep breath and spun around toward Autumn, she couldn’t hold back anymore. “Here it goes… Tyler is going to ask Grace to marry him! That is… if he hasn’t already, but I am pretty sure if he did Grace would have called and said something,” she said quickly.

 Her mouth dropped open and she stood there shocked and wide eyed, Autumn could not believe what she was hearing. “How long have you known about this?”

 “Just a day or two. I went with Tyler to pick out the ring.”

 Autumn threw a bow at Paige and ran across the room to where she was standing. “You did what? How could you not tell me about this? Grace is going to get married? Oh shit! What if she says no?”

 “Great way to stay positive Autumn. She is not going to say no when she sees the gigantic ring he bought her.”

 “Oh wow, Denny is going to be so pissed. I can’t wait to see that scum bags face when he finds out Grace is getting married. He came into Geddys the other night and got wasted and just about starting crying his pants off about Grace. I told him to suck it up that he blew it when he screwed half the town and the tourist passing through.”

Autumn and Paige spent the next hour pacing and wrapping gifts while waiting for Grace and Tyler. When a knock came from the front door.

 “Grace has a key why would she knock?” Paige asked, getting up from the floor to open the door.

 “Maybe it’s the Grinch and he is coming to steal our presents!” Autumn giggled.

  It was cold that night and a gust of wind blew in and hit Paige in the face as she opened the door to find Grayson standing on her door step. He looked like a walking sex toy to her and her lips tipped in a sexy smile.

 “Well, you are no Santa, but I would love to sit on your lap,” she said and rested her hand on his shoulder.

 “Hi Paige. I know you are probably busy but I wanted to stop by and give you your Christmas present early.” His hands were behind his back and he smiled as his eyes took in the sight of her.

 “You bought me a Christmas present? Let me see it, I want it now,” Paige said clapping her hands together.

 “Ok close your eyes,” Grayson whispered.

 His voice was deep and raspy and it drove her crazy whenever he whispered in her ear. She closed her eyes and peaked through one and smiled at him.

 “Close both eyes. You are peeking.”

 “Oh come on I am dying here, just give it to me,” Paige whined.

 Her words made him laugh and he pulled the little box out from behind his box and held it out in front of him. “Open your eyes.”

 She opened them slowly and saw a little red bow with a tiny green bow on top and her stomach fluttered. “What is it,” she said as she grabbed the box.

 “You have to open it to find out.”

 She looked at the box and put it up to her ear and shook it. Nothing made a noise or rattled and she smiled at him again as she opened the box slowly. Her mouth fell open and her eyes watched the little sparkle coming from the box. “These are beautiful Grayson,” she said as she looked at the heart shaped diamond earrings in the box. She jumped into his arms wrapping her legs around him, almost knocking him back and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her and he kissed her back.

  “Well it looks like you guys are having a Merry Christmas. You should probably watch your balls though man, she has an obsession with them,” Tyler said as he walked up the drive way with Grace.

 Paige’s lips never left Grayson’s as she gave Tyler the middle finger. After a few seconds Paige broke the kiss and Grayson put her down slowly, giving her one more quick kiss.

 “I take it that means you like your present,” he said.

 “I love it. And…uh… speaking of gifts? Tyler?” she asked

 He shook his head and mouthed the words ‘tonight’ so Grace could not hear him.

 “Let me see your present, Paige,” Grace said, letting go of Tyler’s hand to hold the little red box. “Wow, good job Grayson. This man knows how to give a gift.”

 Paige looked back at Tyler and winked, letting him know that his choice was going to make Grace very happy. Tyler spent the entire morning a nervous wreck. As the day went on he thought he was going to completely lose it and just ask her in the middle of the street just to get it over with because the not knowing was killing him. There were only a few more hours before Christmas Eve was over and the box was starting to burn a hole in his pocket. After dinner, presents and spending time with Grace and her sisters and friends Tyler wanted to take her back home and ask her the question that had been on his mind all night.

 “Are you alright Tyler? You have been quiet all day and tonight… you really didn’t say much,” Grace asked as they walked back to his house.

  Putting his arm around her waist and pulling her close to him he kissed the side of her head and looked down at her. “I am fine. I’m just tired that’s all,” he said trying to hide the nervousness in his voice.

 She could tell something was bothering him. All night he looked like something had been on his mind or in a bad mood. She hoped that he was just tired and tomorrow would be different. They walked in silence the whole way home and when he got to the door step he felt the wave of nerves hit him again. He put his hand in his pocket and squeezed the little black box in his pocket and took a deep breath. “Do it now and stop waiting” he said to himself and turned, almost pushing Grace down the porch step. “Shit I am sorry Grace, are you ok?” He said, grabbing her arm.

 “I am fine. Tyler what is going on with you tonight?” A million thoughts raced through her mind and the only one she could focus on was that he was either going to leave her or tell her he changed his mind about how he felt. She felt sick all of the sudden just from the thought of it.

 “Can we go inside please?”

“No Tyler. Tell me right now what is wrong.  I am not going inside with you unless you tell me what is wrong right now.” She pulled her hand out of his and took a step back. She could feel her heart breaking again and wanted to turn around and run before she had to hear the words he was about to say.

 His hand squeezed the ring box again and he knew it time to tell her and reached for her hand pulling her back to him. “Grace, wait. It’s not what you think it is. Fuck this is harder than I thought it was going to be,” he said taking a deep breath.

 “Tyler…” she could feel the tears in her eyes and tried to hold them back, but they started to fall one by one down her cheek.

     “Grace, please don’t cry. Please. Look at me,” he said, tilting her head up to look into her eyes. “I love you Grace. I know it sounds crazy when I say it out loud because it’s only been a little while but I love you and nothing is going to change that, no one” Taking another deep breath he wiped another tear from her face and looked into her eyes. “Marry me, spend the rest of your life with me and let me make you happy.”

 Her world stopped, everything was spinning as she heard the words he just said. She waited so long for Denny to say them and he never did. It made her feel like no one could ever want her forever, but here stood this man who wanted nothing more than to make her happy and spend the rest of his life with her. “Tyler I… I thought you were going to tell me you didn’t want to be with me anymore,” she said and wiped another tear with the back of her hand.

 “Marry me Grace,” he held the box out and opened it. “Let me make you happy and love you forever. I want you Grace and no one else. You make me feel alive and I never felt like this before and I don’t want it to ever end. I love you Grace Carter and I want you even if that comes with a crazy sister who wants to kill my balls. I love you, marry me,” he said.