The Wedding Rehearsal Game Broke Me Completely Chapter 08

The Wedding Rehearsal Game Broke Me Completely Chapter 08

One year later.

I walked out of the airport, and through the crowd, I spotted Grayson right away.

He still stood out the way he always had, just thinner than I remembered.

People streamed past around him, but he stood rooted to the spot, eyes locked on me.

I paused for a second, then walked over anyway.

Over the past year, Mom had complained to me plenty.

Grayson had shown up at her door almost every month, pestering her about where I was, whether I was

doing okay.

She’d never told him.

Not until I decided to come back did I tell her,

“Next time he asks, you can tell him.”

Once I’d made up my mind to come home, there was no hiding it forever anyway.

Grayson stopped in front of me but didn’t say anything for a long moment.

He just looked at me, his eyes slowly going red.

Finally, all he managed was,

“Your hair. It’s grown out.”

I gave a small smile.

He raised his hand out of habit, the way he used to, like he wanted to ruffle my hair.

I stepped back.

His hand hung there in the air, then slowly dropped.

Whatever light had been in his eyes went out just as fast.

“Sorry.”

As I lowered my eyes, I noticed the ring on his fourth finger.

Our wedding ring.

Grayson followed my gaze, and hope flickered back into his eyes.

“I’ve spent this whole year looking for you.”

“Your mom wouldn’t tell me anything, and you’d changed your number.”

“It finally hit me. Those games were never fun for you. Not once.”

“It was me. I was the one who left you standing there, over and over.”

He talked like he was trying to say everything he’d been holding onto for a whole year, all at once.

“You’ve changed a lot. You look like you’re doing well.”

“That’s good, I guess. At least I know you didn’t spend the last year as miserable as I imagined.”

As he spoke, his thumb traced slow circles around the ring.

“I’ve kept this ring on the whole time.”

“And the one you left behind, I’ve kept that safe too.”

“Sometimes I tell myself, as long as I still have the ring, you haven’t really left.”

I didn’t interrupt.

Until Grayson took a deep breath and stepped closer.

“What I’m trying to say is, do I still have a chance to put it back on your finger?”

Before he’d even finished, a bright, easy voice called out my name from behind me.

“Lulu.”

Julian came pushing two suitcases toward us, tall and easy in his stride, shirt sleeves casually rolled to the

elbow.

He walked up beside me and easily lifted the bag off my shoulder.

“There was a line at baggage claim. Sorry, took a minute.”

“Weren’t you supposed to wait for me inside?”

Grayson stood frozen.

I took Julian’s hand and gave Grayson a calm smile.

“Let me introduce you.”

“This is my boyfriend. Julian.”