Grayson's Vow

by Mia Sheridan

“Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness.” —Carl Jung

Kira

“Never fret, my love, the universe always balances the scales. Her ways may be mysterious, but they are always just.”

An arrogant idea, I supposed. As if the weather should express itself according to my mood.

Today may be a very bad day, but tomorrow may be the best day of your life. You just have to hang on until you get there.

Watch what people do when they think no one’s watching, love. That’s how you’ll know who they really are.

Grayson

I made a concerted effort to wrap myself in the coldness that kept the desperation at bay.

epitome of coiffed decadence.

Something about my body’s reaction to her made me angry. Although the parts reacting had never been very discerning.

Under her cool demeanor and formal business language, she was just barely holding back a temper. She was a princess, but oh yes, just as I’d thought, she had a little witch in her too.

A selfish woman who expected life to bend to her will. And when it didn’t, she’d go to extreme lengths to bend it back, regardless of whom it hurt.

We were both desperate in our own ways. The question was: Was I desperate enough to hand over my name—even temporarily—for the cash I needed to save this vineyard and fulfill my vow?

He looked like a prince, but if I were going to cast him in a fairy tale now, I’d cast him as the dragon.

He looked like every hero in every fairy tale I’d ever dreamed come to life. And God, I wanted to believe in heroes again. But sometimes, I supposed, a girl just had to be her own hero.

I’ve found that people say what suits them in the moment.

He didn’t see me as someone giving him a gift but as someone driving him to do something he didn’t want to do. As if I hadn’t given him a choice. Well, that was fine. I didn’t need his gratitude. I needed his name.

Grayson—henceforth referred to as the Dragon—

I’d imagine you’re about as capable of monogamy as a junkyard dog. Not that that has anything at all to do with me.”

it was the first thing in a long while that had given me some hope. And I didn’t even realize until that moment how sweet that hope tasted.

Too bad his perfection was only skin deep. Damn dragon.

Apparently, I’d misjudged her at least in some small measure. I wondered what other secrets I’d discover about her if I cared to look hard enough.

little witch?”

I couldn’t help feeling like we had even more in common than either of us understood. And perhaps we’d never know the full extent, but somewhere deep down, I felt an inexplicable peace about sharing the money with him, dragon or not.

I hardly wanted her to make this seem as if it were in any way a real wedding day. It would only add to my shame.

I smiled, but it felt sad on my own lips.

Anger, and a hurt I didn’t really want to look at, burned within me.

I didn’t expect his thanks, but I also didn’t expect to feel like I was an inconvenience to his day.

I didn’t generally go back for seconds,

And yet, for some reason, I had trouble resisting the allure of meeting the challenges she dished out, trouble resisting the desire to make that fire flash in her eyes. I already craved it.

his face lighting up as if she were the sun and he had just been looking into the darkness—me being the darkness in this particular circumstance.

But then that little chin came up again and fire danced in her eyes.

too much excess time on my hands always brought out the worst in me.

I looked away because I didn’t want to think about how handsome he was and how good his soft, full lips had felt on mine when he actually put some effort into a kiss. I didn’t want to think about how I could still taste him on my tongue.

He moved a step closer. “Maybe I’m the one who’s getting a few fanciful notions.”

dyspeptic

I knew just what it felt like to be judged…and to be found severely lacking.

giving him a big, bright smile, the one I brought forth when I wanted to convince others that I had not a care in the world even if, inside, I was dying.

It was an accident. You told me so yourself.” “And yet he’s still just as dead.”

Not that I wanted to make excuses for him, but he carried the weight of betrayal. And that was a heavy load to bear.

Gossip has a way of making people forget that there’s a human being behind the story.

one of the reasons these memories hurt less than they otherwise would have.

“You were a scared child then. You’re a man now, with the courage of an adult,”

As I looked into her forgiving eyes, something inside me felt as if it unclenched and began to drift away.

I took a lock of her hair between my fingers, testing its silky texture, wishing the moon brought out its fiery highlights the way the sun did. But in this light, its fire was shadowed.

Yes, he had kindness and caring within him, but most of the time, he covered that kindness in ice and fire. And I now understood the reason.

It had always been the way with me—where my body went, my heart tended to follow. I didn’t necessarily like it, but it was true and to lie to myself would be a personal disservice.

Grayson Hawthorn could so easily destroy me if I gave him the opportunity. I’d learned that lesson once, and I didn’t care to repeat it.

Irritating little witch. Sweet, compassionate, irritating little witch.

I had married this man, and yet I’d never intended on letting Grayson Hawthorn into my private life, my private pain.