These Three Words by Holly Jacobs Read Free Book Online Page B

job. It turns out that an art degree is wonderful in theory, but not as good for getting a grown-up job. But I’d just landed a position at Harbor House Furniture and Design. I remember bubbling over with excitement.”
    I’d met JoAnn when I was still in school and we’d simply clicked. When she felt she could hire someone, I was thrilled that I’d get to work with her.
    “There was nothing monumental about the evening,” I continued. “Gray and I were just two poor, post-college kids fantasizing about a future. But I’ve thought about that night so many times since. I’d put candles all over the room, thinking my shabby-chic décor looked better in the dim flickering light.”
    I fell into the memory of that night.
    Just me, Gray, and a bottle of wine then, too.
    He’d talked about his business with Ash, about what he planned to accomplish. He’d been uncharacteristically an open book that night. Well, maybe just an open novella. But it was wonderful to hear him dream. Maybe that’s why the evening was so easy to remember.

    I’d bubbled over about my new job with JoAnn as we sat and drank in the candlelight. I wasn’t exactly tipsy, but I could feel the warmth of the wine. Or maybe it was simply a warmth that came from Gray. When I’d wound down about Harbor House, he’d wound up, talking about Steel, Inc., and shared so freely. Even at that, he wasn’t actually loquacious by others’ standards, but for Gray, he was practically gabby.
    He talked about his business plans with Ash. Big plans. Grand plans.
    I had no doubt that they’d accomplish all of them.
    “Once the business is secure, I’ll ask you to marry me,” he said out of the blue in the midst of his talk of business plans.
    “Pardon?” I was pretty sure I’d heard him right, but I couldn’t be positive.
    “When the business is on an even keel, I’ll ask you to marry me.”
    This time I was ready for the words.
    Yes, I had heard him right. I didn’t need to think about the enormity of his statement. I didn’t have to weigh my response. “When you ask me, I’ll say yes,” I’d told him. “Whenever you ask, I’ll say yes.”
    I couldn’t stop smiling. Mrs. Graham Grayson.
    No, I’d never be that.
    Addie Grayson. Yes, that had a ring to it.
    “So we’re pre-engaged,” I teased.
    Gray nodded, as serious as ever. “Yes.”
    I was suddenly caught up in a fantasy of what our lives would look like. “When we get married, we’ll buy a house up in Glenwood. One of those old brick houses where so many generations of other families lived their lives that the house has a soul, if you know what I mean.”
    Gray smiled then and shook his head. “I rarely know exactly what you mean, Addie.”
    I laughed. “Mystery is just part of my many charms. I’ll decorate the house, now that I’m well on my way to making my name in design.”
    “You just got hired,” he said in that logical way of his.
    “Every designer starts somewhere. And I’m on my way. I’ll decorate our house and then we’ll fill it with children. Probably five.”
    He looked slightly panicked.
    “Maybe just three,” I said to reassure him. He still looked skeptical so I said, “Two. One for me, one for you. And we’ll all live happily ever after.”
    “I want kids with you. Not right away, but when we’re financially settled. When my business is a success.”
    I took his hand in mine and said, “I don’t need you to be a success in order to marry you or build a family with you, you know. That was a lot of you s, but you know what I mean.”
    He nodded. “But I need me to be a success,” he said with utter certainty. “I need to be sure I can support you.”
    I knew that his father had left his mom when Gray was little. Peggy worked as a waitress to support them both. Sometimes money was tight, but Peggy always managed. But I knew just eking out a living would never suit Gray. He wasn’t mistaken—he didn’t just want to be able to support me. He needed