Page 191 of Fighting Chance

Grayson side eyes me. “That’s not even a word.”

Waving him off I slide the monkey head on, surprised to feel how quickly it gets hot. “Is it bad I hope someone takes a photo sowe have documentation of this?” Jumping, I spin on my heel. “Ooh! Let’s vlog buying it! We can show Bella after.”

Grayson objects, of course, his head shaking, but I ignore him. This is the happiest I’ve felt in weeks.

Who knew I just needed to put a giant monkey head on to feel something?

“How the hell do you even know how to vlog?”

“You don’t watch vlogs?”

“No.”

“Missing out, Cap.”

Whipping out my phone, I set it up on the back of Grayson’s truck, hit record, and give it a thumbs-up. I can barely see out of the two eyes but I can see just enough to grab the matching monkey head and shove it down on Grayson’s head.

“Hey!” He stumbles back from the force, almost falling over.

Turning back to the camera, I give it another thumbs-up and say, “Welcome to the family, B!”

Grayson steps beside me, sighing. “Sorry, he’s a package deal, Blaze.”

Elbowing him in the ribs, the monkey head goes down as Grayson doubles over. “I take offense to that.”

Grayson coughs, about to slide the head off, but I quickly force it back on. “Let’s go buddy, wouldn’t want to draw attention.”

“Yeah,” he grunts out derisively. “Wouldn’t want that.”

Sitting beside Grayson, as he holds the ring he custom designed for Bella in his hands, tears line both our eyes at the future he worked so hard to have.

“I’ll give you a moment, sir.”

Grayson doesn’t even notice the jeweler leave, doesn’t notice how happy he is to see his work being admired. His smile is sowide I also laugh with joy. “Goddamn, Cap, I couldn’t be happier for you. Truly, you deserve it.”

“Who would have thought my darkest days would lead me to her?”

“When are you going to do it?”

He slides his gaze to mine. “I trust you, but I don’t trust you with that. I’ll let you know the day but I want to keep it all under wraps, private and personal.”

“Fair enough, I respect it. You want it to go smoothly.”

“I want it to goperfectly. She deserves the best.”

“That she does.”

Grayson knocks his shoulder into mine. “I might be mushy right now because I’m holding the ring I want to give to Bella, but your time will come with Layla.”

Grimacing, I murmur, “Let’s not dampen the mood.”

“No, this is the perfect time. If I wasn’t persistent with Bella, if I didn’t keep showing up and proving that I loved her, I wouldn’t be here right now. I know Layla cares for you and for some reason she’s holding back. Just keep trying.”

Clapping him on the back, I agree more so to shut him up. This is his moment. It shouldn’t be about my fucked-up love life.

He goes back to staring at the ring, awe shining on his face.

I hope I get my happy ending one day too.