Playing Games (Endgame Series Book 3), стр. 8

He nods and his sulky pout diminishes as he fights a smile. “Okay, Evy.”

WE ARRIVE HOME AT JUST before four and all pile into the house. Lottie went straight home after the afternoon tea as she had to pick her brother up from after-school club.

“We’re going to hang in the den,” Dom tells his mum.

Sophie nods as she makes her way into the kitchen and places my cake down on the worktop. “I’ll order takeaway in later tonight. Your choice, Everly.”

I grin. “Chinese, of course.”

Sophie nods, smiling. I really don’t know why she asks as she knows Chinese is my favourite. “I’ll order about seven-thirty.”

We pile into the den and Dom sets up the x-box so we can all play Mario. Izzy sits down next to me and reaches for the pendant around my neck. She turns it and reads the inscription on the back.

“What does it mean?” She asks me.

I shrug, trying to look casual. “It’s a quote from a book. Grayson’s pendant says the beginning of it and mine the end.”

“What quote?” She asks. She is clearly not going to drop the matter.

“Whatever our souls are, his and mine are the same,” I tell her and I flush slightly when I look at Grayson who eats me up with his eyes.

“Fuck, Grayson.” Izzy exclaims. “Who knew you could do romance?”

Grayson grins cockily. “There’s nothing I can’t do, Iz. When I do romance, I go all out.”

I sigh. They didn’t know the half of it. At college Grayson is the main man, strong, fierce, and no one messes with him, but when he is with me, he is loving, caring and so considerate it makes me putty in his hands.

“No pressure Dom.” Izzy says, arching a brow, “But Grayson has set the bar for eighteenth birthdays.”

Dom chuckles in response, not taking his eyes off the screen. “Babe, you know I can do the full romance thing.”

“Would you get a tattoo for her though?” I ask and both their heads flip round to me.

“You got a tattoo?” Dom asks Grayson, completely forgetting about the game.

Grayson nods, not looking at all embarrassed or uncomfortable. “I did.”

Izzy sits up on her knees, still looking shocked. “Well, show us then!” she demands.

Grayson sighs as if he doesn’t know what all the fuss is about. He lifts his top up revealing those pristine abs that I love to explore with my hands and my mouth and he shows them the tattoo.

“Wow.” Izzy says. She leans in to take a closer look. “What is it?”

“Private, is what it is.” Grayson tells her with a teasing smirk. “What it means is between me and my girl.”

I smile like a smitten schoolgirl. It does something to me when he calls me his girl. I kind of love it when he speaks about me in a possessive way. I’m sure my inner feminist will not be happy at that admission, but I don’t care.

Izzy stares at Dom, and he laughs, shaking his head. “I’m not getting a tattoo for you, baby. That is like a whole other level.”

“Yeah, like permanent.” Izzy says, and she waggles her eyebrows at me. ”Next, he’ll be putting a ring on her finger.”

I squirm in my seat, going red.

“You bet you I will.” Grayson replies, dead serious. “One day.”

I gulp and swallow and everyone goes quiet. Izzy gawps at him for a minute and then grins at me.

Grayson looks up then, to find everyone is staring at him, as if he hasn’t just said that he intends to propose to me one day.

“What?” he asks, looking from one of us to the other. “Izz close your mouth, you’ll catch a fly,” he teases. “I’m not afraid to say it. One day I’m going to marry the shit out of Manchester.”

He looks at me with a lazy smile and winks. “I’m bored with this game, lets stick a movie on.” he suggests, changing the subject and pulling Dom and Izzy from their open-mouthed staring.

Sophie shouts us, just as the movie ends to tell that the Chinese has arrived and we all pile upstairs and congregate around the large kitchen island.

My dad pulls himself from his emails and joins us. He places a hand on Grayson’s shoulder. “Can I have a quick word, son?”

Grayson looks across at me in a silent question, and I shake my head. What on earth was this about?

“Sure,” he says, clearing his throat, and he follows my dad into the lounge.

“What is that all about?” Dom asks his mum.

Sophie just smiles as she plates out the food. “Nothing bad. Don’t worry.”

Dom chuckles. “He’s not giving him the contraception talk, is he? Because I think they passed that stage a long time ago!”

“Dom!” I hiss, mortified, and smack him on the back of the head.

“Ow,” he moans, batting my hands away from him. “Just keeping it real, sis.”

We all start to eat and Grayson and my dad come back in. I relax when I see they are laughing together over something. Grayson takes a seat beside me and I give him a look that asks him what that was about. He leans in and kisses my cheek.

“It was nothing. I’ll tell you later.”

I sigh in relief and now I feel like I can stomach some food. It has been ten months since I relapsed with my anorexia. I’m not going to say things have been easy, they haven’t. I do however feel like I am beating this thing. I don’t really think about what I am eating now. I have regained my curves and Grayson makes no bones about telling me how much he loves my new curvier shape. I am now a healthy size 8-10. I am still attending the support groups every other week. I had my last appointment with the private consultant that my dad and Sophie had paid for last month, and he had been really pleased with my progress and we’d agreed I would now see him