Eleven months later...

Gray sat and looked at the line of people holding his book. By people, he meant women, older ones, but others were younger than he expected. Some looked at the cover or had it opened and were reading his words, his and the two incredible men who helped him. Most in line were looking at his picture.

He wasn't a vain man, but he looked good, and his photographer was the best. He glanced to his right where she stood. So beautiful, he smiled, and she winked at him. Her photography was selling his book, and hopefully, his story would sell the next one.

Monty teased him, and Sofia pretended to swoon. He smiled, she was a hormonal powder keg. After weeks of being sick and miserable, something she hadn't been with Ana, she was currently unpredictable and amorous. Monty was convinced it was a boy. Gray felt a slight tinge at the thought of not being downstairs for the fun.

A week before he had signed for a condo in Back Bay. It was an iconic old brick building with a walk up entrance. Although it was small, it would be perfect to start out on their own. The interior needed work which Doyle said would be the fun part. He wasn't so sure, but they were meeting with Oliver's wife. He liked the brick interior walls, although the rest looked like no one had updated it in thirty years.

A woman in her forties stepped up. "I just loved it."

He smiled. "Thank you." He looked up.

"Avery." Her face beamed like a kid on Christmas. Not that he ever was one.

Growing up Christmas was a dull day, especially knowing everyone was having a magical time. Even when his mother made a brisket and they watched football, it couldn't compare. He smiled. Maybe Trista should do a holiday book with traditions. They nixed the kid friendly idea. The holidays might be a companion to the book featuring his cook's old recipes.

He wrote Happy Reading Avery and signed his name. He repeated the process as each person stepped forward. A few asked if he wanted to get a drink. His answer was always the same. "Thanks, but no."

It was only his second signing. The first was with the launch which was mostly a party for friends. Even his parents came from New Jersey for the first time and met Doyle. Meeting at a restaurant in Boston was a lot different from spending a weekend at his suburban home eating tuna casserole. Doyle laughed and reminded him they could fly down for a few hours and fly back. His mother was glad he was settling down. Ironically, he would continue to travel with Monty.

He looked up to a soft voice. "Hi Gray. Congratulations."

Smiling, he couldn't remember her name, but he knew he had slept with her. "Thanks. It's been a few years."

She nodded. "I didn't know if you would remember."

Just as the uncomfortableness settled in, a hand rested on his shoulder. "Hi. I'm Doyle. You two are old friends."

The woman stammered her name. "Not really friends, but acquaintances."

Gray scrawled in her book and she moved on. Doyle saved him because it would have been awkward to ask her name. Her purpose was to mark her territory. It wasn't the first time they had run into one of his former friends. If he could go back and change it, he would.

Maybe it was what he had to do to get by until he met Doyle. Mrs. Carson sent him a Christmas card and he sent her a signed book. He imagined her bragging to her country club group or sewing club (whatever she was into) about how he had loved her daughter.

Eventually, the line trickled to an end, and he stood. The women milling around watched him like he might strip down and dance. He stretched his shoulders and walked over to Doyle and his agent.

With his hand on Doyle's hip, he smiled. "Good turnout, right?"

"Very good. Are you set for your interview tomorrow?" His agent said.

"Yeah. Talk about the book. Don't sound like a fool."

"You're not a fool." Doyle smiled up at him.

With the signing over, he couldn't avoid facing their evening plans. For a year, Mrs. Kane had been pretending he didn't exist. She had to acknowledge him when he sat in her dining room for the first time.

It wasn't Doyle's mother who scared him. Philip Kane had set the rules, and he followed them. Feeling proud, he had a title - author. When he stood by Doyle's side at boring events, he told himself he belonged. With the money Monty saved for him, he could buy her gowns.

Doyle's siblings promised to support him. They had accepted them as a couple. Baxter still had the look of an older brother. Gray understood the need to protect her. When Kasper wasn't traveling, he was a third wheel, except for the times the twin bond made Gray the outsider. Tate had no choice but to embrace him, since her husband had played cupid. The cross was the real cupid, Jimmy just gave them a shove.

Monty's new driver picked them up at the Newbury Street bookstore and drove them to Walnut Street. Gray felt awkward in the backseat.

"I loved watching you work. I took pictures for your accounts."

Social media was necessary for success and Doyle had become a mini publicist. The publisher supported advertising and some promotions, and Oliver assured him it was more than most first-time authors received.

"Can we just go home? I think I'm getting an ulcer."

Her laughter touched his heart. "You are not. No one is as healthy as you."

"Does she know I don't drink?"

Doyle shrugged. "Everyone else does. You and Ivy can stick together."

At eight months pregnant, Ivy looked huge, but radiant. She had quit her job to work as a consultant on labor issues and provide free legal services. Baxter smiled with pride, but it was mostly because she was carrying twin boys. Unlike Doyle and Kasper, they were identical.

Percy greeted them at the door. Unfortunately, they were early so only Doyle's parents were in the parlor.

Doyle didn't waver as she stood with her arm looped around his. "Mother, you remember Gray."

Doyle forced Amelia Kane to look at him. "The chauffeur."

Doyle tightened her arm. "Gray was never just a driver, but he is an author."

Philip said, "Do you work for Whitby at all?"

He shook his head. Although he would continue some of his work, technically, it was for Trista Montgomery. "Monty and I will continue to travel as friends like we always have." He cleared his throat and reached into his messenger bag. "This is for you."

Philip took the signed copy of his book. He opened it to read the handwritten words. Thank you for the most important year of my life.

Once he understood the cross, Gray knew he and Doyle would still want to be together after the twelve month waiting period. He worried about being worthy, but he had come through. Thanks to his friends who supported him.

"Gray bought a condo. I'm moving in with him."

Amelia's eyes narrowed, but Philip preempted her. "I think Gray and I need to speak privately."

"Fine. I'll go find Kasper."

Gray nodded. Who was he to say she shouldn't be alone with her mother, but he felt relieved she wouldn't be?

He followed the older gentleman into a study and felt as if he stepped back in time. There was a fireplace, updated with a gas log, but he imagined servants lighting a fire to take away the winter chill. The room smelled masculine, like leather and tobacco.

"This would be a great room for my current story." He was finishing his second manuscript.

"I'm proud of you. You came through."

"I got lucky."

Philip shook his head. "You worked hard."

"I love your daughter. We want to be married."

Philip nodded. "I can't control my wife, but I will pay for my daughter's wedding and walk her down the aisle. I may cry, but I will give her to you."

"Thank you. She'll be happy."

He smiled. "You're loyal. I like that."

"Thank you, Sir."

They shook hands and returned to Mrs. Kane. "Amelia, Gray promised me he would wait a year. In that time, he published a book and bought a home."

"Where is it?"

"In Back Bay. It needs some work, but we're meeting with a designer."

"Carol Keene?"

Doyle appeared. "No, Mother. Emma Sumner worked for Carol, but she left when her daughter was born. She takes on select clients."

"Sumner?"

Doyle defended Emma. "Yes, from the publishing family. The Whitbys hired her."

Kasper snickered. "It's like a who's who in Boston."

The dinner wasn't as pretentious as he expected. The Kane children set the tone and drowned out their mother's dislike for him. If his wife were pregnant, Gray's mother would be over the moon, but Mrs. Kane encouraged Jimmy and Tate to start a family.

Gray was happy to leave Beacon Hill and return to Back Bay. They were both the most prestigious neighborhoods in the city, but one was home. Doyle came with him as she spent more nights in his bed than not.

As soon as they reached his apartment, she sighed. "That was so awkward."

He kissed her lips. "It went better than I thought."

"She'll never like you. She's still being a bitch to Ivy."

"I have thick skin. Your father likes me." Gray sank down on one knee. "He gave me his blessing. Will you marry me? I love you. I wish I could say I would have loved you without the cross, but my heart was closed. After I kissed you my heart opened and you filled it."

She nodded, as tears streamed down her cheeks. He picked her up and spun her around. When he put her down, he ran to his room. How had he bumbled it?

"I forget this."

She took the small box and opened the lid. "Oh, wow! It's gorgeous." The emerald-cut diamond was as unique as his K. "Are you sure you can afford it?"

He nodded. "Monty paid me well."

She jumped. "I want to show Sofia. Did you pick this out on your own?"

He laughed. "No. Tate helped me."

"My sister?"

He laughed. "It's the only Tate I know."

She smiled. "I've been saving too and really want to go to Greece on our honeymoon. Ever since you told me you loved it I've wanted to go take pictures."

He didn't realize that was exactly what he wanted too.

After hugs and excitement upstairs, Monty popped open a bottle of champagne. "A toast. Sorry Gray."

"I don't care. Sofia can't drink either."

"One little sip won't hurt our bebé."

Monty smiled and handed Doyle a flute. "To Doyle. You fought for Gray in ways I never expected. Because you love my big oaf, I trust you. We have a secret only five human beings know about. It is a need to know only, and for Gray to stop lying, you need to know."

She looked at him with sad eyes. "You've been lying."

He nodded. "Only because I had too. Monty, are you sure?"

Monty smiled. "If you are sure." Gray nodded.

Sofia threw her hands up. "You're scaring her, triste."

"Triste? What's triste?"

"It's sad in Spanish, but thanks to Sofia, I stopped being sad a long time ago. What you need to promise to never tell a living soul is that I used triste to create my pseudonym."

"Your pseudonym?"

Gray watched the gears turn in her head. She looked at him. "And all your traveling. I can't believe it."

Monty smiled. "It's true. You can be involved, but I can never give you credit."

"How?"

"Photographs."

"So I can travel with Trista Montgomery?"

Monty shook his head. "You can travel with me and Gray while we do research for Trista."

"Baxter would die if he knew the truth."

"You can never tell him. Sofia's sister does not know. Only the three of us, my agent and Oliver. His wife doesn't even know."

"I promise on my love for Gray. Cross my heart."

Gray smile. "Trista bought our condo and your ring."

He kissed her and felt his healed heart soar. He may have saved her, but Doyle and the cross had really saved him.

The final chapter tomorrow is a bonus chapter. I will reveal Kasper's cover too.

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