favor. Grant looked much happier, but the
worry wouldn’t go away until we knew what they had decided. But
it couldn’t be much longer now; it had already been over an
hour.
“Damn,
but I almost wish there was bad news. If there were only any news at
all—”
I
stood up and crossed to him, realizing with dawning discomfort that
my panties were on backwards. No matter. I took his hands and
squeezed them.
“Grant,
you were great. I know things are tense right now, but I swear, this
is going to be fine. Nobody could go against you, not after all those
things you said, and the way you said them. You were amazing.”
Grant
looked at me as if I were a beautifully crafted puzzle box he had no
hope of unlocking. His hand slid up my arm, and cupped my cheek
gently. “Why do you care so much?” He didn’t throw
it in my face cruelly as he once had; his voice this time was soft,
gentle, hopeful and curious at the same time. “Why do you
always have my back on this?”
I
faltered. “The—the company means a lot to me. The way
they took a chance on me—the things I can do with them in the
future—”
Some
spark of hope seemed to flicker out on Grant’s face. “I
see.”
My
heart seemed caught in my throat as I held his gaze and spoke the
next words. “And you…you mean a lot to me, too. More than the company. More than…anything.”
Grant’s
eyes widened, and then he was kissing me, pulling me so close into
his embrace that I couldn’t tell where he ended and I began.
“Lacey,”
he said breathlessly, pulling away for just a second before kissing
me again. He smiled crookedly against my lips, and there was a light
of awe in his eyes that I could never get tired of. “You…I
care about you too. I care so much, I—God, Lacey.”
He
kissed me again as if to say what he couldn’t, and then
switched back to words.
“You
made me a better man. You made me realize I wanted to be a better
man. Before you, I didn’t realize the impact my resources could
have—I didn’t realize the impact I could have, for good.”
“You
were pretty good on the impact for speedboats though,” I
teased, trying to cover up my blushing. I might have succeeded at
that, but the tears of joy streaming down my face kind of ruined it.
Grant
wiped them away as gently as if he were straightening the wings of a
butterfly. “Lacey, I’m trying to say that I love you.”
And
there, in that moment, all was right with the universe.
I
kissed him back desperately, my nails digging into his arms, my teeth
nipping at his lips as his stubble ground against my skin. It was
happening, oh God, it was really happening: I had really told him how
I felt and he wasn’t laughing at me, he was kissing me, and he
loved me, he’d said he loved me, he really loved me. And I was
never letting him go.
“I
love you too,” I whispered, my heart so filled with joy that it
might explode. Then I grinned and whooped. “I love you too!”
Grant
squeezed me tight, and leaned in for another kiss—
My
assistant Tina burst into the room, her face split in the biggest
grin I had ever seen.
“We
won! Oh my God, you guys, we won! It was a landslide! Portia’s
packing her bags! We won, we won, we won!”
She
did a little dance and then, squealing, ran off, presumably to spread
the good tidings.
“We
really did it,” Grant said, sinking onto the sofa, dazed.
“And
Tina spoke an entire paragraph without ending a single sentence in a
question mark,” I added. “Between that and the fact that
you love me—” Lord, but I was never going to be tired of
hearing those words—“today is looking like a day for
miracles.”
“You
have it the wrong way around,” Grant said, reaching for me and
pulling me down beside him. “The miracle is that you love me.”
And
before I could argue it further, he kissed me again.
Our
kisses moments ago had been desperate and passionate, their ardor
born of our startled joy, of our urgent need to confirm that
worry wouldn’t go away until we knew what they had decided. But
it couldn’t be much longer now; it had already been over an
hour.
“Damn,
but I almost wish there was bad news. If there were only any news at
all—”
I
stood up and crossed to him, realizing with dawning discomfort that
my panties were on backwards. No matter. I took his hands and
squeezed them.
“Grant,
you were great. I know things are tense right now, but I swear, this
is going to be fine. Nobody could go against you, not after all those
things you said, and the way you said them. You were amazing.”
Grant
looked at me as if I were a beautifully crafted puzzle box he had no
hope of unlocking. His hand slid up my arm, and cupped my cheek
gently. “Why do you care so much?” He didn’t throw
it in my face cruelly as he once had; his voice this time was soft,
gentle, hopeful and curious at the same time. “Why do you
always have my back on this?”
I
faltered. “The—the company means a lot to me. The way
they took a chance on me—the things I can do with them in the
future—”
Some
spark of hope seemed to flicker out on Grant’s face. “I
see.”
My
heart seemed caught in my throat as I held his gaze and spoke the
next words. “And you…you mean a lot to me, too. More than the company. More than…anything.”
Grant’s
eyes widened, and then he was kissing me, pulling me so close into
his embrace that I couldn’t tell where he ended and I began.
“Lacey,”
he said breathlessly, pulling away for just a second before kissing
me again. He smiled crookedly against my lips, and there was a light
of awe in his eyes that I could never get tired of. “You…I
care about you too. I care so much, I—God, Lacey.”
He
kissed me again as if to say what he couldn’t, and then
switched back to words.
“You
made me a better man. You made me realize I wanted to be a better
man. Before you, I didn’t realize the impact my resources could
have—I didn’t realize the impact I could have, for good.”
“You
were pretty good on the impact for speedboats though,” I
teased, trying to cover up my blushing. I might have succeeded at
that, but the tears of joy streaming down my face kind of ruined it.
Grant
wiped them away as gently as if he were straightening the wings of a
butterfly. “Lacey, I’m trying to say that I love you.”
And
there, in that moment, all was right with the universe.
I
kissed him back desperately, my nails digging into his arms, my teeth
nipping at his lips as his stubble ground against my skin. It was
happening, oh God, it was really happening: I had really told him how
I felt and he wasn’t laughing at me, he was kissing me, and he
loved me, he’d said he loved me, he really loved me. And I was
never letting him go.
“I
love you too,” I whispered, my heart so filled with joy that it
might explode. Then I grinned and whooped. “I love you too!”
Grant
squeezed me tight, and leaned in for another kiss—
My
assistant Tina burst into the room, her face split in the biggest
grin I had ever seen.
“We
won! Oh my God, you guys, we won! It was a landslide! Portia’s
packing her bags! We won, we won, we won!”
She
did a little dance and then, squealing, ran off, presumably to spread
the good tidings.
“We
really did it,” Grant said, sinking onto the sofa, dazed.
“And
Tina spoke an entire paragraph without ending a single sentence in a
question mark,” I added. “Between that and the fact that
you love me—” Lord, but I was never going to be tired of
hearing those words—“today is looking like a day for
miracles.”
“You
have it the wrong way around,” Grant said, reaching for me and
pulling me down beside him. “The miracle is that you love me.”
And
before I could argue it further, he kissed me again.
Our
kisses moments ago had been desperate and passionate, their ardor
born of our startled joy, of our urgent need to confirm that
Similar Books
