We quickly dressed, hoping that no one in the hall—or, God forbid, the ballroom below—had heard our hot monkey sex and that they had made a decision in our 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 the other loved us, wanted us, was truly there and not just a dream.

This kiss was slow and tender, a cherishing of each sensation we could give and receive, a promise of love and safety and security. Our lips met again and again, teasing and comforting, tantalizing and then soothing.

“You know what we should do next?” Grant murmured when we finally broke contact. “Celebrate.”

I smiled shyly. “I have a few ideas.”

“Naughty, naughty,” Grant said with raised eyebrows. “You’ll certainly have to share those ideas with me soon. You know I value your contributions.” He took me by the hand and smiled. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”

* * *

“OMG, you guys!!” Kate threw her arms around us and embraced us both at once, crushing us in her love-fueled and strawberry-daiquiri-scented grip. “You did it! You really did it! You would not believe how happy I am for you!”

This was Devlin Media Corp’s official public celebration, following shortly on the heels of my and Grant’s private one. Everyone was there—Grant had rented out a football stadium in order to fit in as many shareholders, employees, and families as wanted to attend. There was free pizza, booze, three bands Grant had called in, and fireworks. Now that’s what I’d call a proper company picnic.

“Thanks, Kate, I love you too, girl,” I said, laughing and disengaging gently. “Damn, but my man knows how to throw a party.”

I leaned back into him, feeling a doofy smile spread across my face. Not going to lie, my favorite part of this event was how Grant had kept his arm around me the whole time. I could spend the rest of my life this way.

He leaned down and kissed my temple. “Only the best for you, sugarplum.”

Kate rolled her eyes. “All right, you lovebirds, watch it. There are children present.”

She spotted someone over our shoulder, her eyes widening. “Holy shit, is that—did you seriously invite—”

“Your favorite actor to ever play Sherlock Holmes? Yes, yes, we did,” I said, laughing. “And he’s got an autograph just for you. I never would have gotten halfway here without your advice, after all.”

“Girl, I will give you about a thousand thank-yous later, but right now I have to go tackle-hug this man!” And Kate was off like a shot.

I chuckled fondly and let my head fall against Grant’s shoulder. “You really are amazing. I don’t know what could top this.”

“Well, I do have some ideas to start with.” He guided me into a private patch of shadow and slid two pieces of paper into my hand.

I gaped at them for several seconds before I could believe my eyes. “Tickets to the Caribbean?”

He grinned. “We leave tonight.”

I stared up at him, blown away by his thoughtfulness and generosity. “Really? You’re serious?”

That grin widened, playful and wicked. “Oh, I’m very serious, Lacey. You’ve earned yourself a decent vacation.” He leaned in, his hot breath tickling my ear as he growled. “You see, I’ve been a very bad boss, overworking you so.”

His hand slid to cup my breast, his fingers circling but not quite touching my nipple.

My breath caught in my throat. “Have you heard me complaining?”

“Nonetheless, now I’m going to make it up to you.” His voice dipped lower, a sensual growl. “We have a private villa, beachfront.”

“Nice view?” I asked, trying to be casual even as he set my body on fire.

“Oh, I’m hoping for a very nice view indeed.” The glint in his eyes grew mischievous. “Didn’t I mention? It’s clothing optional.”