Page 29 of The Innovator

She jerked, closed the laptop, and blinked in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s Sunday, so I’m out and about.” I studied her face. She wore some makeup today and dressed up nicer than when she was at work. “Are you waiting for me?”

“What?” She furrowed her eyebrows, grabbed her mug of coffee, and sipped.

I gestured a hand at her dress. “You look like you’re dressed for a date.”

“Just because I’m wearing a dress doesn’t mean I’m waiting for anyone. Women like to dress up when they want to.” She gave me a once-over. “You look like you’re getting ready to do some yard work.”

“I have a landscaping service for that. I’m actually working today. On a break before a meeting in a few hours.” I leaned into the table, and my elbow touched her arm. “I haven’t seen you in a dress or wear makeup.” My eyes went to her lips, which had a slight pout. “I love that you’re all dressed up for me.”

“I’m not dressed up for you, and I’m not waiting for you.” She stared at me for a long moment. “You must be used to women doing both.”

“I am.”

“Sorry to disappoint, but I’m not that woman.” She grabbed a book from her stack and flipped to a page, pretending to read the copyright text.

“But you will be,” I said with conviction and shifted my seat closer so my thigh brushed against hers. She didn’t pull away, and my thigh became the happiest flesh on my body.

If my boys discovered my desperate act, they’d never let this go. Maybe Remi and Royce would be more understanding about my foolishness because they were in love.

She gave me a disbelieving look with a hard flip to a new page. “I think Gisele is waiting for you.”

“She’ll be waiting forever.” I studied Natalie and couldn’t see any anxiety on her face. “I don’t want her.”

“What do you want, Grayson?”

My thigh pushed against hers. “A mysterious woman who loves to argue with me.”

“I’m not mysterious.”

“Did I say it was you?”

Her lips twisted and blue heat flared in her eyes. “Why are you playing games with me?”

“It’s not a game.”

She let out a sigh and flipped to another page. “It sure seems like it.”

I heard the anxiety in her voice. Was I the reason for it? Or was someone else to blame?

Was I playing a game? The game was more in my head. The indecisiveness, the skepticism in me, had nothing to do with her. It had been my internal struggle for a while.

But Natalie had brought out potent desire in me, adding to the mix of my emotional struggle.

I wanted her, but feared that it could spiral out of control. What if we ended up hating each other? That would put a wedge in my Three Point Park project and make Audri and her friends hate me. I didn’t need to work directly with Natalie on the project, but I wanted to use that opportunity to be closer to her—to understand this attraction between us.

The attraction was undeniable. We were both dodging it in our own way, ducking behind the façade of our disagreements, smirks, and teases. The connection we shared was like an invisible framework that held a building together. Unseen from the outside, but it was there, strong and supportive.

“I don’t know what this is, Natalie.” Honesty slipped out of me before I could stop it. “I just know that I like seeing your face and making you mad.”

A laugh burst from her. “If that’s your pickup line, you need help. No woman wants a man who makes her mad.”

“Blue fire brightens up your eyes whenever I irritate you. It’s fucking irresistible. It turns me on.”

She blinked, and I knew I’d slipped something sacred into her mind. Maybe she’d dream about me tonight.

“Did you know I had the most erotic dream about you? Somehow you made me surrender to you—”

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