Page 134 of The Innovator

His eyes sparkled, trying to guess. “What is it?”

I gestured to the black fabric. “The honor is yours. You can reveal it.”

In one swoop, Grayson yanked away the fabric, revealing a tie collection with the label Forget Me Knots. A massive smile stretched across his face as he looked at all fifty ties.

“There are so many colors. Forget Me Knots is the only brand I’ll ever wear from now on.” He picked up a light blue metallic tie with a cool print. “Isn’t this an abstraction of The Prism?”

“It is.” I’d created a print for each of his buildings. I pulled out a mint green tie. “Guess what this is?”

He examined it. “The Fortress looks fabulous.” He looped the tie around his neck and created a messy Natalie knot.

I made a mental note to teach him the steps again. The tie looked adorable and silly over his knit top.

“Thank you, buttercup. I love them.”

“This tie collection will be available in stores worldwide. I want the world to wear Forget Me Knots. Every time a woman buys a tie for her man or a man wears the tie, they’re appreciatingyouthe way I do.”

“I don’t need the world to love me, Natalie. Only you.”

I wound my arms around his neck and felt his throbbing bulge. “Do you know the story behind the little black dress?”

“No. Should I?”

“Coco Chanel made the little black dress famous. When her lover died, she mourned for him and created the dress. She wanted the world to mourn with her. It’s a beautiful and morbid love story.” I stretched up to kiss him lightly on the lips. “I don’t want to show my appreciation to you after death. I want the world to know how much I love younow.”

“Natalie—”

I crushed my lips to his, silencing his words. For a long moment, we showed our appreciation for each other with our mouths and tongues.

He veered back, his eyes glinting with mischief. “There’s something we haven’t done to this building to make it more magical.”

“What is it?”

“Christen this floor with our love.” He grinned.

“What about our cold lunch?” I asked, even though I wasn’t hungry for food.

“We can go out for a bigger meal later.” Lust darkened his eyes. “Then we can bless your other floors. Let’s start in your office. Your employees won’t start until next month. We have plenty of time to check out all the buttresses, corners, andangles. I want to see you wearing nothing but my tie.”

I laughed as he whisked me away into my office and loved me.

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