I don't remember ever feeling this happy and this embarrassed at the same time. Everyone in the office wouldn't stop smiling at Gray and me. Dana and Charlotte practically tackled me into the break room after they saw me riding in Gray's car and then held hands with him on the way up to the office. They squealed excitedly when I told them what had happened the night before.

Charlotte admitted to me that she knew Gray had a crush on me for a long time. I was shocked. I thought he hated me up until I ended up in the hospital. I realized that I wouldn't have believed her even if she had told me that before. I still had some doubts. I was going to have to hear it from Gray.

The following week flew by quickly. There was so much going on. These new feelings with Gray. There was so much to unpack. But unfortunately, things with Autumn had not progressed as well.

Gray brought lunches for him and me every day. But there were three days that we found our food sitting on the counter next to the fridge. It had spoiled by lunchtime. We suspected Autumn right away but couldn't prove it. There were no security cameras in the breakroom.

Thursday was Chloe's birthday, and some of us brought treats to share with everyone. Autumn brought in a pan of lemon bars. Everyone took their breaks simultaneously to enjoy the treats together in the breakroom. Gray and I were the last to enter. We heard Autumn tell everyone they better grab one of her bars before I arrived, and they disappeared. And she laughed. Dana told Autumn to stop being a bitch. 

Unfortunately, Vince was out of the office that day. Autumn reported Dana to him for harassment. Dana explained how Autumn was saying rude comments about me. Autumn said she was just saying how everyone should try her bars, that they would disappear quickly because of their deliciousness. Vince couldn't do much about the situation except tell them to respect each other and everyone in the office.

I was so upset when Dana told me what had happened. I went to Autumn's desk and told her to keep it between us if she had a problem with me. Autumn pretended she didn't know what I was talking about.

Friday was the last straw. I had just finished some crucial reports for Vince's meeting with a new client. Autumn came around my desk with a full cup of coffee. She bumped into my desk, and the coffee spilled onto my laptop. The laptop fried, and I lost all the reports. Luckily, Gray had most of the information on his computer. He was able to help me throw it all together quickly.

I stormed into Vince's office. He was surprised to see me so angry. But again, we couldn't prove anything. It was most likely an accident. I grew tired of the excuses. Gray and I returned to The Black Cat to see what was happening with that bartender. Did he forget about calling Gray when Autumn came back to the bar?

"Where the hell is he?" I looked at the bar and only saw a woman bartending.

"He probably has the night off." Gray said in a calming voice.

"Hey! Excuse me!" I leaned over the bar.

The bartender smiled and quickly walked over.

"What can I get you, sweetie?" She asked me.

"When does the other bartender work?" I asked.

"Oh, he's been on vacation all week." She smacked on a piece of gum.

I looked up at Gray and groaned.

"Do you know when he'll be back?" Gray asked the bartender.

She perked up and smiled at Gray. She dared to wink at Gray! "I'm sure I can help you more than he can, honey."

I wrapped my arm around his. "When will he be back?" I asked her sternly.

The bartender rolled her eyes. "Sometime next week. Now, you want a drink or not?"

I ignored her and turned back to Gray. He was smirking. He enjoyed seeing me jealous. I shoved his arm away and walked out the door.

"Gabriella!" Gray called out for me.

Once I got out the door, I quickly hid around the corner. I heard Gray call my name again, and then I saw him jogging past me. I giggled, jumped toward him, and wrapped my arms around him from behind.

"Hey!" Gray laughed.

"Gotcha!" I laughed as I let go of him.

He turned around and gently brushed the hair that fell out of my ponytail away from my face.

"I thought you were mad."

"I was. But at her. Not you." I poked his nose with my finger. "But you still shouldn't be so cheery when another woman flirts with you."

"I wasn't enjoying that. I was just amused by your jealousy. You looked so cute." Gray poked my nose in return.

I blushed and playfully shoved him.

"Listen, don't worry about Autumn. We'll get her. We just have to wait a little longer." Gray grabbed my hand, and we walked back to the parking garage.

"I know. I'm just losing it. I don't know what else she is going to try to do." I felt Gray squeeze my hand.

"Let's go out tonight. Get our minds off it." Gray smiled.

Later that night, we ended up at the park. The area with the fountain has dozens of lighted strings all around. There were two large trees nearby with lights strung on them as well. Not many people were walking about, so it was peaceful. It was beautiful to see at night.

We had our own late-night picnic. Gray and I dressed in warm clothes. We had brought a blanket and two pillows to lay on the grass. Gray made us a delicious dinner and my favorite dessert, a cheesecake.

Never in my life had I ever had a date this romantic. The most romantic thing my ex-husband, Adam, had done was take me to the sports bar he always went to, and he wrote "Happy Birthday!" on the bar's chalkboard when I turned twenty-one. The most romantic thing Garrett ever did was give me those daises the day after our first date. This picnic with Gray was a million times better.

I placed the last bit of my cheesecake in my mouth. I shivered at how delicious it was. Then I looked up to see Gray watching me with a warm smile.

"What?" I blushed.

"Nothing. You're just beautiful." Gray said in his deep hushed voice.

"So, I uh, have something I've been wanting to ask you." I cleared my throat.

"Yes?" Gray raised an eyebrow.

"How long have you had feelings for me?" I blurted out. I had to ask.

Gray smiled shyly. "Not too long after you started working with Marketside." He brushed his hand through his hair.

"Really?" I was astonished. "I thought you hated me."

"I'm sorry I was a jerk. I had a hard time knowing what to say to you. I was frustrated with myself." Gray laughed. "I even started reading cheesy romance books to get some ideas."

"Oh my god!" I laughed. "That's what you've been reading at work?" I thought about how Alex wouldn't tell me what Gray was reading.

"Hey! I think I'm doing pretty good now, aren't I?" Gray scooted closer to me on the blanket.

I stopped laughing. Gray looked like he wanted to pounce on me. But I wanted to beat him to it. I quickly shoved him down on the blanket so I could lay on top of him.

"Yes, you're doing great." I leaned down to kiss him.

Gray slid his hands up and slowly took my hair out of its ponytail. His hands proceeded to play with my hair. My head loved the attention. Especially when he rubbed behind my ears. I moaned and deepened the kiss. I wondered what other pleasures I'd missed in my previous relationships. I haven't had that toe-curling, eye-rolling experience I've heard other women have.

As we continued kissing each other deeply, Gray suddenly rolled over to be on top of me. We never broke contact. His hand slid down and grabbed the back of my thigh, and brought my leg up to move it so he could slide in between me. I felt he was hard. He was turned on by me, and that turned me on even more. My body couldn't handle much more without losing control.

"Hey, hey," I whispered. Should we continue this at my place or yours?"

"Hmm? Why can't we just enjoy things here?" Gray said breathlessly.

"Don't tempt me." I dug my nails into his back. I would have left scratch marks if he wasn't still wearing a sweater.

Gray moaned and moved his lips to my neck, nibbling and sucking. I arched my back and moaned. My finger played with his curls.

"Paddy! Come hear boy!"

I jumped at the shouting voice nearby. Suddenly I heard a jingling sound. Turning to my right, I saw a small Jack Russell Terrier running toward us.

"Gray." I laughed. "There's a dog."

"What?" Gray continued kissing my neck.

"Get up. A man and a dog are coming this way." I placed my hands on Gray's shoulders and gently pushed him off.

"Oh, look at this little guy!" Gray smiled as he reached out to pet the dog.

The dog barked once, then sniffed Gray's hand. The dog was satisfied and came closer to us for pets.

"Paddy! Come!" The old man approached. "I'm sorry about him. He's a curious creature. Come now, Paddy!"

The small dog returned to his owner. We watched the two of them walk down the path. I looked around the park again and realized more people had shown up. It was bizarre for this many people to be here this late.

"Oh my god." I covered my face.

"What's wrong?" Gray put his arm around me.

"All these people probably saw what we were doing." I groaned.

Gray looked around and then whispered in my ear. "You see what you do to me?"

I shivered when I felt his warm breath on my ear.

"Look! It started!" Someone in the crowd shouted.

Gray and I turned to the crowd to see what they looked at. Above the large pond on the other side of the park were fireworks exploding in the sky. We spent the rest of the time cuddling and enjoying the show.