Chapter 9

9

LILY

The champagne tingles my nose and leaves warmth in my chest. People stroll through the room and pause to stare at the large oil paintings scattered throughout before moving to the next one.

"Are you going to check on him?" Ella asks beside me. She nods at Leo standing in a corner surrounded by people, a painting done in warm browns and oranges glowing behind him.

"When there aren't so many people around him." I smooth creases from my silk dress.

Ella stills my hand. "There's nothing wrong with your dress."

"They're all looking at me."

"Of course they're looking at you. You're covering every wall. They want to know who you are."

I trap my bottom lip in my teeth. "Do you think they're enjoying it? I want it to go well for him."

"It's going well."

"What if?—"

Ella cuts me off. "It's going well. Look at them. Everyone's analysing the paintings, realising it's you in all of them, and talking to him. I don't know much about art, but everyone looks interested."

She's not wrong. Red stickers are scattered throughout the room. People pause at the paintings, stare at me, line up to talk to Leo, glance back to the paintings and repeat the action.

He's dressed in a suit with a burgundy tie to match my dress.

"He looks good, doesn't he? In the suit with his hair wavy," I say, catching his eye and watching his lips curl up.

Ella scoffs, and I glance at her.

"Don't get explicit."

"You think that's explicit?" I raise my eyebrow at her. "Want me to tell you about this morning with the?—"

"Please, god no." She fake gags and drains her glass.

I smirk at her. "Spoken to your business guy yet?" Her cheeks flush through her makeup and I grin.

"Well, I'm off. Thanks for a great night. See you later, Leo." Ella waves at someone behind me, shoves her glass at me, and strides to the exit.

"What happened to her?" a deep voice asks.

I turn and he plucks the empty glasses out of my hands and puts them on a table beside us. He wraps an arm around my waist and I mirror the movement, tucking close to his side. "Asked her about the business guy."

"He come for the yearly visit to her store?"

"By her response, I'd guess no."

"He will." Leo scans the room and his gaze settles on the largest painting of me. A horizontal canvas where my back's visible to the viewer while I lay in bed, bathed in dawn light. What the viewer can't see is his arm wrapped around my waist, hauling me closer to him because I rolled away during the night.

I rub my hand up his back. "Is it everything you hoped?"

"It's better."

"Better?"

"Because you're with me."

"I love you," I say softly and his eyes widen. I haven't said it yet. Even though I know I love him, it was a quick turnaround from finding everything out to being together. I wanted to wait until I was sure. "I love you, and I'm so proud of you and your beautiful work. I still can't believe you find me worthy to paint, but I'm glad."

"I'm glad I got to deliver boxes to you. And you don't mind my mildly concerning obsessive streak." He crushes me in a hug.

Bouncing to my toes, I press a kiss on his cheek. "Well, it did mean I wasn't murdered and now we walk together."

Walking with him beside me is my favourite part of the day. When it's cold, he pulls me close to keep me warm, and we walk in silence with the dark surrounding us. Just us together.

"Thank you for letting me show the paintings." Chocolate eyes bore into mine while he tucks hair behind my ear.

"I'm glad it's better than you expected. We need to find a new place so you can have a bigger studio."

His brows raise in surprise. "Together?"

I nod shallowly and scan his face, attempting to figure out what he's thinking. Surprises aren't a bad thing, but he also hasn't said anything.

He shakes me gently. "Stop thinking so hard." He presses his forehead to mine. "Let's go home and start looking for a place."

"Now? But what?—"

"I've done everything I need to. Let's go home." He waves a goodbye to the woman who organised the night and strolls to the door, holding me close as we step onto the street.

Towards home.

Together.