Chapter 5

Chapter Five

" C iao, bella . How's my favourite artist today?"

Sofia Montessori breezed into Colour by Dreams , her plump figure swathed in head to toe crimson, making her look like a ripe tomato. Ariel loved colour and Sofia's vibrant wardrobe never failed to brighten her day.

"I'm fine. How's life in the fast lane?"

"I can't complain." Sofia shrugged. "You know how it is. Places to go, people to meet, men to impress."

"Actually, I don't know," Ariel said, bracing for the usual onslaught of Sofia's suffocating hugs and smacking kisses on both cheeks, smiling when she saw the usual matchmaking gleam in Sofia's dark eyes. "And I like it that way."

Sofia threw her hands up in the air and looked toward the heavens. "You are young and beautiful. You should be partying, meeting men your own age, dancing the night away—"

"I'd rather paint the night away." Ariel quickly cut in, knowing that once Sofia got on a roll, she'd be here all day. "Speaking of which, I started your commission last night. Want to take a look?"

" Si. I want to see this life portrait that my sister is so keen on hanging in her house. Can you imagine, a naked man in the dining room?" Sofia tut-tutted. "The thought alone is enough to put me off my ravioli. But it's Maria's fortieth birthday and it's all she's talked about since she visited the National Art Gallery, and what my baby sister wants she shall get."

Sofia rolled her eyes and puffed out her cheeks in disgust and Ariel chuckled at her theatrics, knowing full well the rich Italian woman with a reputation as a connoisseur of younger men was excited about this portrait and would probably order one for herself once she got a look at Ariel's subject.

"I've only done a few preliminary sketches but you'll get the general idea," Ariel said, pushing through the bead curtain leading to her studio and holding it up for Sofia to pass through, slightly nervous about the woman's reaction.

She rarely showed anyone her work before the final canvas, but this was different. Sofia was paying her a small fortune and she didn't want anything to go wrong. She desperately needed the money. Like yesterday.

"The sketches I've done are over here."

Ariel needn't have pointed. She knew the exact moment Sofia laid eyes on the sketches of Cooper.

"Who is that ?"

"That is the gift you're giving Maria."

Ariel's casual wave of her hand didn't fool Sofia for a second.

" Bella , I know what that is. I want to know who that is."

Ariel laughed at the predatory gleam in Sofia's wide eyes. "The model's name is Cooper. That's all I know."

A lie. She knew a heck of a lot more than that; like the way his blue eyes hid a secret, as if he were ashamed of modelling. And the way his muscles rippled when he moved. And the way his deep voice had made her feel: like a woman who didn't have responsibilities, like a woman who could forget everything after the glimpse of his smile.

Sheesh. She really needed to start wearing a face mask to block the studio fumes from frying her brain.

" Bellissimo . This Cooper is gorgeous, no?"

"No. Yes. You know what I mean," Ariel said, turning away from her sketches before her cheeks flushed crimson like Sofia's.

She didn't like admitting how gorgeous Cooper was. She had to remain objective and view him as a means to an end for her work. That's it.

She just hoped she remembered her professional objectivity tonight when she had to sketch his bottom half.

"Is there more to see?" Sofia's eyebrows wiggled suggestively and Ariel knew exactly how much ‘more' the older woman wanted to see.

"No, I haven't got to that part yet."

And despite her earlier intention not to blush, heat surged into her cheeks.

Sofia's ear-splitting grin didn't help. "Ah…but I'm sure you're looking forward to it. If that part is as impressive as the rest, we're all in for a treat, no?"

"No."

Sofia cackled and slipped an arm around her shoulders, the heady combination of expensive floral perfume and hairspray tickling Ariel's nose.

"You are a sweet girl, bambina . Why won't you accept money from me rather than paint men's rude bits?"

"We've been through this," Ariel said, slipping from Sofia's claustrophobic embrace and crossing to an open window. "You're a wonderful kind woman but I can't accept your charity. I need to do this on my own."

Sofia clucked and shook her head, sending mushrooms of hair product into the air while her bouffant didn't move a millimetre. "Babs wouldn't want you running yourself into the ground to keep the gallery open. She loved you too much."

"And that's exactly why I have to continue her work. I've got Chelsea Lynch's first show coming up next month, and Chelsea's exactly the type of local talent Barb would've busted a gut for. Chelsea's had a tough life, brought up on the streets around here, and is finally doing something with her life. I need to be there for her, for all of them."

Just like Aunt Barb had been there for her.

What the kind-hearted woman had ever seen in a rebellious eight-year-old street urchin she'd never know, but from the first minute Barb had found her sleeping out the back of the gallery, wrapped in a paint-splattered canvas, Ariel had known nothing but patience and understanding and love. She'd been one of the lucky ones and now it was her turn to give back.

"You are a saint," Sofia said, kissing her fingertips and blowing the kiss toward her.

"At the price I'm charging you for this commission, you think?"

Ariel's gaze drifted toward the sketches of Cooper, wondering if her luck had finally changed when he'd walked in the door last night.

For her, art channelled beauty, and though life portraits came in many shapes and forms she knew that working with a perfect subject like Cooper would do a lot more for her inspiration than painting some recalcitrant, skinny guy.

And who knew, with a portrait of a great looking subject like Cooper hanging in the house of one of Melbourne's richest women, she might get inundated with commissions, meaning she could teach more classes, support more shows, and do more for the local charities.

She'd make sure this was her best work, rude bits or not, if it killed her.

"Your work is beautiful, bambina . You don't charge nearly enough." Sofia held up a hand when Ariel opened her mouth to refute this. "I will not hear another word. You do this painting for me, we talk some more then. Now, I must go. Antonio is taking me to a divine new trattoria in Lygon Street."

"Who's Antonio?"

"A very sweet boy." Sofia batted her long eyelash extensions and Ariel laughed, knowing Antonio would be young, handsome, and pliable, like Sofia's usual type. " Ciao, bella. You have fun with your model, no?"

"No," Ariel muttered, returning Sofia's kiss-on-each-cheek and hoping she could complete this life portrait in record time.

Having fun with the model should be the furthest thing from her mind.