Page 86 of Painting Celia

She was amused to see that he’d added a faint dark spot to her neck in each of them. He didn’t joke around, León.

Sixteen

“The car will be here in three minutes!” León called from the hallway.

Celia adjusted her neckline one last time before joining him there. His reaction was marvelous, mouth falling open as his eyes devoured her.

“Oh, my god. That blue dress. Let’s stay home.”

Andrew had wanted another group hangout, pre-celebrating everyone being represented in the exhibition in some way. Celia had redirected his plans to a nearby bar. She wasn’t ready to break the new spell cast on her place. Their place.

The ride-share was slow, evening traffic glutting the roads. León couldn’t sit still in the back seat with her, predicting wild reactions from their friends when they saw their paintings. He played with her hair, petted the soft knit fabric over her knee, ran his hand down her arm to clasp and squeeze her hand.

His flashing eyes warmed her, inviting her to share his cavalier glee. Funny. He’d cleaned up for this too, and she sort of missed the faint roughness of paint on his hands.

León and Celia were the last to arrive.

Celia saw Kelsey at a table near the back of the bar as soon as they walked in. She had an eye on the door, her profile lit beautifully by the nearest wall sconce. A number of men were checking her out already, but Andrew and Trevor were absorbed in a private topic, leaning close again. Poor Kelsey. She brightened when they walked up.

“Damn, Celia, you’re looking good,” Andrew said, looking up.

Celia glanced at León, who simply beamed at everyone.

“Drinks are on the ladies!” Kelsey said. She rose and dragged Celia back to the bar, leaving the men at the table. The order was simple, four beers and a ginger ale, but the bar was busy and loud, and the wait afforded them time to talk.

Kelsey fluttered, avid. “How’s the honeymoon going?”

Celia looked back to the table. León was turned in his chair, watching her from across the dark room. The crowd blurred into murky scenery, the din fading. His eyes were the only real thing in the room, bright and warm and alive. They shared an intimate smile across the distance.

Kelsey laughed, bringing Celia back to her at the bar.

“Wow, that good?” she smiled. “You two have been closeted up for weeks.”

Celia nodded, enjoying the warmth filling her up inside.

“He’s painting,” she responded, turning back to her friend. “All he wants to do is look at me and talk and…well, you know. Everything’s changed.”

“Are you happy?” Kelsey grinned as Celia smiled shyly. “He’s not being grumpy?”

“Oh no,” Celia said, “he’s bouncing like a kid at Christmas. He’s up at dawn every day, ready to get back to work.”

“Dragging you out of bed behind him?” Kelsey actually winked.

“Well, yes.” Celia ducked her head. “He feels so much pressure to get it all done.”

“I’m more interested in how you are, actually. Remember how you said you’d be honest?”

“I can’t even describe it.” Celia looked back to León, but he was laughing with Andrew now. “He’s non-stop. Silly questions all day, painting for hours and hours.”

Kelsey shot a considering glance at the men. “Are you painting?”

“Posing and cooking, mostly. We’ll do my lessons after the exhibition.”

“Girl, you better.”

“Don’t worry,” Celia said. “Really, Kelsey, everything’s perfect.”

A man deftly bumped Kelsey’s shoulder as he stepped up to the bar, just as their drinks arrived. Kelsey took her own but let Celia gather up the beers as she turned to view this contender.

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