Page 162 of Before I Loved You

She looks between us with a warm smile. “I’d say you found it.” A woman at the front of the gallery calls for her, so she excuses herself, leaving the three of us.

“Ray, can you take a picture of me and Sarah in front of her work?”

“Sure.” Ray takes Paul’s phone and waits for us to position ourselves. One minute, I’m standing next to Paul, and the next minute, Paul pulls me down on his lap.

“Paul, you’ll hurt yourself!” I try to get up, twisting and rotating, but he grips me in place.

“I was shot in my chest, not my legs,” he counters. “Now sit still; you’re making things very hard for me if you know what I’m saying.”

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.” Ray pinches the bridge of his nose.

We both look at Ray and break out into a fit of laughter as he takes our photo. After, he hands Paul his phone and tells him he’ll be right back.

“Which one is your favorite?” I ask. Paul spins his chair, so we both face the pieces.

“I honestly couldn’t pick. They each represent something so important. They’re each a piece of you, which means I love them all equally.” He kisses me softly, stroking the inside of my thigh with his thumb, his fingers on my lower back moving in leisurely circles, sending shivers down my back.

“I should probably get up before someone sees us like this. They’ll be opening the doors any minute,” I breathe, not making any effort to move.

“Let them see us,” he whispers. “Besides, we haven’t had sex in weeks; let me enjoy touching you.”

“The doctor said you shouldn’t do anything that makes you too excited,” I pant as his fingers inch up my leg and under my dress.

“Is that why you’ve been wearing pants to bed?” he asks, his nose tracing across my jaw.

“I didn’t want to tempt you,” I reply, my fingers gripping his shoulder as his thumb slowly drags across the center of my underwear.

Oh God. Oh God. Oh God.

“Baby girl, you could wear ten winter coats, and I would still find you tempting.” His gaze is smoldering, focusing on where his hand resides under my dress.

A familiar voice rings out behind us. “There you two are! We’ve been looking for you.”

Paul promptly removes his hand, pulling on the hem of my dress as I straighten my spine and throw on a smile.

“Natalie!” I jump up from Paul’s lap to embrace Natalie. “Thank you for coming.”

“This is so exciting! I’ve never been to an art show before. There are so many people here,” she exclaims. We part as her eyes turn, taking in my artwork. “Are these your pieces?”

I nod, biting my bottom lip.

“They’re beautiful!” She wraps her arms around me again.

Nate walks up beside Paul, lightly grabbing his shoulder. “These are amazing, Sarah.”

I thank them both, observing all the people who are coming this way.

Looking down at Paul, I say, “Do you think we could wait in the main room? I don’t want to be standing here while people judge them.”

“I think you’d be pleasantly surprised by what people have to say,” he replies. “But I understand. Let’s go get some food.”

Nate begins to push Paul’s chair, and as we walk out of the room, passing a group of people, Paul points to the paintings and announces, “My girl made that.”

My cheeks heat up as he winks at me, Nate continuing to roll him down the hallway.

Natalie playfully bumps my shoulder with hers. “You found a good one, Sarah.”

Yes, I definitely did.

---