Page 24 of Destined To Fall

I hesitate, but only for a beat, before linking my arm through hisandI almost want to laugh, or possibly swoon, which would be moronic. I am forever someone’s arm candy, yet this feels so different. It’s ridiculous. I am hyper aware of Jeremy’s body heat radiating into me through his jacket and spreading to the very tips of my toes. When you add his intoxicating scent I’m becoming all too familiar with—that earthy, woodsy, slightly sweet, manly smell—and his proximity, it’s a heady mix.

I’m quite possibly screwed.

“Ready?” Jeremy asks.

“Sorry?” I abruptly break out of my crazy brain and come back to the now, finding us standing outside of a tiny two-story corner shop with Jeremy looking at me, his head cocked to the side.“Oh, yes. Lead the way.”

He gives me a small smile before opening the door. It chimes as we enter, the old-fashioned kind you’d find in a candy store some fifty years ago. It brings a grin to my lips for all of two seconds before my breath catches on a gasp, and my eyes focus in on the never-ending room in front of me.

It seems to go on forever, with every available wall surface covered—and I do mean covered—in art. Landscapes, portraits, murals, even scrolls, done in every available medium—oil, acrylic, encaustic, watercolors, charcoal—cover a vast amount of the room. The canvases are an array of shapes, sizes, and materials—linen, muslin, plaster, even cardboard and metal,being only a few I can discern. The rest of the wallcomprisessculptures in possibly every textile known to man. There are some items my brain can’t even compute. A few bigger pieces litter the inner space, seemingly sporadic, but even quickly, I can tell they are artfully placed so as not to crowd or overwhelm the room.

I’m completely and utterly speechless.

“You’re totally switching teams, aren’t you?” Jeremy’s voice is deep and melodic as he whispers in my ear, catching me off guard again. His warm breath at the nape of my neck causes me to break into goosebumps, and I shiver, taking a moment to process his words.

“There was another team?” I manage to quip, barely above a murmur.

Jeremy’s rich laugh breaks me out of my awe-induced daze, and I turn my eyes back to him,beaming.In my excitement, I grab his hand, not having realized I’d released his arm on entry. I squeeze it.

“Thank you,” I whisper, still overwhelmed by the magnificent space.

“Seeing the expression on your face right now and the way your whole body practically glows with excitement…” He trails off, staring at me, and my cheeks warm under his intense gaze. It’s probing, searching beneath the surface. It’s also unsettling.“That’s all the thanks I need.”

He threads his fingers through mine and gives a soft squeeze before pulling me further into the room and leading me around the space. My eyes continue to take it all in, unable to linger long on anything before something else catches my attention. After a while, Jeremy abruptly stops, and I stumble into his arm but continue forward, my shoes sliding on the polished floor. He stops my momentum, pulling on our joined hands, and somehow, I end up once again invading his personal space, our faces mere inches apart. My breathing hitches, and based on the blazing gaze staring back at me, coupled with the slight rise of his chest against mine, I’d hazard a guess Jeremy is more than fine with it and a little affected himself.

“Hi. You must be Vivienne.” The soft, manly voice comes from behind me.

I whirl around, a gasp escaping my lips as I come face to face with the genius himself.Jesus, my heart.

“Sorry, I—”

“You know my name?” I blurt, cutting him off.Of course he does, dumbass.“I mean, yes. That’s me. Hi.” I reach out a shaking hand and take Luke’s stupidly talented one.“This—you’re—I…wow.”Oh, god.

They both laugh, and I blush scarlet. The featherlight caress of Jeremy’s thumb brushes my other hand still in his. I glance back at him, catching a fleeting smirk playing at the corners of his impish lips. His amusement brings me back to my senses a little, and I try again after releasing Luke’s hand.“This is possibly the most breathtaking gallery I’ve ever seen. You created all of this?”

It’s Luke’s turn to blush, a slight color staining his thin, previously white cheeks. He scratches the back of his unkempt blond mop, wrinkling his face into an embarrassed grimace.

“Uh, yeah. Guilty.” He shrugs, dismissing the compliment.

“You weren’t kidding earlier in the car, were you?” I say softly, smiling back at Jeremy, and he chuckles, shaking his head. Luke really doesn’t have an artist’s ego.“Seriously, you have a gift,” I say, turning back to Luke.“Surely you know that, or maybe you don’t, but you should. I’ve seen a crazy amount of art, even been to a lot of pompous galleries and openings. This…thisentirespace takes the cake.” I look around, getting sucked into the room once again.“I could stay here forever, and it would never get old,” I say, a little dreamily.

Luke laughs, bringing my focus to his face, now a violent shade of red.“Mi casa es su casa. There’s a bedroom and all.”

I grin, not missing the twinkle in his eyes or the minuscule tightening of Jeremy’s grip on my hand. I wiggle my fingers, hoping he’ll release them, but he doesn’t.“Wheredidyou materialize from?”

Luke smiles brightly and gestures behind him.“I built the stairs into the wall.”

I look past his shoulder and squint a little, my eyes going wide an instant later as I finally see the stairs, almost completely hidden among the art.“Oh, wow.”

He chuckles softly.“The studio’s upstairs above the, well, actual studio, where all the magic happens.”

“Upstairs or downstairs?” I quirk a brow.

“I could show you.” And just when I thought Luke’s face couldn’t get any redder, it goes beet. His eyes go wide and dart to Jeremy.“I—uh, wow. That came out wrong.”

I hold in my snicker, my shoulders shaking with mirth as tears pool in my eyes. I’m fighting not to lose it completely. Jeremy’s ever-tightening grip makes it a near-impossible feat, but I get the unmistakable feeling he’d not like that at all.

“I’ll leave you to look around.” Luke smiles sheepishly at me.“Maybe some other time I can show you the studio. The art one,” he adds hastily, retreating.

---