Page 47 of Paint Me Love
I bite the inside of my cheek and watch the traffic go by. I really hope I didn’t push him too hard. But I’ve had my suspicions for a while now that he had some artistic inclinations. It’s just… no one knows color theory or proportions and structure unless they’ve done art in some way or form. I hope he doesn’t hate me for it.
Anxious, I shoot him a message asking him about his day so far.
He replies within two minutes, and I let out a big sigh of relief.
Derek: It’s been nothing but meetings so far. Going away on stupid business trips is always like this. Are you going to miss me, little artist ; )?
He seems like himself, though we haven’t really talked about art again. I want to, but I think I should give him a bit more time.
Me: I’ll think about it. After all, I’ll be busy getting ready for the exhibition at your gallery.
Derek: I see Cassandra told you. I’m so very proud of you.
With a smile on my face, I get off the bus at my stop and enter the gallery. Cassandra greets me and hands me the script she’s prepared based on the replies I texted her back. The questions were nothing unusual, just a bit about myself, my other interests, how long I’ve been painting and what I like to focus on.
“Stand over there by the orchids for me,” Cassandra instructs me when the guy with the camera arrives. “Is the light good, Simon?”
“Yep, all good.”
She gives me the thumbs up and turns her laptop towards me so I can see the words in case I need them. It takes us three takes because I fumble twice.
“Great!” she deems after watching the last video. “I’ll send it over to you as soon as Simon has edited it. If you don’t like it, we can shoot it again.”
I’d prefer not to, plus it looked okay enough, so I’m sure that once it’s edited, it will be perfectly fine. “Sure. And thank you so much for the opportunity to be part of the exhibition.”
She claps her hands. “You are most welcome. I think this will be a great chance for you to network some more. A bunch of bigshots will be here. They love pet projects and have very deep pockets.” She winks, chuckling. “Oh, on that note, aside from the three works we’ll be putting up, can you bring over two more? I’ll let you pick, but something recent would be nice.”
We chat for a bit more about my latest project—Derek’s samurai version, though I don’t tell her it’s him—but she gets a work call, so I head back. I linger a little in the gallery’s mainhall, looking at the new paintings and photos they’ve put up. On my way out, I bump into the last person I expected to see here.
“Daniel Marcello?” Adam, Derek’s ex-boyfriend says, blocking the exit. “What are you doing here?”
His tone is clipped and his beautiful face is scrunched. I don’t think he’s happy to see me. I also don’t think he knows Derek and I are together—we haven’t exactly made it public yet, unless Derek told him.
“I was meeting with Cassandra about the exhibition.”
“The exhibition?” he prompts, crossing his arms. He’s wearing a beautiful light blue one-piece with chiffon accents and a pair of bold platform heels that match his black necklace and earrings.
“The one in two weeks. I’m subbing in for someone who pulled out.”
He purses his red lips and narrows his eyes, sizing me up from head to toe. “Really now? How surprising.” Something in his tone makes me shiver.
“I’m very excited,” I reply because I don’t really know what else to say.
He offers a fake smile. “I bet you are. Good luck, sweetheart.”
That last part sounds genuine, and it really makes me feel guilty for the way I came between him and Derek. I don’t really know Adam, but if there is good in Derek, then surely he can’t be that bad either.
“I’m sorry for what happened. I… Derek and I shouldn’t have gone behind your back.”
Confusion floods Adam’s attractive features. He knits his eyebrows at me. “Excuse me?”
“About us. We should’ve come clean about it from the start. I know it probably means nothing coming from me, but forwhatever it might be worth, I’m sorry that he cheated on you with me.”
God, this is so awkward. Who apologizes to an ex for stealing the boyfriend? But cheating is not nice, and I do feel bad about it, even if, technically, I wasn’t the one who cheated.
Adam gasps silently. “Oh, I see now.” He smirks and it looks menacing. “I see, I see.Tsk.And here I thought he’d finally grown up.”
It’s my turn to be confused. I expected him to shout at me or at least call me names, but what the hell is this reaction?
