Page 62 of Stuck with the Grump

“I told Camille and Camille told Clarke. If he doesn’t show tonight, knowing what this means to you and knowing that there is a ticket here for him, that’s his problem, not yours. Understand?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat that threatened to choke me and nodded. I took a long sip of the champagne and glanced around the room again. People had their heads bent together as they talked about the art. Some of the people were approaching the one employee I had about sales of the art. My parents were standing in front of one piece that vaguely reminded me of the lake house.

It was a good night. I was having a good night.

Still, I couldn’t stop myself from looking up the next time I heard the bell above the door ring. My breath caught in my throat as Clarke walked in, looking devastatingly handsome in a suit. He stood taller than most of the crowd, looking around until he saw me.

My heart was racing as he moved through the crowd, his sight still locked on me. When he stopped in front of me, it felt as if the world around us froze in time.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said, his voice low as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I was trying to get here faster but traffic is a bitch and I had to make sure no news crews were following me.”

“Thank you for coming,” I said, “I wasn’t sure if you would since I’ve been avoiding your calls.”

“We both made mistakes,” Clarke said, stepping closer to me until we were only inches apart. “I shouldn’t have stormed out like that. I should have tried harder to reassure you. I should have done so many other things than what I did but we can’t go back in time now.”

“So, what does that mean for us?” I asked, trying not to let myself feel too hopeful. “I should have called you sooner and told you what I wanted but I was scared.”

“Scared of what?”

“Of falling in love with you in less than two weeks. Of telling you that. Of what happens next and how we make this work.”

He grinned, his hands coming up to cup my face. “I love you too.”

I only had half a second to process his words before his lips were on mine. I melted into his embrace, wrapping my arms around him, and holding on as if he would disappear. When he pulled away from the kiss, he looked down at me with amusement shining in his eyes.

“I have something to show you,” I whispered, stepping away from him.

Clarke laced his fingers with mine, holding my hand as I led him through the gallery to the employee area at the back. There were several little offices but there was only one in particular that I wanted to show him.

“Close your eyes,” I said as we stood outside the office. “Don’t peek.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

I pushed open the door and pulled him inside, closing the door behind him.

“Open your eyes.”

He was silent as he looked around the room, taking in the dark colors, leather, and wood. It was far from my style but I knew that it was his. His room at the lake house had similar elements.

“What is this?” he asked, looking down at me.

“Well, I thought that you might want somewhere in the city where you could work while still hiding from everyone that was following you all the time. Especially with the trial coming up. I didn’t want you running away to the lake house every time you needed to get work done.”

“So, you made me an office?”

“I did.”

Clarke spun me around, pulling me into his arms and kissing me again. The world around me spun as he lifted me onto the desk and stepped between my legs. He pulled back from the kiss to study my face, not saying a word as he stared at me.

“I was never going to let you go,” I whispered, the words seeming like a shout in the empty room. “It just took me a while to figure that out. I don’t know what is going to happen between us but I know that those days spent with you were better than any I have spent with other people.”

“I was going to let you go until your brother talked some sense into me.”

I laughed and ran my fingers through his hair. I had missed the soft strands in the weeks that we had been apart. “He’s a good brother.”

“He is. There’s something else I need to tell you,” Clarke said, his hands running up and down my thighs.

“Oh?”

---