Page 90 of Her Greatest Adventure

“Did you finish?” I ask, voice heavy with sleep.

“I finished. I’ll show you tomorrow morning,” he whispers.

I frown. “I want to see it now.”

A soft smile ghosts his mouth. He strokes a finger across my forehead. “It’s downstairs.”

“Bring it up. Please.”

“Okay,” he whispers.

After leaving a light kiss on my lips, he leaves the room. The minute it takes him to grab it feels like a lifetime. Between my excitement, exhaustion, and just blatant happiness, I’m a total mess of emotions as I wait.

Then, as soon as he steps back into view, I gasp. Staring at the canvas in his hands, it’s like looking in the mirror. If the mirror was capable of turning every colour more vibrant and somehow, every inch of my face more lifelike. I’ve never seen myself this way. From the view of someone else, and that’s exactly what this is. No photo could capture something so real.

From my closed eyes and the exact curl of my lashes to the chipped polish on the fingernail of the finger I have tucked beneath my chin, just peeking out ever so slightly. He’s even perfected the small part of my lips as I breathed heavily in my sleep. I’m in awe. Details I’ve never noticed about myself. The beauty marks I’ve never paid attention to and wisps of hair I’ve probably tried to yank out once or twice.

Cooper’s talent is staggering. His precision and expertise.His passion.And the fact he chose to use that talent to paint me . . . fuck. Tears build and slip down my cheeks before I can stop them.

The canvas rests on the floor a moment before Cooper’s kneeling in front of me, my face in his hands. I shake my head and roll my lips, swallowing back a whimper.

“It’s beautiful,” I manage to say. “Thank you.”

“You’re beautiful. I painted you, Adalyn. I just hope I did you justice.”

My laugh is watery. “I don’t think I’ve ever looked better.”

“Doubtful, my love. But I appreciate the compliment.” Wiping my tears away, he presses a soft kiss to my cheek. “We should sleep now. It’s late.”

The comforter falls over me as I nod, letting my eyes fall shut. “I need to brush my teeth. And take my makeup off.”

When I hear him move away, I peek one eye open. He disappears into the ensuite. Drawers slide open, and the tap turns on before he’s coming back with full hands.

“I’m surprised you could find everything. It’s a mess. I’m sorry.”

I haven’t had a chance to put all of my stuff away yet. I’ve created an Adalyn explosion in his bathroom, and for someone who keeps everything as organized as he does, I’m surprised he hasn’t told me to clean up after myself already.

“It’s fine. I need to build a shelf or something in there for you. There isn’t enough room.”

My eyes widen when he lifts my toothbrush toward my mouth. There’s a perfect line of toothpaste on the bristles.

“Are you going to brush my teeth?”

His mouth quirks. “Yes.”

“I can get up and do it myself.”

“Just let me take care of you, Adalyn,” he urges gently.

I part my lips and let him. Mint explodes on my tongue as he brushes my teeth, eyes crinkling at the corners from how focused he is.

“Spit.” There’s a cup in front of me now, and I spit into it.

My stomach is a fluttering mess as he moves from brushing my teeth to taking my makeup off with a pack of wipes he found. I’ve never been taken care of this way before by someone who wasn’t my mom or dad back when I was a child. It doesn’t feel real.Hedoesn’t feel real.

“There,” he says before pushing up and taking everything back to the bathroom. Flicking the light off a minute later, he sheds his clothes and climbs into bed with me.

It takes no time at all to fall back asleep once he comes close and pulls me against his chest. With his fingers stroking my stomach, I let the world float away.

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