Page 12 of Two Is Better Than One

I nodded.

"Sweet tea?" he asked me.

I nodded.

"Both with sweet teas," he said to the lady.

I sat back as she gave him the total and he pulled around the building.

He said he was going to protect me. He had said it twice, and I had never been told that before… not even by a bodyguard. No one had ever said those words in plain English to me, and the thought of AJ saying it, in spite of him being paid, made me feel all warm and fuzzy.

I shook it off. The burgers and fries got delivered to us quickly, and we ate on the way to the art gallery. AJ turned on the radio, and we mostly ate and only talked a little for a few minutes during the remainder of our trip. He pulled into a parking spot just as he crumbled his empty hamburger paper.

"I'll take it from you," I said, gathering trash to put in a bag. "Do you mind if we leave it in here right now and throw it away when we go back to the suite?"

"No, I don't mind," he said with a smile.

"I'm checking my…" I used the mirror on the visor to check myself in the mirror. I unashamedly opened my mouth with my teeth on full display, checking the cracks and crevices in a two-second scan of my mouth.

"Do I have anything in mine?" he asked, curiously. AJ flashed his smile at me when I glanced at him. His teeth were white and mostly straight—a few of them were tilted in just the right way to make them better than straight, more interesting. He was a heartbreaker from head to toe.

"No," I said, unaffected. "Nothing. You're clear." I looked in my mirror again and fixed my hair.

"Are you nervous to meet him?" he asked.

"A little. I didn't want to be, but I love his art. I really do."

"How old is he?"

"I don't know. Maybe thirty?" I said uncertainly.

"Thirty?"

"Yeah, why, what's wrong?" I said, not knowing why he was so shocked.

"I don't know. I thought he was some old man artist. I was kind of joking when I said you had a crush. If he's thirty, you could actually go out with him."

"I'm not trying to go out with him," I said.

"Wh-what I'm saying is that you don't have to be all fan-girl. Just go in there and talk to him. He'd probably be really into you. I'm clumsily complimenting you right now," he added. "I think you're well within your realm to think you could go in there and talk to this guy if you want to."

We were parked, but I hesitated before I got out of his truck. "I honestly don't even know if he'll remember talking to me," I said to AJ. "I'm just going in there as a fan, and then if I get to meet him, great. I brought a little money in case I see a piece I can afford."

We walked inside, and Garrett's colorful work was on display from the moment we opened the door. His shapes and designs were bold, and so were his colors.

"This stuff looks like a little kid painted it," AJ said to me under his breath.

I cut my eyes at him, and he smiled at me like he enjoyed teasing me. The eyes. They were a real distraction. I took a deep breath and looked away from him. I focused on the art, which was the whole point. It was hilarious that I didn't even care about Garrett or his paintings at the moment, and I just wanted to hang out with AJ.

In spite of the one teasing comment on our way inside, AJ acted stoically, like a bodyguard, standing next to me. It was a large space, and it was crowded. People were everywhere, standing in groups. I could tell some people recognized me and looked around as if expecting to see my sister. Their eyes fell on AJ who stood next to me with a friendly, confident expression.

We walked over to a piece that caught my eye. "I like this one over here," I said to AJ.

"Are you going to buy anything?" he asked.

"It depends," I said, looking around. I was thankful for someone to make small talk with.

"Allie Stockton, famous twin sister to Summer." Garrett's smooth voice said my name and he came up from behind me. I had spoken to him via email, so I was surprised he knew what I looked like.

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