Chapter 39
Madison
I laid there in the bed, sleepily staring at the light shining around the dark blinds covering the windows. My heart was still fluttering from everything that had happened the night before. I had managed to successfully pull off my very first show, and it was more than successful. I couldn’t believe how amazing everything turned out. All the things I wanted in my career, all the things that I thought were just pipe dreams, had come to life, and I couldn’t help but feel like it was all a dream. I kept telling myself to wake up, but the reality of it was, I was awake, and there was nothing more I could have asked for.
The last few weeks were definitely full of events and emotions that could have taken me down. They could have weighed so heavily on my heart that I allowed them to overtake me. In fact, I had felt like I almost had at some points. But, lying here in the bed, thinking about the show, the party, and everyone supporting me, was almost overwhelming. In the end, I knew that without Zach, none of it would have ever become a reality. He was the rock I needed, and I didn’t even know I needed him until that exact moment. I turned over in the bed to greet him but found empty sheets.
I sat up, slightly startled, and looked around the room. From the doorway, I could hear the crackling of food on the stove, and the smell of coffee and bacon wafted through the air. I smiled, leaning back against the headboard, my head a little dizzy from the copious amounts of champagne I had drunk the night before. I laid there for a moment, running the party through my head. I hadn’t realized that there were so many people in my life that cared that much about me. I definitely felt more special than I ever had before, but the person that iced the cake was Zach.
His thoughtful speech and unyielding support made me feel like the luckiest girl in the world. And to think, when Charlotte first tried to set us up, I was still stuck on my idiot of an ex-boyfriend. I was so glad that Charlotte knew what was good for me and pushed me to go on the date in the first place. Thinking about Zach on the first date was almost comical as I remembered his cocky attitude, his stout appearance, and his super businesslike approach. The Zach I knew and fell in love with was goofy, sweet, and unguarded on every level.
Just thinking about him made me pull myself out of the bed, grabbing the post on the bed to steady myself. My head hurt from all the bubbly, but I didn’t care a bit because nothing could take away the excitement I was feeling. I pulled on Zach’s button-down shirt and a pair of shorts I had left here a week ago and crept out of the room and down the hall.
The sun was shining brightly inside the penthouse, and I squinted, feeling the hangover headache throbbing in my temples. I steadied myself for a moment and then walked into the kitchen where Zach was cooking me pancakes, eggs, and bacon. He turned and smiled, handing me a hot cup of black coffee. I set the cup on the table and grabbed his arm, turning him toward me.
“Thank you,” I said, leaning in and hugging him.
“For what? You just got up.” He chuckled.
“For everything,” I replied. “For the party, for being there for me, for everything.”
“I’ll always be there,” he replied, kissing my lips.
I reached my arms around his neck and leaned into his kiss, feeling the strength of his arms holding me up like he had done so many times before. I opened my mouth, kissing him passionately, feeling his lips move over mine with meaning. I pulled back, nibbling on his bottom lip and smiling.
“Wow.” He laughed. “Maybe I should cook breakfast more often.”
“Everything you did for me meant so much,” I whispered. “I just can’t tell you enough how much I appreciate it.”
“Don’t you know by now that I want to give you the world?”
I smiled big and kissed him again, before letting go and walking over to the dining room table. I sat down and smiled as Zach set the coffee I left on the counter down in front of me and took the seat across the table. I started to pull food onto my plate, noticing that Zach had a really strange look on his face. At first, I ignored it, assuming it was just the leftover excitement of everything going on.
I stuck my fork in the eggs and put them in my mouth, chewing softly. I looked up at Zach and paused, seeing that he put his fork down and was sitting with his chin resting in his hands. I raised one eyebrow, trying to figure out what in the heck he was looking at. Slowly, my eyes began to pick up bright colors in the background, and I shifted my gaze from him to the painting hanging on the wall behind him. Slowly, I put down my fork and let my mouth drop wide open. I had walked right past it and never even noticed. Zach had bought my painting, the one from the show that was my center piece. I shook my head and slowly slid my chair back, stood, and walked over to the canvas.
“But I thought…” I couldn’t even start to fathom how much he paid for that piece.
“I offered them double.” He smiled. “I had to have it.”
I looked back at him and blinked wildly. “Did you say double?”
“Yeah.” he chuckled. “I had to secure it, or one of the other vultures in the crowd was going to swoop down and buy it before me. They promised they wouldn’t let you know I bought it. I wanted to surprise you.”
“Well, you definitely accomplished that.” I laughed. “I am more than surprised! And I am so thankful. I really love this piece, and I was afraid it would go to someone who couldn’t even begin to understand the beauty and emotion that this represents.”
“I know,” he said with a sigh. “And that’s why I knew I couldn’t walk out of there without it. Besides, I kind of assumed that you and I had something to do with it, and I couldn’t imagine a better representation of our relationship.”
I walked over to Zach and put my hands on his face, gazing deeply into his eyes. He smiled at me, and I leaned down, kissing him sweetly. I couldn’t believe that he had bought the painting, and for double what it was listed at. It was probably one of the most thoughtful things anyone had ever done for me. I couldn’t imagine a better place for the piece to be on display, well, except maybe the Met, but I assumed that was a few years off. I walked back and sat down, laughing as Zach moved his plate next to me and came and sat down. We stared up at the painting, admiring my work from the comfort of Zach’s dining area.
“I love the colors,” he said, looking up. “And I love that you have us intertwined in the center of it. That is exactly how I feel about you, intertwined but constantly in motion and always reaching higher and higher.”
“When I saw the painting in my head, I was in your bed, staring at you and wondering just how we ended up on the same planet together,” I replied. “It was only natural that everything I did on that canvas had you at the heart of it. “
“It's stunning,” he replied. “And I couldn’t think of anyone else in this world that I would rather be immortalized in a painting with. Now, unless you destroy the painting, you are stuck with my love forever.”
“I should have thought that one through,” I said sarcastically. Zach looked at me from the corner of his eye and jabbed me in the ribs with his elbow.
“It’s crazy how different but how much we are alike,” he said, taking a bite of his pancake. “I mean, our differences are huge, but when it comes down to it, I don’t think there could have been a better fit for either of us.”
“I agree.” I laughed. “I am a painter, you own a billion-dollar business.”
“I am a serious stick in the mud,” he replied. “And you are like the light of the party.”
“I don’t know about light, but I’m definitely more fun than you,” I teased.
“I can’t argue with you.” He laughed.
“We both like our coffee black,” I said, taking a sip. “And we both love art.”
“That is true,” he said. “We both enjoy seeing the monuments and buildings around New York.”
“Yeah,” I said, shaking my head. “And we both like to have hot passionate sex, pretty much all the time.”
“I think I turned you on to that one,” he said, chuckling. “But damn am I glad that I did.”
“I let you seduce me,” I said, laughing.
“Right,” he said, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. “I was just too much amazing, wrapped up in too sexy of a package, for you to resist. It’s okay. It happens to the best of them.”
We laughed hard, both throwing our heads back and trying not to choke on our food. There was something so enchanting about sitting here at the table in our pajamas, shoving food into our hungover bellies, and telling each other just how amazing our differences really were.
When we were done with the food, we refilled our coffee and walked out onto the patio, letting the cleaning service come in and do their thing. Luckily for them, we didn’t really have a bunch of rowdy, crazy friends, except Hudson, so the party really only left a few glasses behind. All that really needed to be done was a good vacuum and wipe down of the tables. I was perfectly happy with sitting across from Zach on the porch, continuing our conversation.
“Okay,” I said, pulling my knees to my chest and resting my coffee on top. “My favorite fruit is banana. What’s yours?”
“Cherry,” he said. “Hands down.”
“See, banana and cherry go amazing together,” I said, smiling.
“They do?”
“Haven’t you ever had fruit salad? Oh, my gosh, some banana, apple, maraschino cherries, and a bunch of delicious fruit syrup, and you’ve got yourself the most amazing combo ever.” I rolled my eyes.
“Who is the apple?”
“Well,” I said, squishing my eyebrows. “It’s the least liked fruit of the bunch and can be sour if you don’t get it at the right time. At the same time though, the fruit salad would be nothing but mush without the random juicy crunch.”
We both looked at each other for a moment before shouting the name in unison.
“Hudson!”
“Opposites really do attract,” he said with a kind smile.
“I am really looking forward to our future together,” I replied, unguarded.
“I am, too,” he replied, leaning forward and kissing my lips.
In reality, if I could spend the next forty years smiling and laughing on this porch with this man, I would be the happiest woman on earth. We had so many things to look forward to, and this was just the beginning. I no longer felt lonely, tired, and run down, and instead felt a spark of life in me that I had never felt before. Zach truly was the man of my dreams.