Chapter Thirty-Six
Shane
Sunlight streamed into the room, making me wish I’d closed the blinds. The warm body next to me snuggled closer, and a smile stretched my lips. Last night Brooklyn and I had talked until my eyelids refused to stay open, and drifting off with her in my arms was something I wanted to repeat every single night.
So I wouldn’t dwell on things I couldn’t have, I rolled out of bed and pulled on a pair of boxers. My stomach growled like I hadn’t had food in days, and I headed to the kitchen in search of breakfast.
Protein with a side of protein was the norm, but instead of getting my fill through a shake today, I grabbed the eggs and bacon.
Within a few minutes of placing the strips on the grill, Brooklyn came out of the bedroom. She still wore my T-shirt, and as I drank in her bare legs and curves, I had the same thought as last night. Mine.
She was mine, and I didn’t want it to be just for now.
“You cook?” Brooklyn wrapped her arms around me and leaned her head on the center of my back. “Wow, I really struck gold with you.”
No one besides my mom ever seemed to think they were lucky I was in their life, and for a lot of years, I did a good job of pushing everyone away. The urge to do so now rose, edged with panic, but it was too late. Brooklyn had already broken through, and I’d never be the same. I only hoped I wouldn’t regret it.
I flipped the bacon, set the spatula aside, and turned to face her. “Morning.”
“Can all mornings be like this? Normally I’m in such a rush to get out the door that I don’t take the time for breakfast.” She wrapped her arms tighter around me, squeezing until she got a grunt. “Or for cuddling.”
“I think you’ve confused cuddling with strangling.”
“Uh-oh. Did I forget to warn you that I like it rough?”
My laugh came out sputtered, and I dipped my head for a kiss. Splatters of hot grease hit me, and I moved Brooklyn off to the side to tend to breakfast. A few minutes later, we were seated on my couch, our plates loaded with food.
I nudged her. “So, when am I going to see your paintings?”
She shrugged.
“How about today?”
She wrinkled her adorable nose. “I don’t know. Most of my finished stuff is up north.”
My gut dropped at the mention of the place where so much of her life was. I pushed it aside and focused on the here and now. “I’m fine with works in progress.”
“Good, because I’m totally a work in progress.”
I ignored her self-deprecating joke and trailed my fingers across her knee. “I’m going to see them eventually, you know.”
“Not if I distract you and make you forget about it.” She pointed her fork at the window. “Look, a squirrel!”
The blinds were closed and I’d never once seen a squirrel around my apartment complex, and to show her I wouldn’t be deterred, I kept steadily staring at her. “Not sure if I should break this to you or not, but the whole point of getting galleries to stock your work is so people see it.”
“Right. People. Not you.”
I frowned, trying not to take that personally.
She placed her hand on my arm. “I mean that I don’t care about what they think—well, that’s a lie, but I don’t care as much as what you think. Let’s just say most people in your line of work aren’t impressed. My dad thinks it’s a waste-of-time hobby, and my brothers have to say it’s good, so…”
I folded her hand in mine. “I already know I’ll love it. And I wanna see what makes you tick.”
“Caffeine, mostly. You don’t happen to have a secret stockpile of Mountain Dew, do you?”
I sighed, nice and loud. “I’m not going to drop it. I want to see your work.” I dragged my thumb over her knuckles. “You can trust me.” You can let me in.
“All right. I’ll try to sneak you in once I’m sure the coast is clear. I think Finn’s going surfing this afternoon.”
I set my empty plate on the coffee table. “You’re saying we’ve got some time to kill? Whatever are we going to do?”
“I think you’ve got very selective hearing.”
I kissed her neck and glided my hand up her thigh. Then I reached over her for the remote. I clicked on the TV, and when she set her plate down, I pulled her closer. Later, we’d get to more naked time, but for right now, I was perfectly content with holding her and watching mindless TV.
Within five minutes, my mind was spinning about the future again, and I told myself that maybe we could find a way to make this work full-time. There were galleries here, her family was here, and most importantly I was here.
I had less than a month to convince her to stay, and in between all my intense training, I planned to do exactly that.