“Of course,” he promised. “As soon as we get it built next spring.”
“Can we work on the plans again tonight?”
“Sure.”
And that was that. Ian told them all about what he was taking to school for show-and-tell, and then Mae urged him to hurry and get ready. Merit gave her a gentle push after him before turning back to grab their plates for the dishwasher.
Mae’s belly bumped his backside a second before her arms slid around his waist. “Told you it’d be fine.”
He smiled as he covered her hands with his and threaded their fingers together. She’d blown him away when she’d asked him to move in, trusting him to be a permanent part of her life and Ian’s. Less than a year ago, he couldn’t have even imagined this scenario. Wouldn’t have even wanted it. Now, he couldn’t imagine going back to anything prior to this for the rest of his life.
“You busy for lunch today?” he asked.
“I’ll probably be taking a nap in my truck because someone kept me up most of the night.”
“Oh…” He turned around in her arms and rested his hands on her shoulders. “I’m taking all the blame for that, am I?”
“Yep.”
“All right then. Let me make it up to you with lunch.”
She tilted her head. “How about dinner? I’ll see if one of my brothers can watch Ian. Then I get my nap and a night out with my guy.”
“I’m your guy now?”
“Yes you are.”
“I like it.” He grinned as he dipped down for a kiss. “And you’ve got yourself a dinner date. Now, go get ready for work before we’re all late.”
Merit took a step back while raking his gaze down the length of Mae’s red dress and black heels, then back up to her red, glistening lips, and shiny blond hair all wavy about her shoulders.
“Wow. Gorgeous.”
There was a hint of relief in the smile that lit up her face. “Thank you. You don’t look so bad yourself.”
He’d foregone his usual T-shirt and jeans for a crisp, white Brioni and black dress pants. He’d left the scruff on his jaw just for her. Pulling his hand from behind his back, he presented the dozen roses he’d picked up on his way home from work.
“Wow, talk about gorgeous.” She buried her face in the crimson blooms, then rose up on her tiptoes to kiss his lips. “Thank you. Let me put these in some water before we go.”
“How’d your day go?” he asked as she took care of the flowers. It was amazing how much he’d come to love having someone to ask that question the past couple of months.
Mae made a face. “Not so great, unfortunately. I missed my nap because I got to the job site to find out your sister’s clinic was vandalized overnight.”
“What? How bad?”
“Bad enough. We have to reorder a bunch of supplies, and while we’re waiting, I have to put my crew to work at a different site. Once we start that, we have to finish, which means your sister’s job is going to be delayed for a couple of months.”
“She can’t be happy about that.”
“Surprisingly, she’s been very understanding. She was offered a job with a veterinary hospital in Denver and decided maybe this was a sign to get some experience before opening her own place. She’s going to work there until we can get everything squared away.”
After his own difficulties finding a job without experience, that made perfect sense when she’d be dealing with people’s beloved pets. “I wish she’d reconsider the area she’s in.”
It wasn’t anything close to the kind of neighborhood they’d grown up in, and he worried about people taking advantage of her giving, bleeding-heart nature.
“Your sister is as stubborn as you are.”
“I’m not stubborn.”
She snorted her disagreement while crossing the floor to set the vase of flowers on the living room coffee table. Then she swiped up her purse and spoke over her shoulder as she preceded him out the door. “Shelby refuses to look at any other place, even after the senator showed up.”
Bells usually did what their parents wanted, but the location of her vet clinic to serve low income families was the one thing she’d stood her ground on. Merit was proud and worried at the same time.
Mae paused as he held the passenger side door open for her. “Your dad apologized to me, by the way.”
“Good.”
She raised her eyebrows at him as he closed the door and crossed around front to the driver’s side. He ignored her pointed look as he pulled away from the curb. He was not talking about his dad right now.
“Was Bells okay? Any other place in the neighborhood have issues?”
“Not stubborn my ass,” Mae muttered. She sighed before answering his questions. “She’s upset, but doing okay. And it was only her place. Nothing was stolen, either, just destroyed. I tell you, this job has been more than a little frustrating for me and my crew. First there was the permit issues when we started back in July, then the zoning commission inquiry delay in August, and now this.”
He frowned as he glanced from the road to her and back. “What are you saying?”
“I’m not saying anything really. Just that it’s been quite the string of bad luck.”
Bad luck, coincidence, or something more? Something personal? His gut tightened at that thought, and he made a mental note to mention it to Asher and Loyal. Right now, he slowed and put the signal on for a right turn.
“On the opposite side of that though, the day wasn’t all bad,” Mae added. “I had a meeting with the client on the job we’re starting, and an opportunity has come up that allows them to expand their original plans, which pretty much doubles our contract.”
“That’s great.”
“Becca’s going to run the numbers to confirm we can afford a second full crew so Shelby’s clinic isn’t delayed longer than it has to be. If it works out, this could be our chance to level up. Annnd, if we hire a second crew, Becca would never hire you out of pity.”
He shot her a glance. He’d met her forewoman a few weeks ago. She was sharp and hardworking, but she’d also been with Mae from the start. “But she might feel obligated to hire her boss’ boyfriend.”
“Not Becca. She’d give you a fair interview without any nepotism.”
“And if she hired me, you’d be the boss sleeping with one of your employees.”
“Oh, did I not tell you that was a fantasy of mine?” She tilted her head toward him and batted her lashes. “Seeing as all my employees are women and their husbands, I’ve never even dared dream of it coming true until now.”
He laughed and shook his head while making a left turn this time. They teased back and forth for the next ten minutes, until he turned into the lot of a repurposed warehouse and parked.
Mae leaned to peer out the window with a slight pinch to her brow. Merit had loved the building the first time he’d seen it, with huge windows comprising the top third of the outer walls, and a pitched skylight running the length of the roof.
“Why’d we stop here?” she asked when he got out of the SUV.
“I have something to show you.” He felt her gaze as he came around to her side. By the time he helped her out and went to unlock the front lobby door, his heart was racing so fast he was having a hard time drawing a full breath.
He led her through the communal lobby to a set of glass doors that granted access to a hallway leading to individual suites on either side. A swipe of his access card buzzed them in, and he gestured for her to go first.
“What is this place?” Her voice was soft with curiosity and confusion as she looked up at the skylight while he moved past.
“They redid the old warehouse about ten years ago and now rent to small business owners and…others. Each suite has a larger room and a smaller one, a mini-kitchen, and a bathroom.”
Her brow furrowed when he stopped to unlock the last door on the right side. “I don’t need a permanent office, Merit. I have my—”
He swung open the door and stepped aside for her t
o go in.
“—trailer.”
She slowly entered the room, then stopped and did a slow pivot. She swept her gaze over the stacks of paintings lining the walls, only pausing when she reached the canvas on his easel near the window. He got great light there in the afternoons.
Merit closed the door, swallowing past the lump in his throat as he waited for her to say something.
Anything.
Chapter 28
Merit moved past Mae to stand in the middle of the room, hands shoved into his front jeans pockets, shoulders hunched. She glanced at his defensive stance, then turned her attention to the half-finished canvas on the easel. Even though it was a work in progress, she could see the distinct curve of a rosy baby cheek, and dark, delicate lashes.
On the floor to the right were a beach landscape, a city skyline, and a pink baby pacifier on a light blue background.
“These are beautiful, Merit, but I don’t understand.” Did he collect paintings? That seemed the most logical explanation—except for the canvas on the easel. She twisted back around to face him.
“This is my studio.”
“Your studio,” she echoed, the words taking a moment to fully sink in.
He nodded, looking more nervous than she’d ever seen before.
Dumbfounded, she gaped at him. “These are yours? All of them?”
Suddenly, she flashed back to the morning at Ian’s soccer game a couple months ago, and the orange paint on his neck. She sought out the color in the paintings along the wall and as she looked from one to the next, she noticed the distinct abstract feel to each one, no matter the subject matter.
“How come you never told me you paint?”
“I haven’t told anyone.”
“Why would you keep this a secret?”
“It’s not something I share with people.”
“Why in the world not?” She walked over to flip through a few of the paintings, each equally as impressive as the one in front of it. “You should be showing these to everyone. Better yet, sell them and make a living from them instead of washing dust off walls and picking up building scraps.”
He came and stood beside her. “You really think they’re good enough for that?”
The insecurity in his voice shocked her. She twisted to face him. “Yes. I really think so. You have to know how good they are, Merit. You can’t paint like this and not know.”
But she could see he didn’t. How could that be?
“Surely your family has said something.” She couldn’t imagine them not supporting his talent.
“They don’t know.”
Her jaw slackened in amazement. “How could they not?”
He shrugged slightly while reaching up to rub the back of his neck. “I told you, I don’t share this with people.”
“They’re your family.”
“Yeah, and you know, when I had an art class in high school, my mom always said the things moms are expected to say, but my dad never looked twice at anything other than my drawings, and only those because they tied into what I was going to go to college for. He’s told me for years I should be more like my brothers and sisters, there’s no way he’d respect this.”
“You don’t know that for sure.”
“Of course I do. He didn’t take Asher seriously until he started booking shoots. Real photo shoots that paid money.”
“Then you should have a show.”
He looked at her like she’d grown a second head. “I’m not having a show.”
“Why not? You have enough paintings.”
“Because I’m not.”
She turned to slowly flip through a second stack next to a door she assumed led to the second smaller room he’d mentioned. “Is it that you don’t want to sell them?”
“No.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
A sideways glance caught the tick of a muscle in his clenched jaw, and she let the paintings rest back in place so she could face him. When she took his hand, his gaze met hers. The combination of uncertainty and vulnerability in his brown eyes took her breath away.
The full implication of his earlier words hit her in that moment. He hadn’t told anyone about his art. Hadn’t shown anyone what he could do, yet here she stood, in the midst of all his talent. Her heart swelled as she realized what it meant that he’d shared this with her.
She squeezed his fingers while reaching to cup his jaw with her other hand. “You trusted me enough to bring me here. Just say it.”
Seconds ticked by until he finally asked, “What if no one likes them?”
“People will love them,” she argued with a smile. “Your artwork is beautiful.”
“You’re only saying that because you know their mine.”
“I said that before I knew this was all yours. I thought for a moment it was a collection of paintings by different people, because you have very diverse subjects. It wasn’t until I looked closer I noticed the similar abstract style that ties them all together.”
A corner of his mouth twitched, but then he went serious again as his gaze dropped, those thick, dark lashes of his hiding his eyes. “What if people think I’m a hack? Or worse, what if they patronize me simply because my last name is Diamond?”
“Who’s going to do that?”
His lashes lifted as his eyebrows arched.
Right, some idiots might. But then again... “Did anyone do it when you were looking for a job?”
“That’s completely different.”
“I guess, but still, so what if they do? If they think you’re a hack, they’re not going to buy anything. Which is fine, because you’re not painting for them anyway, are you?”
“No.”
“And if they buy something for the sole reason of your last name being Diamond, you’ll have their money, so who’s the idiot then?”
His mouth twitched upward again. “I want respect. Not money.”
“To be brutally honest, honey, until you hit thirty and get your trust fund back, you could use their money.” She lifted their joined hands to flatten his palm against her belly. “Babies aren’t cheap.”
He smiled at that, then dipped his head and lowered his voice. “That’s okay, baby. You’ll be worth every penny.”
Mae felt a little flutter inside, and then a distinct kick visibly moved Merit’s hand. He jerked his head up, eyes wide in astonishment as he breathed, “Oh, wow.”
She grinned at the wonder in his face and put her hand over his as he added his other one to the other side and bent closer. “Do it again, baby. Come on.”
No more kicks were forthcoming, but Merit’s smile remained. “That was so weird. But cool.”
“Just wait. You ain’t seen nothing yet. Ian used to kick like crazy and keep me up half the night sometimes.”
“Had his days and nights mixed up?”
“Yep. And then he did it all over again at a couple weeks after he was born.”
“That couldn’t have been easy to deal with by yourself.”
“No, but we got through it.”
“You’ll have help this time,” he vowed as he wrapped his fingers around hers to tug her toward the door. “Starting with me getting you fed. Let’s get going.”
She was hungry, but oddly reluctant to leave. “What if we have something delivered?”
He frowned at her resistance against his pull. “Here?”
“Yeah. Like pizza, or Chinese. I haven’t had a chance to look at all the paintings yet.”
Surprise flashed in his eyes. “You really want to stay here?”
“I do. I want to take my time looking, annnd, I want to see what’s hiding behind that door.” She pointed to the closed door she’d stepped past a bit ago. Past that to her right was an open alcove kitchenette and another door that had to be for the bathroom.
“I hide all the good ones back there.” He gave her a cocky grin and an eyebrow waggle, but she noticed his cheeks took on a reddish tint.
Wow. Merit Diamond b
lushing? That might be a first.
“Is good code for erotic?” she asked in a mock scandalized voice.
“You’ll have to wait and see.” He pulled out his phone. “What am I ordering?”
“Pizza,” she answered decisively. “I don’t feel like wrestling with chopsticks.”
“I have silverware here.”
She shook her head while she bent to pick up the pacifier painting. “Nope. Stick with the pizza.”
“As you wish m’lady,” he teased with an exaggerated bow.
She snorted and rolled her eyes, then continued perusing while he placed the order. He didn’t ask what she wanted on it, but it turned out he didn’t need to. Sausage, pepperoni, and black olives. He’d definitely been paying attention over the past couple of months.
The moment he hung up, she went to the closed door and waited. He took his time walking over. She couldn’t quite tell if he was teasing her or delaying. Like earlier, he silently turned the handle before pushing the door open while stepping aside for her to go first.
She reached to flip on the light switch, then stopped in astonishment when she saw her face staring back at her. Her gaze shifted to the left and there was another one of her, this time of her profile. Then another with the wind blowing her hair across her face and her reaching up to brush it back. And then—
Her breath caught. And then one of her from behind, laying on her side, naked.
At least she assumed it was her, because of the wavy, shoulder-length blond hair, and the one next to it was definitely of her. Laying on her side, but from the front. Naked. Pregnant. It was a beautiful piece of art, all graceful curves and amazing use of shadow and light within the muted color tones.
“I haven’t creeped you out, have I?” he asked from slightly behind her.
She silently shook her head, not sure how to put into words what she felt in that moment. Lately, she’d been a little nervous about how he saw the changes in her body. The sex hadn’t changed—if anything, it had gotten even better—and yet she hadn’t been able to stem the worry her expanding belly, weight gain, stretch marks, and the other non-sexy parts of pregnancy would become a turn-off for him.
Love You, Baby Page 19
