His Beauty

by Sofia Tate

  I look back at him. He nods silently.

  My doppelgänger looks straight ahead, a grin encompassing her entire face. She’s dressed in a long flowing gown. Her hair cascades down her shoulders. She’s holding a bouquet of roses to her chest. She looks so beautiful. So happy.

  I can’t move and I can’t look away.

  Grayson comes up behind me and presses his hands to my shoulders.

  “Is this how you see me?” I whisper.

  He rubs his thumbs across my shoulder blades. “May I confess something to you?”

  “Yes.”

  “I didn’t even realize it was you until two months ago. That’s why I put the sign on the door. You were always in my head and my heart, and it just carried over into my work.”

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Don’t move,” he orders as he steps away and pulls off the rest of the tarp from the bottom. I spot his signature, familiar to me as ever, but then I see two words written to the right:

  MY BEAUTY

  “That’s what I’m naming the piece. It’s for you, Lily. For my beauty.”

  I start shaking as I rush to him and yank him into my arms. I can feel his heart pounding against me, his body shivering just as much as mine is. I gulp down the sobs that I can’t stop.

  “You still didn’t tell me if you liked it or not, darling. An artist needs positive reinforcement now and then, you know.”

  I look up into his brown eyes, soft with emotion.

  “I adore it, Grayson.”

  “Thank God.”

  His body vibrates with laughter against my own.

  I reach up to wipe the moisture from his eyes. “I want to take you somewhere now.”

  “I’ll go anywhere with you, Lily Moore.”

  “My sanctuary.”

  * * *

  Grayson

  As much as I love my beauty, she drives like a maniac, which makes me want to obtain my own driver’s license as soon as humanly possible.

  “It’s only because you don’t like being driven around by a woman, Mr. Alpha Male.”

  I shake my head. “Nonsense.”

  “Yeah, right. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.”

  And I do. I love seeing the river, the town. I’m slowly coming back to life thanks to Lily’s gentle guiding hand.

  We pull into the Ashby College visitor parking lot. I cringe at the squeaking sounds of her car doors opening and closing.

  I’m definitely buying her a new car. She can protest until she’s blue in the face, but I want my beauty safe, in a car built in this century.

  We take each other’s hands and walk across campus.

  I stop a few yards from The Lovers. My breath is taken away by the size of it. It’s so imposing, yet so personal.

  Lily nudges me forward, leading me to a bench nearby.

  We don’t speak for a few minutes, just to absorb the enormity of this moment.

  “When I came here,” she whispers, “I used to wonder about you, what you were like. If you were the one who needed that human connection. It was as if I could look into your soul.”

  I wrap my arm around her shoulders. “It’s as if we already knew each other, because when I made this, I felt so alone, and all I wanted was that one connection with another human being who wouldn’t run away knowing what I was truly like, both inside and out.”

  She snuggles into my shoulder. “This actually brought us together. Well, that and a house that needed a decent cleaning.”

  I lean down and kiss her soft hair. “Indeed.”

  Suddenly she jumps from the bench, tugging me with her. She walks me closer to the sculpture. “My turn to say ‘don’t move.’”

  “Whatever,” I mock in reply.

  She begins to search for something in her purse. “I think I’ve become a bad influence on you.”

  “Never. What on earth are you looking for?”

  “Aha!”

  Lily pulls out her cell phone, dropping her purse to the ground. She leans in closer to me. “Lean down.”

  She turns the phone toward our faces, hits a few buttons, and then we miraculously appear on the screen.

  “What are you doing, darling?”

  “We’re taking our first selfie,” she proudly announces.

  I do as she asks, then she clicks a button a few times. When she shows me the results, I’m astonished.

  “I want that photo on every wall in my house.”

  “Better yet, we need to get you a smartphone so I can send it to you.”

  “What kind of phone?”

  She takes my face and kisses me sweetly. “Don’t worry, Grayson. I’ll teach you everything. I’m not going anywhere.”

  I pull her to me, holding her tight. She instantly wraps her arms around me, settling her head into my chest as I kiss her silky blond hair. “Thank God for that, my beauty.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Summer

  I check the clock. Ten minutes to go.

  Grayson should be here soon. He likes to meet me after class, then we go out for lunch, take a drive, or do something all regular couples do, something he and I are learning to appreciate as the months go by and we learn more about each other.

  My students are working on their ongoing projects—a collage about the favorite parts of their culture. Looking up, I see Ramon biting his lip as he carefully glues a picture to poster board. Olenka is drawing with crayons, and Esperanza’s eyebrows narrow as she diligently cuts a picture from a magazine.

  A gentle tap on my hand reverts my attention back to Anisa, a new student, who has been practicing writing the alphabet.

  Anisa and her twin sister Zahra are new arrivals, refugees from Afghanistan. From what the program director has managed to learn about them, their father was a translator for the US Army who obtained visas for his family after two years of red tape and working through diplomatic channels. Because of their father’s occupation, they know some English, but I’ve also had to teach them basic classroom etiquette, while the other students have shown them social cues, like sharing a snack or holding hands.

  I clap my hands five times to gain everyone’s attention.

  “One, two, three, eyes on me,” I shout.

  “One, two, eyes on you,” the students reply.

  I rise from my chair. “Very nice. Boys and girls, please put away your projects in your cubbies and return the supplies to their proper places, then join me on the rug for our cool down activity.”

  I check Anisa and Zahra’s writing. I give them both a big smile. “Very good, girls. You may go join the others,” I tell them, pointing to the floor where a few students are already sitting.

  I sit down in my chair on the edge of the brightly patterned rug where I lead floor activities with the class. I notice Olenka and Esperanza talking with each other, so I raise my index finger to my lips, waiting until they notice that everyone else is silent.

  It certainly helps when Ramon nudges Olenka with his elbow, pressing his finger to his lips, instantly quieting the girls.

  “Thank you, boys and girls. What a fun day we have had! Esperanza, who is choosing today’s cool down song?”

  Her brown eyes dart to the agenda at the front of the room. “Zahra.”

  I turn to Zahra. “Zahra, what would you like to sing today?”

  Her bright green eyes light up. “Itsy Bitsy,” she replies, just above a whisper.

  “Itsy Bitsy Spider” was the first song we sang altogether on the first day, and it took them a while to learn the hand gestures, but now, both she and Anisa choose it when it’s their turn.

  “Great choice, Zahra. Let’s start…The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout…”

  I smile, watching everyone alternating their thumbs and index fingers, mimicking a climbing spider.

  “Down came the rain, and washed the spider out…”

  Suddenly, Ramon and Olenka stop singing, dropping their hands. Esperanza points to the door. “Who’s that?”


  I turn to see Grayson’s face in the window of the door, but he just as quickly disappears from view. Usually he waits in the car with Emilia.

  “Boys and girls, please stay on the rug. I’ll be right back.”

  I rush to the door, opening it, finding Grayson’s walking away. “Grayson, stop! Come back. I can’t leave them alone,” I plead.

  He freezes in place, then pivots around, heading back in my direction.

  I hold out my hands to him, which he grasps tightly the instant he reaches me.

  “I know I should’ve waited with Emilia, but I just wanted to see you with the children,” he explains, looking down at the floor.

  I release his hands to touch his face. “It’s totally okay, baby. You can come in if you want. They would love to meet you.”

  “No,” he declines vehemently. “I don’t want to scare them.”

  “You won’t, I promise,” I reassure him. “And they’ve already seen you, so the cat’s out of the bag.” I reply in an attempt at levity.

  He nods in agreement.

  I take his right hand, leading him back into the classroom.

  Ten pairs of eyes immediately zoom in on us. Some mouths open, but the room is silent.

  I stand in front of the class, holding the hand of the man I love.

  “Boys and girls, this is my friend Grayson,” I announce to them.

  “Hello,” he says roughly, clearing his throat.

  Some students reply a quiet “Hi,” but most of my second graders continue to stare silently.

  Grayson’s hand grips mine, damp and shaking.

  Without warning, Anisa rises from the rug, taking a few steps toward Grayson. She stops in front of him, raising her right arm upward, the fingers on her hand outstretched as if she were reaching for something.

  Silent tears form in the corners of my eyes. “Anisa wants to touch your face, honey,” I whisper in his ear.

  “Oh,” he mutters. He clears his throat once more. With his six-foot-three frame towering over Anisa as if he were a giant, he crouches down to her eye level. “Hello, Anisa,” he greets her.

  She slowly touches Grayson’s scars, tracing them with the tiny pads of her fingers. “Hurt?” she asks him quietly.

  Grayson slowly shakes his head, placing his massive hand over Anisa’s. “No, sweetheart. Not anymore.”

  She nods with a wide smile as I wipe the corners of my eyes, coughing to rid the lump in my throat.

  “Are you Miss Lily’s boyfriend?” Ramon boldly asks.

  My gaze averts from the tender scene between Grayson and Anisa. “Ramon, that’s a very personal question.”

  “Yes I am,” Grayson replies proudly in a loud voice.

  I pivot back to Grayson, giving him an angry look as Ramon makes kissing sounds with his mouth.

  “Ramon, that’s very impolite.”

  “Good. Her last boyfriend wasn’t very nice. But you look nice,” Esperanza contributes to the conversation.

  “Very nice,” Olenka adds.

  I roll my eyes and shake my head, looking up the ceiling.

  My love life is now a topic of discussion for second graders.

  I sound another round of five claps to get the students’ attention.

  “Boys and girls, the sooner we finish singing the song, the sooner you can go home.”

  Ramon runs up to Grayson, tugging on his sleeve. “I want him to sit next to me.”

  Olenka jumps to her feet, and takes his other hand. “No! Me!” she protests.

  My heart blooms at the sight of my second graders accepting Grayson without hesitation, no fear whatsoever.

  “Why don’t we let Grayson decide?” I suggest.

  He gives me a grateful look, then looks down at Ramon and Olenka. “Next time, I’ll sit next to you, Ramon, but today, I think I know who I would like to sit next to,” he declares, walking toward Anisa and Zahra, taking their hands to ease them down onto the rug, one sister on either side of him.

  How I love my sexy beast so much at this moment.

  We all follow suit, sitting back down on the floor.

  “And once more, here we go…” I declare.

  My students, my boyfriend, and I launch into the song once more, Grayson following the children’s lead, singing right along with everyone else.

  My eyes meet Grayson’s at the end, his wet from unshed tears.

  “Out came the sun and dried up all the rain,

  And the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again.”

  I love you, he mouths at me.

  I love you too, I reply, my tears now flowing freely.

  Acknowledgments

  The fact that you are reading these words is my personal victory. His Beauty was supposed to be published two years ago, but then life threw me a huge curveball, plummeting me into a deep, dark ocean from which I thought I’d never be able to come up for air. But with much support and therapy, I’m breathing fresh oxygen once more.

  First and foremost, I want to thank the two editors who worked with me on this book, Dana Hamilton in its initial stages and Madeleine Colavita in its final version. I will always be grateful for your patience and support while I tried to figure out how to give Grayson and Lily the story they deserve. Massive thanks to the entire team at Forever Romance/Grand Central Publishing, especially Leah Hultenschmidt, Jodi Rosoff, and the queen of all things for Forever Romance social media, Monisha Lakhotia.

  I’d like to give a special shout-out to my acquiring editor Megha Parekh. Megha, I am indebted to you for life for pulling me from the slush pile and taking a chance on me. Working with you on my first four books, you taught me to dig deeper, to push myself, and the true meaning of the author/editor relationship. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

  My author friends have been my rock these past two years. Thank you to Katana Collins for her invaluable feedback, K.M. Jackson for sharing Thursday nights in Shondaland with me, Lauren Smith, Kennedy Ryan, Falguni Kothari, Jamie Brenner, Fiona Davis, Keira Montclair; and to the group of lovelies who gave me their counsel and support at RWA in San Diego: Mia Sosa, Lia Riley, Jeanette Grey, Colette Auclair, Rachael Johns, Emily Madden, and Pamela Aares.

  I don’t know what I would do without my family. I love you so much. Extra tight hugs to my niece and nephew (aka Sweetpea and Lovebug) who never fail to surprise me and teach me what joy truly is.

  Dr. Roxanne Partridge—thank you for helping me discover my true self. I look forward to our continued journey together with a healthy mind and an open heart.

  All of my friends—you know who you are and what you mean to me. Thank you for being there for me unconditionally, no matter the time or place. Love you, love you, love you!

  A special note of appreciation and gratitude to Adele and to Amy Schumer, whose songs and humor, respectively, got me through these past two years.

  Finally, to my wonderful readers—this series is very different from my first one, so while you’re reading it, I’ll be over in the corner breathing into a paper bag. I hope you enjoy Grayson and Lily’s story!

  Also by Sofia Tate

  Breathless for Him

  Devoted to Him

  Forever with Him

  Crazy for Him (novella)

  Don’t miss more great reads from Sofia Tate!

  Now Available

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  About the Author

  Growing up in a bilingual family in Maplewood, NJ, Sofia Tate was a shy good girl who attended Catholic school and never misbehaved. Now, she is a proud author of contemporary erotic romance. She graduated from Marymount College in Tarrytown, NY, with a degree in International Studies and a minor in Italian. She also holds an MATESOL from New York University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Adelphi University. She has lived in London and Prague. A former resident of New York City, Sofia currently lives in New York’s Hudson Valley.

  To learn more, visit:

  www.sofiatate.com

&nb
sp; Twitter: @sofiatateauthor

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