I smiled up at him, closing my fingers around the key. “I can do that.”
Elijah lowered his head as I rose onto my tiptoes, and I pressed my mouth to his.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
“For what?”
“Giving me another shot.”
“I’m glad we worked it out.”
His hands squeezed my sides, and his forehead rested against mine. “More like I begged, and you agreed.”
“It doesn’t matter right now.” I placed my hands on each side of his face. “As long as you keep showing me that being here with me is what you want, that’s all I care about.”
“I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
“So, this is where you disappeared to?”
I jumped and looked over Elijah’s shoulder at Davide. “I’ve only been back here for ten minutes.”
“Well, the caterer was looking for you, and she seems a bit frazzled.”
I glared at him. “You couldn’t answer her questions?”
“It’s not my gallery anymore,” he answered with a shrug and a sly smirk.
I rolled my eyes as Elijah released me. “Then, why are you here?”
“My bestie is having her show, and my other bestie is in charge of making it great.”
Just like that, my irritation vanished.
“All right,” I sighed. I held the key Elijah gave me in my hand, my fingers cupping it like it was precious. “Let me handle something, and I’ll take care of it.”
“Oh, I’m sure you have plenty to handle,” Davide said, eyeing Elijah.
As Eli made a choking sound, I laughed. “Oh, my God. You’re such a perv.”
Davide shrugged as if to say what did you expect?
“You can put me to work, too,” Elijah said, his hand on my waist.
The next thirty minutes passed in a blur of last-minute tweaks and answering questions. Then Lucy and Chris arrived. She looked fantastic in a black dress with a swirl of red that started beneath her right arm and curved beneath her breasts, across her torso to her left hip. She looked polished and edgy.
“You look gorgeous,” I told her as I hugged her.
“So do you.” She looked around. “It looks great! You did a good job getting everything together.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
Chris came forward and kissed my cheek. “Hi, Grier.”
“Hey, Chris.” I stepped back. “Would y’all like a drink?”
“Oh, hell yes,” Lucy agreed.
As I got them something to drink, I glanced up as the bells above the door rang. I was surprised to see Nick, my favorite bartender, walk in, looking adorable in a pair of dark wash jeans and a black button-down shirt.
