“No, I haven’t. This is incredible. Do you think he’d be up for a job?”
I blinked in surprise. “You want him to paint some naked women for your shop?”
“No, I want my own set of these dragons. Smaller, maybe. I’ll pay him,” she said, still staring up at them.
“I think he’d be happy to paint something for his Aunt Eden.”
She sucked in a breath as she turned to me. “I like that.”
Rafael called out that he was leaving, but Eden didn’t so much as glance in his direction when I waved to him. With wide eyes, she stared up at me, looking like I’d just gifted her the moon. It was impossible not to close the distance between us and kiss her.
“I love you.” The words burst from her lips as soon as I lifted my head.
For a second, I paused, letting them stroke over my skin and settle deep inside my chest, then I yanked her against me and captured her mouth again.
I was still kissing her, exploring her like it was the first time all over again, when Carter flew through the front door.
“Aunt Eden, you’re back! Did you see my dragons?”
We broke off, looked at my nephew, and burst out laughing.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Eden
Milohadn’treallyneededmy apology, even if I’d definitely needed to give it. I still owed one to Addie, though—and it wouldn’t be as easy as showing up at her door with an overnight bag.
I decided to close the store for an extra-long lunch break, stopped to pick up a gift certificate that would cover a nice meal for Addie and Olivia, and stepped into the small offices of the rape crisis center where my cousin worked.
She spotted me across the room and immediately pulled off her headset. “Eden, are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I said quickly, “and this time I really mean that. I’m sorry to interrupt. I was just going to drop this off for you.”
Addie looked at the envelope in my hand, then back at my face. When she didn’t reach for the gift certificate, I pushed itinto her hand. She slid a crimson-tipped nail under the flap and blinked in surprise.
“What’s this for?”
“To thank you, and to say I’m sorry. Really, truly, immensely sorry. I love you and I appreciate every second you’ve spent being there for me, not just these past couple weeks, but for my entire life.”
Addie’s lips parted in surprise—Milo wasn’t the only one who knew I was no good with expressing things verbally. I thought the spiel sounded ridiculous, personally, but then my cousin’s eyes filled with tears and she threw her arms around me.
“I love you, babe. Always and forever,” she whispered against my ear.
“Ditto,” I mumbled, squeezing her tight.
Abruptly, she drew back, her dark eyes opening wide. “Oh, while you’re here, come with me!”
Addie dragged me through a honeycomb of cubicles that I’d never find my way out of on my own, then rocked to a halt next to Monique’s desk. A slender Black man was seated in front of her with an array of fliers spread across the desk.
“Eden, have you met Arnaud?”
My eyes flew wide, seeing him out of his element. “Oh, yes. Hi. How are you?”
Arnaud was the owner of the martial arts school I attended, up at the other end of Main Street. All of the women’s self-defense classes were taught by female instructors, so I hadn’t had him as a teacher yet, though I’d seen him around while I wasworking at the front desk. He was almost always wearing track pants and a black t-shirt with the school’s logo on it, but today he was dressed in dark jeans, a trim lavender button-down, and a perfectly tailored blazer.
“Eden, lovely to see you. How are your classes going?”
“They’re amazing. I’m taking a little break while we get the store up and running, but I’ll be back as soon as I get into the swing of things.”
