Niko cleared his throat, his voice still thick with smoke. “Yeah. Some of them.”
“Can I look?”
“Sure.”
She pushed to her feet, steadying herself after the unexpected head rush, then made her way to the other side of the garage.
Halfway to the paintings, she realized her mistake. If they were even slightly better than terrible, there was no hope left for her. Now the only way to get over her crush would be to have awkward sex with him and then never talk to him again, and Olivia had already vetoed that plan.
And, of course, they weren’t terrible. They were beautiful. Mostly oil landscapes, with a few still lifes and a figure painting here and there. They were more impressionistic than realistic,his colors vivid and surreal. There was something unpolished about them, too, which only made them more compelling. When she looked at them, she knew without a doubt that she was getting a glimpse of the world exactly how he saw it. That thought moved her more than she expected.
She must have taken one hit too many.
As she studied them, she heard footsteps and rustling behind her. She turned her head slightly to see Niko hovering, looking self-conscious. Behind him, Simon was slouched in his chair, scrolling through his phone, oblivious.
She wanted to compliment him, but she was too in her head, and nothing felt right. Anything she could think of seemed both too personal and too impersonal at the same time. So she didn’t say anything, just pulled out another canvas.
“Oh.” Everything she was struggling to say flew from her brain, replaced immediately byPenis, Niko’s penis, I am looking at Niko’s penis and Niko’s abs and Niko’s naked body.
In a flash, Niko was beside her, his hand on the other edge of the canvas, not trying to take it from her but notnottrying to take it from her, his words spilling out in a nervous jumble.
“Shit, I forgot that was in there. It was supposed to be a gift. I mean, she asked for it. She took that picture. It’s not something—I don’t usually—I should probably just get rid of it.”
“No, don’t—I mean, it’s yours. I’m not going to tell you—” She somewhat reluctantly let him take the self-portrait from her and shove it back into one of the shelves. “But congratulations. On…” She gave him a quick once-over. She couldn’t help it. “…Everything.”
It was hard to tell in the fading light of the garage, but it seemed like his cheeks went pink.
“Thanks.”
They stood there, somewhat uneasily. It was long past time for her to make her exit.
“I should probably go.”
She didn’t move.
He nodded, still seeming a little bashful about meeting her eyes.
“Thanks for inviting me over. I learned a lot.” She paused. “About your furniture.”
He nodded again, finally lifting his head, his eyes boring into her, dark and intense. “Just let me know what you need from me.”
Was that a double entendre? Was he finally flirting with her? Whether he meant to or not, the way he said it made the tips of her ears grow hot. She had to remind herself it was for the best that she would never actually get what she needed from him—which was a shame, now that she had a better idea of the exact dimensions.
She started to head toward the open garage door, but his hand on her upper arm stopped her. Just a gentle touch, but it halted her in her tracks like he’d grabbed and yanked.
“Use the front door. Always leave out of the door you entered.” His voice was soft—a suggestion, not a command. She must have looked as confused as she felt, because he grinned. “Greek superstition. Don’t want to tangle the thread of your life.”
“Too late for that,” she muttered, but she waved goodbye to Simon and followed Niko through the connecting door back into the house.
She grabbed her bag from the kitchen counter and slung it over her shoulder, willing her head to clear. “Thanks,” she repeated, a little unsure what she was thanking him for.
“You don’t do this a lot, do you?”
“What?”
“Hang out.”
Her first impulse was to get defensive, but her words came out sluggish and dreamy. “I hang out all the time. All I do is hang out,” she mumbled. “Just…not with other people. People I don’t live with.”
