“Yes.No.”
I love my art.I’d be flattered and excited if anyone showed an interest in my drawings.
“It’s incredible people would pay that much for signatures,” I say at last.
“They’d pay that much for your art,” he corrects.“You see people in a way that’s better than how they see themselves.I wish you could see yourself like I see you.”
“How is that?”
In the water, our silhouettes are reflected from the lights behind us, his dark eyes holding mine prisoner in our shared reflection.
“When I see your drawings, I see you.You’re brave and kind and so fucking beautiful it hurts to look at you.”
My heart beats in my ears.“No one’s ever done anything like this for me.”
“Stolen your possessions and auctioned them off?”
“Exactly.Thank you.”I stare out at the lights shining over the pool, feeling like I’m seen and like I belong.In the last place I expected, I feel like I belong.“Even Harlan looked happy,” I go on.“He’s good for Mari.I can’t imagine a better guy to have in the family, even if you and he don’t see eye to eye.”
His smile fades.“You remember the girl back in college that cheated on me and the entire team lied about it?Harlan was the one who told them to keep it quiet.”
My heart wrenches at the bitterness in his voice.“I don’t believe?—”
“It’s true.I caught them two weeks before Finals.She admitted it had been going on and who had helped cover it up.It was Harlan’s idea not to tell me so it wouldn't mess with my game.He knew the entire semester but decided that winning mattered more than the truth.”
My chest tightens.“I’m sorry.That must have been hell.”
“For a while.Then it didn’t.”He doesn’t explain more.“I decided she was dead to me and so was management.I played out of my mind so that I never had to rely on suits or anyone else ever again.”
“And it worked,” I murmur.
He became an all-star.Revered.Untouchable.
“Maybe Harlan made a mistake.Maybe he’s changed.”
“I don’t care if he has.I’m not giving him another chance to burn me like that.”
I understand a little more why he’s closed off the way he is, why trusting people in general and Harlan in particular feels dangerous.
I can’t help asking, “Was she the last woman you loved?”
Clay shifts on his feet.“Could be it wasn’t even love.I’m not sure I’m made for that.”
My heart aches for him, for the fact that he’s missing out on the beauty that can happen when you let another person in.
Not like I’m the poster child for choosing romantic partners, but I want to believe in that kind of love.
A sound outside reminds me where we are.That there are people who’ll notice soon that we’re gone, if they haven’t already.
“Harlan’s marrying my sister in two more days,” I say quietly.“I get that you have history, but they’re happy.I won’t let anything get in the way of that.”
“No inviting a herd of LA fans to crash the wedding.Got it.”
My lips twitch.“Now if only I could find this song of our mom’s.I thought I could fit it into the music during the ceremony to surprise her.It would be like Mom and Dad were there.”
His hand brushes mine, and he laces our fingers together.“You have a good heart, Pink.You’ll figure it out.”
We stand like that for a minute or five.I don’t want to move, just be here with him.
