Mateo snorted as the two of us did our best to not immediately turn around. His hand was firmly in mine and he’d occasionally give me a squeeze as the anticipation built.
Sunlight filled her studio, turning all of her artwork vibrant. In the corner, the painting that Austin and I had crashed into months ago was patched up, but unfinished. Avery had started a new one that she’d been hiding from us—until today.
“Can we look now?” Mateo asked.
“No.”
He shook his head as we listened to her shuffle behind us. The scent of paint was stronger than normal, but I’d gotten used to it. I’d also gotten used to seeing it all over Avery or somehow on my things.
Just earlier this week, Mateo and I had discovered specks of blue and pink on our boxers.
Although, we all knew howthathad happened.
“Okay.” Avery blew out a breath. “I think it’s ready. I’ve been working really hard on this.”
My chest squeezed with excitement. Mateo was buzzing next to me.
“Can we look?” he asked.
“Yes. Turn around.”
Mateo’s hand tightened in mine before releasing me, and we both turned around together. My eyes widened and my mouth dropped as a large canvas was revealed. Avery was hiding her face with her hands next to it, her cheeks pink.
“Oh my god,” Mateo whispered.
It was beautiful. It was even better than the one we’d seen before.
It was the three of us, but with our backs turned. We all sat together on a blanket in the desert, the sun setting and turning the landscapes a thousand shades of pink. Cacti bloomed inthe foreground, and everything about it was full of a bright hopefulness that filled me with warmth.
“Avery,” I said. “This is amazing. You outdid yourself, baby.”
She peeked at us through her fingers. “Really?”
“I need this in our house,” Mateo said. “As soon as you walk in. With a spotlight. And a plaque.”
“And the plaque says it was painted by the most beautiful woman in the world.”
“Yes. And next to it is a photo of you?—”
“Oh my god,” she laughed, finally pulling her hands away from her face and revealing a big grin. “Both of you are ridiculous.”
Ridiculously, completely, hopelessly in love with you.
Stars sprawled out in the sky above us, completely untouched by humanity. This far out from town, it felt like the three of us were the only people in the world. There was no light pollution.Nothing.
“Do you ever get bored of living here?” Avery asked.
Mateo raised his head and looked at me. “That’s a good question. Are you bored of us? You’ve lived here for a year now. It’s so different from how your life used to be. Volunteering at the station and taking photos for a living isn’t very glamorous.”
I snorted and tightened my grip on both of their hands. They had no idea how much happier I was now. It’d taken some work to figure out what I was doing with my life after my hockey career ended, but I’d figured it out.
We’dfigured it out.
“I could never get bored of either of you,” I finally said.
Avery rolled onto her side and placed her chin on my chest. I was in between her and Mateo, which happened more often than not. Our Dom liked being the little spoon.
“I didn’t say bored ofus, silly. I said ofliving here.”
