“Jealousy, and I think there’s something seriously wrong with her. No one in their right mind would behave like that. Anyway,” I say, tapping my hands on his chest. “Let’s forget about Claudia for now. Tonight’s about your exhibition. Your guests are loving it. Congratulations. I’m so proud of you.”
He dips his head at the compliment. “It’s gone better than I expected. Your photographs are a hit too. Although, you didn’t need to expose yourself so much.”
“They are beautiful. I wanted them all to be seen, and not in some trashy way. Have they sold? I can’t imagine having my pictures hanging in someone’s place.”
He shakes his head.
My shoulders slump with disappointment for him and a little relief that no one will have the photos up in their homes. “I’m sorry.”
“No one bought them because they’re not for sale.”
I frown. “Why not?”
“Because they belong to me. They are getting pulled down as we speak. Everyone has seen and praised them. Seeing you as the goddess that you are. Now, they’ll get hung in my apartment for my eyes only.”
I laugh. “Sounds good to me.” As liberating as it felt to show such wonderful art to a room full of people, I’m happy to know it was only for a short time.
“You know what else sounds good?”
“What?”
“Leaving and getting you home.” A hint of heat is in his eyes.
“What about the exhibition?”
“Antonne can wrap it up.” Lucas gets to his feet, takes my hand, and pulls me up to meet him. “Follow me.”
My heart swells with love. “I’ll follow you anywhere.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
LUCAS
As I sit on the bed, propped up with pillows, I’m grateful I get to hold Penny in my arms every night for the rest of our lives. After finding out her photos had been leaked, things could have turned out a lot differently.
A heaviness weighs on my chest. “I didn’t get to apologize for not deleting your photos off my camera. I promised you I would. Every time I tried, I couldn’t do it. They were so special to me. Never did I think anyone would steal them. I’m so sorry. I hope you can forgive me.”
Penny tilts her face up and smiles. “Nothing to forgive. I’m glad you didn’t delete them.”
“Are you sure about that? A lot of people have seen them. The New York Post photographed them. They’re all over the internet.”
“It’s been a long time since something positive has been posted about me—about us. I have no regrets.” She splays herhand on my chest. “I can’t believe how quickly we got everything set up for the exhibition. Antonne performed a miracle.” After Penny figured out what Claudia had done, she called me to set up the plan. A plan that went perfectly.
“He sure knows how to put a show together. Didn’t even break a sweat when he had to rearrange the whole exhibition in a matter of hours right before the guests were due to arrive.”
“I’ll have to send him a gift basket.” Penny smiles.
“Make sure you add a bottle of vodka. He’ll need it.” I comb my fingers through her hair. “With everything going on, and the rush to get the photos ready, I never got to ask you how you knew it was Claudia and not me who leaked the photographs.”
She gives me a surprised look. “I can’t believe you’d think I’d accuse you.”
“It looked like I was holding the smoking gun. I wouldn’t blame you if you did.”
“There were only four people who knew about the photos. You, me, my mother, and Claudia. As much as my mom wants to boost my career, she’d never stoop so low. The only one left was Claudia. She immediately pointed the finger at you. Wanted me to believe you leaked them. What she didn’t know was how much you love me. I had faith in that. Our ‘fake’ relationship was more real than anything I’ve ever experienced before. When you love someone, you don’t hurt them. You’d never hurt me. It only took a moment for everything to make sense. All the things that had happened in my life—the naked high school photos, Darren’s video, the paparazzi always finding me when no one should know where I was, leaked stories—was all her doing. I made Claudia think I believed you did it so I could make a plan.”
“What a sensational plan it was. You were amazing. I’m so proud of you,” I say. She gives me a shy smile. I kiss her forehead. “I’m sorry for what she put you through. Will you be okay?”
Her eyes turn sad. “If I’m honest, I’m going to miss the friendship I thought we had. Even though it was all a lie, I feel like I’ve lost a friend. I know it sounds silly.”
