Page 22 of Over the Limit

“What do you paint?”

“Things that make me feel good.”

“So I’ll be seeing one of me then?” I joke, earning me a shy smile and flushed cheeks.

Damn. She’s stunning.

It’s like I’m so comfortable talking to her and then she does something like the look she’s giving me right now, and I’m reminded how goddamn gorgeous she is—even with her hair up, no makeup on, and Tinkerbell slippers.

“Do you have any photos of them?” I think of her social media posts and how none of them show anything of her hobby. “I want to see one.”

“No. God, no.” But the flush of her cheeks tells me she does.

“You’re lying, but that’s okay. I’ll get you to show me sometime.”

Our eyes meet and hold. Her lashes flutter above those brilliant eyes of hers. “We’ll see about that. Number two . . . I collect bottle caps and corks.”

“Bottle caps and corks?”

“Yes. In a glass vase. From places I’ve been. Experiences I’ve had. Things I want to remember.”

“How do you remember which one is what memory?”

“Now you’re really trying to embarrass me.”

“Humor me.”

“I may have each one numbered with a corresponding spreadsheet on my computer.”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“Yep.”

“Organized and beautiful,” I say without thought. “That’s quite the combo.”

“Thank you,” she murmurs. “It’s silly but . . . I just do it out of habit.”

“No, you do it because it matters to you. Don’t downplay it.” I shift and my thigh presses against her knee. “I’m beginning to see a pattern of you not owning your awesomeness. It looks to me like the only person who tones down your sparkle is you.”

“Whatever.” She rolls her eyes.

“And three?”

“I like to read.” She holds up her paperback.

“What do you like about it?”

“The escape. The stepping into someone else’s shoes for a few pages. The feelings that the author evokes.” She looks down at the cover and then back at me. “Next to art, books are my happy place.”

“Really?”

“Mm-hmm. Some women like flowers.” She shrugs. “I like books.”

“What’s that one about?” I ask, genuinely curious. She’s hidden behind all these layers, and I want to unpeel them one by one.

“Attraction. Betrayal. Redemption. Like all good love stories are.”

I twist my lips and stare at her. “True love doesn’t require betrayal.”