Page 120 of Painted Truths

I can't stop my eyes from filling with unshed tears, my heart picking up speed at his sincere, impassioned words.

"I'm going to spend the rest of my life fighting for you, fighting to be deserving of you because… I love you, Peach. I love you so fucking much, and I'm tired of not being honest with you. Of not being honest with myself."

He pauses, his eyes peering even more intensely into my own as he cradles my face between his palms. My body thrums under the heady concoction of his words and his touch, while my mind races to catch up in the silence that envelops us.

"Having you in my life, being a part of your world—it's like I've spent my entire life existing in the grey matter, the in-between. Not alive, all but dead inside, but meeting you, knowing you—loving you, it's like you've painted my heart with all the light within your beautiful soul, chasing away the darkness of before."

As the magnitude of his confession settles around me like a longed-for comfort blanket, a single tear falls down my cheek so that he bends forward, gently kissing it away before pulling me in against his broad chest.

"Please don't say anything tonight. Sleep on it, baby." Henry gestures around the room, including himself. "Let all of this settle first. Okay?"

Despite wanting nothing more than to tell him how I feel—how I’m sure I’ve felt for a while now—I nod almost shyly before he scoops me up, earning him a yelp of surprise.

His long strides eat up the hallway until we're once again in his room.

No, our room.

Depositing me on one of the most enormous beds I've ever seen, he pulls his ruined shirt off my shoulders, tossing it on a chair before stepping out of the rest of his clothes and climbing under the covers.

Pulling me against his side, I slide my leg over his and cuddle close, already feeling sleep tugging at my eyelids. The last thing that registers before I'm pulled under is his soft whisper into my hair, his words landing on my ears and travelling straight to my soul, to be cherished forever.

"I can't wait to make a life with you, Peaches."

* * *

I wake a couple of hours later, firmly entrenched in Henry's muscular arms, the lights of the still sleeping city illuminating the room around us.

Disentangling myself as quickly and quietly as possible, I make the short trip to the loo to relieve myself, my bladder fit to bursting after the amount of alcohol consumed in the previous twenty-four hours.

Once I've washed up, I walk back into the bedroom and grab a t-shirt from Henry's drawers. He's still sleeping so soundly, handsome as ever, with a relaxed brow giving him a peaceful, contented look that I need to see on his face more often.

Deciding I want to do something nice for the man that loves me, I tiptoe quietly from the room in search of sustenance, only to find Henry's cabinets are bare, apart from a half-full bag of sugar and some coffee beans for a machine that wouldn't look out of place at MI5.

His fridge is mildly better. There's a little milk, some eggs, and a block of hard cheese. But it's way stinkier than what I'm used to. Maybe it's rich people's cheese; perhaps it's gone sour. How would I know?

I wonder if he's got something like a pantry, so I move around the open-plan kitchen slash living area, the epitome of a woman on a mission, opening and closing doors to find precisely nothing.

He wasn't kidding last night when he said he just uses his studio. The memory of the words spoken in his private, sacred space last night sets my senses aflame as I decide today is the day. Today, I’m going to show him how much I love him before saying the words I so desperately wanted to say last night.

Right, enough is enough. The day is beginning to break over the city, and there's got to be a corner shop down the street, so I grab a pair of clean grey jog pants and a matching sweater from the laundry room, winding the waistband up several times before leaving a note.

We need to get groceries sorted, McHottie.

Your love cannot live on sex alone, no matter how flutter inducing!

Gone to find sustenance.

Back in five, ten at a push!

Since Henry's feet are way bigger than mine, I've got no choice but to slip on my heels from the night before. Ready to go, I hit the call button for the elevator, which arrives in moments, and I can't help grinning like an absolute idiot as I take in my ensemble in the elevator mirrors.

Shaking my head at the absolute state of myself, the elevator has hit the ground floor by the time I'm able to wipe the entirely too pleased grin from my face. Except for a lone door attendant, the foyer is empty. I hold back a grin as he bids me good morning while trying to withhold his look of judgment.

"Good morning. I'm just wondering if there's a corner shop somewhere nearby?"

"There sure is, Miss. Out the door, take a left and McKellan's is a stone's throw."

Nodding my thanks, I step out into the cool morning air before turning left in search of food.