She opens the door, and the sound of Todd’s voice stirs tingles through my body. He crosses the doorway and stops in his tracks. His eyes roam up and down my body, and a smile slowly creeps across his mouth.
He crosses the room and hands me the bouquet of orchids. “Gorgeous, as always.” He bends down and kisses my cheek, igniting a rush of shivers. “I can’t wait to take you out of this dress,” he whispers before kissing my cheek again.
A blush rises up my neck. “You look handsome.” I kiss his cheek, rubbing the smooth skin with mine.
His dark jeans and T-shirt with an open jacket are enough to make me hot, but the smell of his cologne tops it off. He’ll be lucky if we get out of this apartment.
“Here you go.” Tati hands him the third glass of champagne.
“Thank you.” His eyes stay locked with mine. “Congratulations, gorgeous. You’re going to knock them dead tonight.” He clinks his glass with mine and sips.
He sets the glass down on the counter and holds out his arm for me to take. I slide my arm through his. Tati rounds the counter, and Todd holds out his other arm for her to take.
“Well, thank you, Mr. Hamilton.” She accepts his arm.
“Just so you know, Noodle’s my girl, though.”
I laugh.
Tati looks over at me. “That’s been evident for some time, Mr. Hamilton.” She unhooks her arm and scurries over to the door, opening it for us.
Twenty minutes later, the three of us stand in Art on Wells. Bette is pointing and directing the caterers on where to go and where not to go. I stop and look around at the art surrounding me. It’s all my art. My hard work is on display for people to see.
Todd and Tati leave me behind, sensing I need some time to absorb this moment.
I glance from my pictures to Todd escorting Tati around the gallery. He’s pointing to each one and offering her a brief description of each picture. Tears fill my eyes. This is it, what I’ve been working for.
A rush of cold air seeps through the sheer fabric across my back. A warm hand entwines fingers with mine, and I turn to find my mom. She looks up at me and smiles. The boisterous voices of the rest of my family follow. Before I grab another breath, I’m being crowded with hugs and kisses of congratulations.
“Mom.” I stop her before she moves away.
“Congratulations, Amelia.” Her bony fingers grip my upper arms, and she kisses each cheek.
“Thanks, Ma, but my photos.”
She must spot one behind me because her face pales. “Oh, my.”
She steps back, and I wait for the lecture.
“This is a little uncomfortable. I mean, he’s my future son-in-law.”
“Maybe you should go home.” I place my hand on her arm.
Her eyes lock on the picture. “It’s fine, Amelia. I’ll concentrate on your others.” She peruses around and notices ninety-nine percent are of Todd—naked. “Or I’ll eat some hors d’oeuvres, even though I could have made them better.”
She steps away, but I nudge her back.
“Mom, why did you say ‘future son-in-law’?”
She glances over to Todd and back to me. “He’s the one for you, Amelia. I’ve known since the first time you brought him to the house.”
“But I don’t even know if he’s Italian.”
I wonder if he knows if he’s Italian?
“I don’t care.” She pulls me into her arms. “If you’re happy, I’m happy. I know I gave you trouble with this, and as uncomfortable as I am, they’re beautiful.” She kisses my cheek and walks off toward the food.
My dad passes by, squeezing my shoulder, and follows my mom. I know he must have played a heavy hand in persuading my mom to come around, and I’ll have to thank him later.
The rest of my family spreads out and investigates the pictures. Todd comes over, saying hello to everyone. He doesn’t look uncomfortable in the slightest.
Does he realize he’s naked?
“How was it?” he asks.
I know he’s talking about my mother.
“She approves.” I stare at her while she’s cozied up to my dad.
“Of your photographs? That’s awesome.” His arm wraps around my shoulders, and he pulls me to him.
“And you.”
His arm loosens, and I twist to look at his facial expression.
“Really?”
“Yeah.” I reach up on my tiptoes and give him a tender kiss.
“I must be a catch if your mom approves.”
I laugh and playfully smack his chest. “You’re the biggest catch in the sea.”
“That’s cheesy, but I’ll take it.” His hand reaches around my back, and he brings me closer to him. Just as he’s about to kiss me again, the door swings open, and a slew of people file in. “Game on, baby. You got this.” His lips brush along my cheek, and he releases me.
Two hours later, a few people are lingering around. I’m eighty percent sold, mostly to women—Bette’s high-society friends, to be exact. My feet ache, and Todd’s using his best salesman tactics to sell the last few. Tati left because she was late on a deadline.
Bette’s heels click over to me. “This has been an excellent show, Amelia.” She hands me the paperwork. “I want you back in two months.”
My eyes spring out of the sockets, looking at the numbers. “Bette, these prices . . . they are higher than we agreed.”
She shrugs. “You underestimated yourself. You’re worth more than you think.” She pats me on the shoulder and clicks away into her office.
My heart races as the numbers ping in my head. Anxiety quickly replaces happiness. I have two months to take all-new pictures. I’m not sure I can do it.
The door opens, and brochures blow off the table, scattering along the floor. The assistants rush over to pick them up, but then they gawk at the figure walking right toward me.
He’s dressed in a black suit with the top two buttons of his white linen shirt undone. His footsteps are determined and set right at me. My eyes veer to Todd, who abandons the couple and steadily meets him in front of me.
“Lia.” Davis sighs.
Todd cuts him off and stands in front of me, just like he did with Cam a few weeks ago.
“Now isn’t the time, Davis.” He holds his hand in the air.
“You can’t protect her. I heard you two were dating, but I wasn’t finished with Lia.”
“Oh, I think you are.” Todd widens his stance.
“Davis, you obviously heard I’m with Todd. Why are you here?”
I slide to the side, and Todd’s hand captures mine.
“I’m here to win you over.”
I shake my head. “No, no. That’s not about to happen.”
“You wanted a grand gesture. I left the premiere and caught a friend’s jet to get here before your show was over.” Beads of sweat line his forehead.
I squeeze Todd’s hand and wait for him to look down at me. “I’ll be right back, okay?”
He nods, and I release his hand.
“Follow me,” I say to Davis before guiding him into the back room.
I shut the door and venture over to my purse. I shuffle through it and pull out the envelope from Tracker’s Gallery.
“Here.” I hand it to him. “I can’t accept this.”
He glances over it and shakes his head. “I have no idea what this is.” He hands it back to me and I take it.
“It’s the letter from the gallery space you paid for. Like I said out there, I’m with Todd now. I can’t accept this gift.” I hold it firmly in my hand.
“I didn’t do it.” His voice lowers, as though he’s ashamed he hadn’t thought of it.
“What?”
“I didn’t buy you a gallery space.”
The envelope drops from my hand and cascades to the floor, knowing who did. I step forward. “Davis, I appreciate you coming, but we both know we’re not meant to be.”
“Well, I didn’t know that until this moment, actually. Otherwise, I would have stayed in LA.” His phone buzzes in his pocket, and his hand moves to grab it.
“Go back to LA, Davis. Fight for your ex-wife, because you love her.” From the pictures, it’s evident. He looks at her like Todd does with me.
And that reminds me that Todd is the one I should be with in this moment. “I have to go.”
“Wait. How can you just toss me aside? I thought we had something.”