A woman as beautiful, as intriguing as Helena, not someone’s muse? I couldn’t believe it. Although, as an artist, it gave me more of an excuse, but still...Hayley’s was Matt’s muse and even if he didn’t say it like that, she knew she was inspiration for him, just like he was for her. Did Helena not have that in her life?
I held out the chair for her, and Helena waffled before finally just sitting down. But I could tell she was helping me to move her in closer to the table.
Once I’d taken my spot across from her, I smiled softly. “You, Helena, are radiant. I refuse to believe you’ve never inspired someone.”
She shrugged. “You’re just saying that because you don’t want to sound like a creep.”
“I’m saying it because I haven’t been able to draw, or paint, in weeks. Just because you’ve never heard it, doesn’t mean it’s not true.” I opened the folder and turned it around so that she could see the art inside.
I’d spent some time finishing it, adding touches to really bring it to life. To fully capture the curvy goddess in front of me. “This is you.”
She reached out, stopping just shy of running her fingers down the drawing. “This woman is radiant. But me? I’m… not.”
“Give me time to show you differently. Let me draw you again before you leave for wherever it is you call home.” I closed the portrait and handed it over. “Let me show you your beauty, Helena.”
She seemed almost stunned in silence, holding the folder gingerly in her hands, as if she wasn’t willing to set it down again.
When she didn’t say anything more, I posed the question, “When do you leave?”
“I’m here for three more days. But I…” She shook her head. “I can’t pose for you. I’d feel too weird.”
“You don’t have to pose. You don’t have to sit still, afraid to breathe, just because I’m sketching. We could even just talk, and I could draw while I learn more about you.”
She blushed slightly in the dim light of the restaurant. “I’ll think about it.” Then she set the folder down on an empty chair and picked up the menu. “Were you serious about dinner?”
“If you’ll stay with me. You’re much better company than eating all alone.”
The truth was, if she decided to run, I doubted I’d stay in the restaurant at all. I would’ve probably just gone to my room, ordered in, and set the TV to play a show or movie with closed captioning on.
But with Helena, I didn’t mind the ambient noise of the restaurant. I didn’t mind the fact that every once in a while, her tone registered in a place that my implant mic didn’t pick up easily, and it gave me an excuse to watch those crimson painted lips.
I could’ve stayed in that restaurant forever, memorizing the planes of her face. The gentle curve of her eyelashes as she glanced over the top of her menu at me. The way her hair fell around her face, almost like it was curtaining her from the rest of the world.
“What brings you to L.A.?” Helena leaned in closer, her eyes wide and focused on me.
“My brother and his family live out here.” I smiled. “What about you?”
“My little sister’s getting married. We went wedding dress shopping today.”
She looked sad. It made me want to pull her into my arms and chase the sadness away. “Do you not approve?”
“Of the dress? Or the marriage?” She chuckled. “Marcus is perfect for Daphne. Treats her like a little princess. And the dress… is exactly what I figured she’d get.”
“Then why is there sadness in your eyes?” I reached across the table and brushed my thumb over her cheek.
Helena shook her head. “It’s nothing. I’m not sad, really. It’s just going to be a rough wedding. Especially since Daphne’s getting married in Tuscany. It’ll be days of festivities. Days of getting asked why she’s getting married before me.”
“Surely it’s not as bad as all that. It’s not like you’re some old maid who’s never going to have any prospects.” I tilted my head at her. “I don’t really get the antiquated idea of getting married in the order you were born in anyway. My brother, Chuck, settled down before our eldest brother, Matt, did.”
“It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me either, but that’s not stopping anyone else from asking. It’s a little different for women too.”
I couldn’t understand how there weren’t men lining up to talk to her, to try their hand at wooing her. “Just tell them to fuck off.”
Helena laughed and shook her head. “If only.”
5
Helena
I didn’t understand how I got so damn lucky.
This gorgeous guy legitimately seemed interested in me, in what I had to say, and his warm smile was genuine.
Giovanni’s art… I could hardly breathe looking at it. It didn’t look like me, or at least not the me I saw in the mirror. But it felt like me.
Giovanni seemed to still be looking at me that way. Like I was more than just Daphne’s fat older sister.
“Tell me something about yourself, Helena,” Giovanni said.
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “There’s not a lot to tell. I live in Austin, Texas. I own my own shop.”
“What kind of shop?”
“I love all things vintage and one of a kind. My mom’s best friend, Bella, was like the big sister I never had. She had this great shop and I used to spend all my free time there when I was a teenager. It had all this stuff. I think I spent my entire allowance there for two years. Vintage one of a kind items or just kitschy stuff. Austin is a big college town with a huge live music vibe, which seems to make the perfect mix to keep the shop open and making money. I have a small coffee shop in there and I host local artists’ artwork, sculptures, photographs. Even a class now and then, when I can find an artist who wants to teach. And tons of crafts from locals. Knitted, crocheted, chainmaille, jewelry, little figurines. All kinds of stuff.”
“That sounds amazing. What’s it called?”
“The Vintage Goddess.”
He grinned and leaned back in his chair. “That’s perfect. Do you and Bella run it together?”
My eyes fell to my plate. “No, she passed away two years ago from cancer. She left me the shop. It was kind of a shock to her family at first, aside from her husband. But Bella’s daughter said after she thought it about it, it made perfect sense. She said no one loved that store more than I did, aside from Bella, of course.”
He reached across the table and squeezed my hand. “She trusted you to keep her legacy alive.”
“I’m just thrilled it’s still afloat.” I sipped some of my wine trying to chase away the mix of sadness and pride.
“You run Vintage Goddess and what else?”
I glanced down at where our hands are still joined. “I do the usual stuff, I guess. I read. Obsess after one streaming television show after another. I go see live music with my friends. I wish I traveled more. What about you?”
Dinner turned into dessert, which turned into drinks. I lost track of how long we sat there talking. And we talked about everything. Each subject blending into the next. He asked questions and didn’t do all the talking. He was sincere and responsive when I talked about something I was interested in.
I thought my family was crazy, but it was just the two of us and our parents. I couldn’t imagine being one of thirteen. And yet he was down to earth, easy to talk to, and the way he looked at me really made me feel like he saw me.
After my third glass of wine, Giovanni smiled at me. “Helena, what is it going to take to get you to sit for me?”
“I still don’t know if I’m entirely comfortable. But we can try it. I have brunch with my sister and her fiancé tomorrow. When do you want to do this?”
“We could go upstairs. Get comfortable.”
I swallowed hard. Was he hitting on me? Did he want more than to sketch me? “What kind of portrait are you trying to draw?”
“As much as I’d like to draw you in the nude, I was thinking we’d just start clothe
d.” He smirked, his dark eyes dancing with humor and if I wasn’t completely mistaken, desire. “We could get another bottle of wine, head upstairs.”
“Not yet.” I shook my head, not able to trust myself with him. He was gorgeous, smart, funny, and if we ended up in a bedroom, with a bed, I wasn’t sure he’d get any sketching done. “Maybe tomorrow afternoon, in my cabana?”
“Okay.” He nodded. “I’m in room 1312 if you change your mind.” He got up and reached for my hand, squeezing gently before he leaned down and brushed a whisper soft kiss over my cheekbone. “You’re welcome to come up, if you decide you can’t wait.”
He helped me to my feet, and we headed out of the restaurant together.
I knew we needed to both get on an elevator, both head up to the higher floors, but I couldn’t be in that small a space with him. Not with the way my emotions were bouncing back and forth, playing havoc with my libido. If he tried anything more than just the gentle brush of a kiss, I didn’t think I’d have any trouble following him up into his room, letting him turn the lights off, strip me out of my dress, and maybe, just maybe, he’d manage to get me off.
“I’ve got to make a call, check in on a couple things, before I head upstairs. I’ll see you tomorrow. Around three, maybe?”
“Three sounds perfect.”
He headed into the elevator, and as the doors closed behind him, I pressed my hand to my chest and let out a wispy little sigh. The sort of sound I never made, but Giovanni brought it out in me.
Once I was sure his elevator was far enough away that I could get another, I pressed the button, idly imagining what it would be like to take him as my date to Daphne’s wedding. He’d certainly look good in a tux. And out of one.
And if he was half this nice to me there, when there were plenty of other women to be inspired by, maybe it would be bearable facing down the event without a husband of my own.
But that was crazy. He was an artist from New York. Talented, incredible, and way out of my league. The only thing he wanted from me was the chance to draw me.
Oh, shit! I’d left my drawing back at the table.
I ran back to the restaurant as quickly as I could in my heels. But the table was bussed. The folder was gone.
How was I going to convince him to not only draw me again, but to let me have another piece of his work?
The thoughts of him drawing me again brought a smile to my face. Even if I was disappointed to lose the first one, maybe it gave me the reason I needed to see him again and take a chance at letting him sketch me again.
“Seriously, Hellie, what’s in the water here, that’s got you grinning like this? I can’t remember the last time I saw you look this happy all the time.”
With as tightly wrapped around Marcus as Daphne was, I was surprised she could see anything at all.
“Maybe L.A. agrees with me more than I thought it would.” I shrugged. “What are the two of you doing today?”
“We were thinking we’d spend the afternoon on the beach.” Marcus kissed along Daphne’s neck, making her squirm closer to him and turn a light shade of pink.
“All afternoon?” I took a swig of my mimosa to hide my disappointment. If they were in the cabana, or anywhere near it, there was no way I could have Giovanni there. I wasn’t ready to introduce him to Daphne or Marcus.
I wasn’t ready for him to see her, and possibly decide she was more worthy of his time, of his art.
I didn’t think I would survive if the sexy artist wanted to Daphne to be his muse over me.
“Oh, I don’t know if it’ll be all afternoon. Why? Was there something you wanted to do?” She turned away from Marcus to focus on me.
“Not really. I was just thinking about using the cabana, but if you guys are using it, I don’t want to be in your way. You are paying for it, after all.”
“We could share. Come on, we’ll all go together!”
I loved that Daphne wanted to include me in things. That she wanted me to be a part of her world, even though her world was clearly monopolized by her relationship with Marcus. But I really didn’t want to miss out on time with Giovanni, just to spend the afternoon trying to avoid watching my soon to be brother-in-law get handsy with my little sister.
“I’ll think about it. I was just going to spend some time reading, chilling out on my own.”
It wasn’t entirely a lie. I did want to relax, and Giovanni had certainly been interested in drawing me yesterday when I had an e-book in my hands.
“Oh. Okay.” Daphne’s lower lip pouted out, but Marcus quickly chased it away with a kiss that was almost hot enough to make my toes curl.
“Let her have her vacation, love.” He patted her hip and turned to me. “We can go to dinner tonight, maybe? Or I can get just the two of you a reservation?”
“Yeah, maybe.” I hated that I was secretly hoping that Giovanni would ask me to dinner again. I hated that I’d come out here for Daphne, to be a good sister, and all I wanted to do was ditch her for a guy I just met. A guy who hadn’t even tried to properly kiss me.
“Please try, Hellie? I know we don’t always see eye to eye, but we almost never get time just the two of us. And it’s not like you’ve got someone beating down your door for your attention, right?”
“Actually, there is a guy.”
God, did I really just say that? I couldn’t tell her about Giovanni. She wouldn’t understand. She’d think I was crazy. Or that I was being too easy, falling for a guy who wasn’t really interested in me.
“Really?” Her eyes grew wide. “Now you have to come to dinner. And bring this guy. Tell me all about him.”
“He’s an old friend. I ran into him yesterday, and we ended up getting drinks last night after your dress appointment. He’s an artist.”
“An artist, Hellie? Really? God, you don’t think he’s after you for money, is he?”
I shook my head. “He’s really talented. And he paid for everything last night, not me. Giovanni’s not like that.”
“Giovanni? Ooh, he sounds hot. Is he foreign? I bet he’s foreign. Men in America just don’t have names like that.”
“Hey!” Marcus swatted her playfully on the thigh. “Don’t forget your fiancé’s right here.”
“Oh, Marcus, you know what I mean. But if you doubt how hot I think you are, we could go back upstairs. I could do that tongue thing I know you like.”
Ugh. I so did not need to hear about my little sister’s sex life.
“I’ll call him, see if he has any interest in going to dinner. But he’s pretty private. Don’t be surprised if he declines the invite.”
“Is he who you’re bringing to the wedding?”
I took another long, slow drink from my mimosa, trying to figure out a way out of this question. If I said yes, and he wanted to go to dinner, but didn’t want to go to the wedding, Daphne would assume I was a liar. But if he didn’t want to go to dinner, she’d never know the difference.
In the end, I settled on, “I could ask him.”
She clapped a couple times, her glee apparent as she kissed Marcus’s cheek. “Make us reservations tonight, babe, for four. Somewhere nice.” Then she turned to me. “Don’t take no for an answer, Hellie. I have to size him up, see if he’s going to look good in a tux for the wedding.”
I nodded along, even though I couldn’t even imagine bringing him to dinner, let alone asking him to go to Italy with me.
And there was no way I would be able to afford two tickets to Florence. It was going to be a stretch just to get myself there.
What had I gotten myself into?
At quarter to three, I waited near the back doors to the hotel, the ones that led down to the beach.
I’d already scoped out the sand and the cabana, making sure he didn’t end up there.
What if he stood me up? Or what if he found another route to the cabana, and I missed him?
“Helena.”
His voice was soothing, almost like a balm to my stress.
“
Hey. I know we were going to do this in my cabana today, but…” I let out a slow breath. “My sister and her fiancé are using it right now, and I really don’t want to deal with them being all over each other. I was thinking maybe we could go for a walk or something? Or we could go up to my room?” At least if we did that, it wouldn’t just be a bed.
“A walk sounds wonderful.” He offered his arm to me, as if he expected me to walk arm in arm with him.
I couldn’t remember a time when I just walked with someone, let alone intentionally touching them as we walked.
“Where should we go? I’m not real familiar with the area.” I carefully linked arms with him and let him set the pace toward the front doors of the hotel.
“I’m not either, but the way I figure it, if we get lost, we’ll either have an adventure, or an excuse to call a cab when the time comes to return.”
He was so easy going. So chill.
“Okay.” I glanced over at him as we got to the edge of the parking lot and had to choose which way to go. “I’ll need to be back before five though. I have dinner reservations.” No part of me wanted to invite him. I was kind of enjoying having him all to myself.
“I think we can manage that.” He smirked. “Not going out with another artist, are you?”
Were we going out? God, I really needed to get my head out of my romance novel plots. “Just my sister and her fiancé. They, um, invited you along, if you want to go.”
“They want me to go? What about you, Helena?”
I shrugged slightly. “I don’t want to take up more of your time if you don’t want to give it. I’m sure you have better things to do than just hanging out with me.”
“I’m on vacation. I’m beholden to nothing but my art and whichever way the wind blows for the day. If you’d like me to go with you to dinner, I’d love to.”
He steered us toward a bench under a few huge palm trees, casting just enough shade to be a comfortable place to sit, and with a perfect view of the waves crashing onto the sand.
I sat gingerly, cautious not to take up too much of the space, to not hoard the bench. “Um, there’s was something else Daphne wanted me to ask you. But you can totally say no, and I won’t be offended at all.”
The Fiancé Agreement Page 4