“Maybe, if you play your cards right, you can stay here tonight.”
My heart nearly burst. I tipped his chin up and kissed him, and he sighed into my hold and moved so I had an easier time fitting my mouth over his. I slid my hands down his back to pull him flush to my body and the dog grumped nearby, loud enough that I laughed as I let Noah go.
He cupped my cheek, then petted one finger down to where I knew there was more of a hollow than there used to be. “You haven’t eaten yet?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does.” He stood aside and gestured. “Come in.”
Glancing around as I entered, I loved all the touches that screamed Noah, especially the mess from his paints in one corner. I’d missed finding his things scattered around. “Oh, why are the gifts I sent you not in here?” I stopped in the middle of the room.
His eyelids lowered until I was getting a very familiar look that sent a thrill through me. “Did you notice you’re in my apartment?”
Grinning for the first time in what felt like forever, I nodded. “Did indeed, darlin’.”
Noah closed his eyes and smiled. “They weren’t what I wanted from you. And besides, the Charger wouldn’t fit in the elevator.”
I groaned. “You never used to tell jokes like that.” I gently tugged Noah in for another hug, and Brutus whuffed softly and walked around us, as if keeping track of what we were up to—or maybe what I was doing to his owner.
“Can I be myself this time?” he asked, and I hated the wobble in his tone. He might sound brave telling me what for, but there was still a lot of growing we both needed to do.
“Please. I want all the awful jokes you’ve got if it means I get to have you, too.” He snickered and leaned back, smacking my chest. The dog whined, and Noah let out an adorable little gasp and bent to pet him.
“He was a rescue. Someone was mean to him. He needs extra love.” Noah glanced up at me, and I felt like the world’s biggest fuckhead as a few things rearranged in my head. I bent down with him, and I was happy when Brutus allowed me to pet his soft back.
“I can do that,” I whispered and pressed a kiss to Noah’s cheek.
He stared at me for a second, then rested his head on my shoulder, smiling.
“Mama’s gonna skin me alive the next time I talk to her, isn’t she?” I asked.
“Oh yeah.” He didn’t bother holding back a laugh.
I groaned but couldn’t be happier.
22
NOAH
I staredaround the room with my artistic eye, focusing on the quality of the light and the way my canvas was positioned in the middle. To the right was a cupboard of supplies, from paints to brushes to my favorite pencils and everything in between. It was perfect and exactly what I’d imagined when Alton told me I could have a studio in the house. The windows were large and open, looking out over the backyard and the sparkling pool, giving me as much sunlight as I needed for my inspiration. I preferred fresh air when I worked, and Alton took note of what I needed and gave it to me.
This was love.
The Truth Duke paintings he’d bought me were already on the walls, the perfect muse for an aspiring artist. It was as though Alton had looked into my head and known exactly what I wanted.
“What do you think?” Antoine asked, clearing his throat. To my surprise, he was more dressed down than usual, out of a suit and in a pair of black pants and crisp blue button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. It was a strange sight, not one I’d seen the entire time I’d lived here when Alton and I were fake married. I’d thought Antoine slept in his suit because I’d never seen him in anything else.
“Of that outfit or the room?” I grinned at him when he huffed and crossed his arms.
“You’re not funny,sir.”
“I think I’m really funny.” I laughed and turned back to stare around the space Alton had deemed mine when I agreed to move in again. “It’s perfect. It’s like he read my mind.”
“He went out himself to buy everything personally.” Antoine stepped up closer to me and nudged me with his elbow, a small smile lifting the corner of his mouth. “He cared enough to do that.”
I chuckled and bumped him back. “You don’t need to be Team Alton. He already won.”
He nodded and crossed his arms. “Just making sure, sir.”
