“He seemed like a pompous asshole to me,”Owen said.
“That pompous asshole bought two of yourpaintings,” Nicolette reminded him.
“I didn’t say he was an asshole with badtaste.”
Aida chuckled while Nicolette turned off thelast light. Owen held the door and waited for them to exit asNicolette set the alarm. When Nicolette was outside, Aida lockedthe door and put her keys in her purse.
“Good night,” she said to them before linkingher arm through Julian’s and leaning against his side. She didn’tlook back at them, but she could feel them watching as she andJulian strolled away.
“How was your night?” he asked.
“Good. I think we’ll sell the rest of thepaintings tomorrow. It’s been a successful showing. How was yournight?”
“It’s a lot better now,” he said as he kissedthe top of her head.
“It really is.”
They didn’t speak while they walked the restof the way to her apartment. Though her feet ached and she keptyawning, her pulse accelerated with every step they took toward herhome. Once they were inside, she planned to leisurely peel theclothes from his body and run her tongue over every inch ofhim.
By the time they reached her apartment, shewas so aroused she could barely breathe as her fingers slid beneathhis shirt.
CHAPTER 30
When the gallery finally closed at eight the nextnight, Aida practically skipped up to Julian before throwing herarms around his neck. He lifted her off the ground as he crushedher against him. She had the next two days off, and she was lookingforward to every minute of them.
Normally, she booked some headshot work onMondays and Tuesdays, but after the hectic craziness of a showing,she usually gave herself a couple of days off. For the first time,she was thankful Julian’s arrival coincided with the busyness ofOwen’s showing.
The gallery was supposed to have closed atfive, but things ran longer than Nicolette anticipated. The steadyflow of people still attending kept them from leaving, and in theend, they sold all of Owen’s paintings.
“I’m sorry work ran so late,” she said. Lastnight he’d told her that since she was getting off early, he wouldplan something for them.
“Don’t apologize,” he told her as he set herdown.
“I hope you didn’t have anything specialplanned,” she said.
“Nothing that couldn’t be changed.”
He pulled her against his side as they walkedback toward her apartment. Her stomach rumbled and she wasstarving, but she didn’t have it in her to go to the bar tonight.She’d order some Chinese food when she got home and stuff herself.Maybe she could talk Julian into a foot rub.
When they arrived at her building, she letthem in and leaned against his side as they trudged up the stairs.When they arrived at the third floor, he didn’t lead her to herapartment but continued up the stairs.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“To the change of plans,” he said.
Aida frowned at him, but the mischievoussmile he gave her melted her heart and made her aching feet alittle more bearable. Julian pulled her closer when they stoppedoutside the door to the roof. Pushing against the metal bar, heshoved the door open, and they walked outside together.
When the chilly air hit her, Aida shivered,and he held her closer. It was a good thing he’d planned for thecold.
Aida was excited to see what the change ofplans was, but she hoped they involved some heat as she huddleddeeper into her jacket. She couldn’t get any closer to his side ifshe tried. The door clicked shut behind them, and he led her aroundthe back of it to reveal a white tent. Her mouth parted as shegazed from him to the tent and back again.
“I know it’s not until Wednesday, but Ithought we could celebrate your birthday a little early,” he said.“This way, I could surprise you.”
“You remembered my birthday?” They were thesame age, but they never celebrated their birthdays together, andshe only ever mentioned it to him once before. She remembered hisbirthday, but that’s because it was easy; he was an April Fool’sDay baby.
“Of course. It’s April twenty-third.”
Aida didn’t know what to make of that as shegazed from him to the tent and back again while they walked towardit. It stood over six feet tall and was solid white, like a banquettent but smaller. He stopped to lift the flap of the tent, and whenhe pulled it back, a blast of heat drifted out to warm herskin.
