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"Oh, it would be so amazing to see some of your art up in here. Maybe one of the new pieces? What—oh," she said when I took a guilty sip of my wine. "Ohhh, are the new pieces dirty?" she asked, knowing me far too well.
"Some more so than others," I agreed.
"Well, now that I have seen the art... in action," she said, laughing at my pained groan, "can I see the actual art pieces?"
"Okay. Maybe some of them. Some I think are for my eyes only," I said.
"What is for your eyes only?" Fitz asked, coming into the kitchen wearing a pair of lightweight black pajama pants and a white tee. It was the most casual I'd ever seen him dressed. Which, somehow, felt almost as intimate as having him naked with me.
"Oh, the canvases she's done heavily featuring, I imagine, your penis," Perry declared, surprising Fitz enough to make him pause mid-stride and turn a choking noise into a cough.
"She's not wrong," I admitted, shrugging at him.
"You've been painting me?" he asked, sounding both flabbergasted and touched at the same time.
"I had to work out my feelings for you somehow," I told him.
"And instead of talking it out with me, you painted it."
"Yes, like the totally normal, not at all emotionally insecure artist that she is," Perry agreed, getting small eyes from me.
"Perry, nice to see you again," Fitz said, offering her a small smile, not at all bothered by the fact that she'd seen us fucking. But, then again, she wasn't his best friend.
"You too. Thanks for the wine," she said, toasting him.
"I tried to pick out the least expensive-looking bottle," I admitted, waving toward it.
"And somehow managed to choose the most expensive," he said with a chuckle as he reached for my glass, taking it for a sip.
"Well, she's worth it, at least," Perry declared, always ready to jump to my defense, and I loved her all the more in that moment.
"That she is," Fitz agreed, wrapping an arm around my lower back, fingers digging in at my waist. Firm, possessive.
He got the smile of approval from Perry at those words.
"So, Fitzwilliam," Perry started.
"Fitz," he corrected.
"Mr. Buchanan," Perry tried again.
"When she would talk about you when she worked here, she called you by your full name. Like you were a celebrity or something," I informed him.
"Anyway," Perry said, rolling her eyes. "While I am over the moon that you and my best friend here have a shared interest in her exhibitionism, we have a question for you."
"Uh oh," Fitz mumbled, taking another sip of my drink. "What's that?"
"What's with all the cameras?" she blurted out, making his body tense a bit.
"Oh, right," he said, looking uncomfortable.
"I mean, you know it is totally not normal to have them all over your house like this, right? It's why I quit."
"You knew they were there?" Fitz asked, brows pinching.
"Of course I knew. I used to nanny. Hidden cameras aren't all that hidden if you know what you're looking for. What?" she asked, making me turn my head to look at Fitz who looked like he'd just been kicked in the gut.
"What's wrong? Is it about the cameras?" I asked.
"Yes. Sort of."
"Why do you have them?"
"Because someone has been stealing from me," Fitz explained.
"What? Really?" I asked. "Who do you think it is?"
"I think it's Blake," Fitz admitted, and suddenly, all the animosity he felt toward his brother made a lot of sense. If I offered my fancy guest house and a job and an allowance to someone who returned the favor by stealing from me, I would have a hard time carrying on any civil conversations with them as well.
"Really? Blake?" I asked.
"What? You don't think so?" he asked.
"I don't know. I mean, I guess he is capable. But Blake strikes me more like someone who would steal from you blatantly, don't you think? Just grab something off your shelf as he was walking away, in full sight of you."
"You're not wrong," Fitz admitted. "He likes to push buttons almost as much as he likes money."
"And you do have a lot of people in and out of the house on a weekly basis," I added. There was always something getting maintenance or serviced or projects getting done.
"True," Fitz agreed. "So, it could be anyone."
"Pretty much," I agreed, giving him a wince. "Has the stealing stopped since the cameras were installed?"
"No. That's the frustrating part. The cameras have been up for almost a year, but shit is still going missing. I can't figure it out. Well, no, that's not true. Things haven't gone missing in a few months."
"I didn't steal anything!" Perry squeaked, thinking he was going to blame her. "I mean, I totally stole some apples and oranges. But you always made me order too many, and they would go bad before you ate them."
