AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I huffed. “Yeah, well, carefree doesn’t come naturally to me.”
“Anymore.”
“Huh?” I frowned back at him.
“You used to be.” Sadness laced his tone.
I swallowed back the lump in my throat, knowing he was right. I barely had a worry in the world before my parents passed away, but now I was a mess.
“I used to envy it,” Ethan continued. “Perhaps even resented you for it.”
Finally, a reason for the years of torment. “So, what’s your reason for hating me now?”
Ethan stared at me in silence, then shrugged. “Habit, I guess.”
Pursing my lips, I turned to find another color. I chose a darker shade of green and squirted it onto the palette before picking up what looked like a bent knife. “How do I use this?” I asked, holding it up to the canvas.
“That depends on the effect you want,” Ethan said, moving behind me again. He covered my hand with his and gently pressed the flat edge of the knife into the paint. He then brought my hand to the canvas and dapped on the color. “Now spread it like butter on toast.”
I chuckled. “That I can do.”
Ethan eased the pressure of his hand as I took control, but he didn’t let go. His stubbled jaw caught and pulled at my blonde hair, making me push the strands behind my ear.Big mistake.Now there was nothing to hinder the heat between our cheeks, and my heart quickened when his mouth turned to the shell of my ear.
“You’re pretty good at this.”
“It’s actually quite relaxing,” I said, adding another smooth line to the canvas. “Like baking.”
“I bet you’d love to make your own paint. Half the ingredients come from your kitchen.”
“What?” I glared at the table, eyeing the empty egg cartons. “Is this where all my eggs have been disappearing to?”
“I use some of your spices too.”
Irritation filtered through my body, but I was too intrigued to yell at him. “Show me.”
With a snicker, Ethan gathered up some materials and sat on the antique swivel stool beside the table. I edged closer, curiously watching what he was doing over his shoulder.
“You need to get closer,” he said, pivoting on the chair to yank me onto his lap.
With a squeak, he whirled my small frame back to the table and proceeded to arrange the ingredients in front of me. Eggs, water, vinegar, chalk, my missing spices, along with a mortar and pestle. I leaned forward.What the fuck?
“What color do you want to make?”
I glanced back at my painting, unsure. “What do you think would look good with the green?” I asked, turning to meet his gaze that was entirely too close.
Ethan’s eyes lingered on mine before my cheeks flushed and I looked away.
“Blue,” he said, remaining notoriously casual as I melted into his lap.Why does he have to be so damn good looking?
He grabbed a piece of blue chalk, broke it in two, then placed them inside the mortar. “Now you need to grind them down to a powder.”
My spirit brightened as he handed me the pestle. “Oh, easy,” I uttered before pulverizing the chalk into the small vessel. This was well and truly in my comfort zone. “Now what?”
“Now we need to crack an egg and separate the yolk. I figure you know how to do that?”
“Pfft.” I almost laughed as I grabbed an egg, split it with one hand and separated it with ease.
“Now pinch the egg yolk, and let it dribble into this dish,” he said, moving a small bowl toward us. “Then add about five teaspoons of water and a couple drops of vinegar.”
