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“You must be Daisy,” a soft voice sounded from behind.
I spun around to find the striking woman I’d seen Ethan talking to at the exhibition in LA standing before me. “Ye—yes,” I stammered, in awe of her model looks. “How do you know my name?”
She panned her gaze around Ethan’s artwork. Daisies occupied each canvas, along with a remarkable portrait of me. “Lucky guess, I suppose.”
My cheeks heated. “Oh.”
“It’s an honor to finally meet Ethan’s muse.” Her smirk grew into a knock-out smile. “I’m Lanie. Ethan’s teaching a class upstairs if you’d like to come up and watch?”
My heart lurched. “Oh, I don’t want to distract him from his work.”
“Oh, you won’t. Trust me. He’s too focused on the students.” She motioned me to follow. “Plus, you can watch from my office.”
“I’ve heard about this place,” I said, shadowing her up the stairs. “I work with kids with learning disabilities back in LA. We offer art therapy, but nothing like this.” My mouth fell as we stepped onto the first floor. The entire room was full of tables, chairs, and easels, with walls of paints, and brushes, and artwork hanging from taut strings stretching across the room. “You must be helping so many kids.”
“We’re definitely trying…but it’s hard to find the right people to teach.” Lanie offered a small wave to a petite brunette woman across the room before ushering me up to a mezzanine area that overlooked the entire floor. The room was divided in two: the brunette in one, and my heart in the other.
My stomach somersaulted at the sight of Ethan sitting beside a young boy, demonstrating something I couldn’t see. The boy nodded along before taking over, then smiled back at Ethan. With a proud grin, Ethan patted his back and moved on to the next student.
“He’s amazing with the kids,” Lanie said as she shifted to the far corner of the office.
I turned to find her rocking a bassinet and gasped. “You have a baby?”
Lanie smiled at her peacefully sleeping child. “A daughter. Her name is Grace.”
“She’s so cute.”
“Thank you.” She brushed her cheek with the back of her hand. “My husband and I think so too.”
Any lingering jealousy dissolved in an instant. “How long have you been married?”
“Almost a year…but I wish it were more.”
“Have you known each other long?”
“Since high school,” she uttered with a lingering sadness in her tone. “But we…um…lost touch. We only reconnected when I moved out here from LA.”
“You’re from LA? Maybe that’s why you look so familiar.” I’d been racking my brain, trying to place her face since the exhibition.
A despondent smile played on her lips. “Maybe.”
“Do you like living out here?”
Her smile brightened. “Mostly…but we spend a lot of our time in the Hamptons. I prefer the beach to the city.”
I liked this woman. “So, it was worth the move?”
Her eyes glistened as she stared down at her daughter. “I’d move anywhere to be with Scott.”
“When did you know he was the one?” I asked, sensing there was much more to their story.
“I always knew. Even in the years we weren’t together.”
I peered down at Ethan as a wave of emotion struck my heart. “I know what you mean.”
“Class won’t be too much longer,” Lanie said, glancing at the clock on the wall. “He has a small break before his next one if you’d like to see him.”
Panic overcame me. “Um…no.” I was suddenly feeling very unprepared. “I have a few things to do first, so I’ll come back later.”
