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“Should’ve brought security with us,” he mutters.
I arch an eyebrow at him. “You barely go anywhere with security,” I point out.
He shoots me a look. “Yeah, but right now, I’ve got you with me, and I don’t want you getting overwhelmed or have a camera stuck in your face.”
He looks aggravated with himself at this, and it only warms my heart. “We’ll keep that in mind for next time. But we got this right now. You and me.”
Caden’s expression softens, and my heart trips as he raises our joined hands and presses a kiss to the back of mine. Eyes on me, he nods. “I got you.”
God, I love him.
I really, really do.
“I know.”
* * *
“Oh, you’ve gotta be joking,” I huff out a breath as I look out the windshield.
Caden’s eyebrows furrow together, his gaze on what I’m looking at. “What’s this joker doing?”
“This guy has been trying to steal my spot,” I tell him, annoyance making me huff. “I’ve already fought him off before, but I guess he didn’t get the message.”
It’s the same guy from before, his BMW parked in my spot as he gets out of his car. Before I can roll down my window and call out to him, Caden has put the car in park, unbuckled his seatbelt, and is stepping out. My eyebrows rise as I watch him call out, “Hey, man, you’re in the wrong spot.”
I see the guy look at Caden and the recognition flash across his face. Shock overcomes his star-struck face and while I smile wryly, I resist the urge to roll my eyes. “O-Oh, I didn’t realize it was your spot,” the guy says, gaping at Caden.
“It’s not my spot,” he says coolly before nodding over to my car. “It’s my girlfriend’s. She’s already told you it’s her spot, hasn’t she?” I see the guy’s gaze flick to my car, meeting my gaze through the windshield. Honestly, I don’t even mind Caden fighting this battle for me. The douchebag who keeps stealing my spot looks like a kind of guy that would listen to a man over a woman in the first place. If Caden can get him to stop taking my spot, I’m all for it.
“Oh,” the guy says, his face reddening in embarrassment. “My bad.” He looks at Caden. “It won’t happen again.”
Yeah, better not.
He quickly gets into his BMW to pull out, and when Caden gets back in my car, I grin over at him. “My hero.”
He shoots me a small smirk. “At your service.”
Gotta say, Caden coming to my rescue sometimes is attractive all on its own. Looking after me and Elaine when I’m sick, coming with me to my parents’ party, and now this—it’s nice to have someone in my corner constantly.
It’s about time I stopped fighting it.
The door shuts behind Bianca after she leaves, the apartment quiet. Elaine is down for a nap in her bedroom, and I drop my purse and keys on the kitchen counter, toeing off my heels and breathing in relief to not be wearing them again. instead of going back to his place, Caden is at mine, shrugging off his jacket and putting it on the couch.
I watch as his gaze slides to the easel with a canvas on it, covered up with tarp. I’ve seen him eyeing it for the last few days, every time he’s here, but he never asks me about it. I know it’s because he’s respecting me and my art, which I appreciate. But I didn’t want him to see it until it was done and… it is. I finished it yesterday, and I’ve been waiting to show it to him.
He, of course, looks less tense now than he did when we were leaving the hotel. He had gone out first, giving the valet my ticket to bring my car up front so we weren’t waiting for it amongst the crowd of photographers. When the car was brought up, he came back inside to get me, and the flashes of cameras when we stepped out had been blinding. There were loads of shouting, men calling out Caden’s name and my own, since the public had found out who I was in the days after that first picture of him and I kissing got out. Their questions had gotten lost in the noise, but I kept my head down and eyes on my feet, telling myself not to trip.
It had been crazy, but not as rough as I had expected, but Caden still offered to drive home, which I let him. All in all, I’d rate the experience a six out of ten. Overwhelming, but not as terrifying as I thought.
Now, we’re home, and I approach him with bare feet. “You wanna see the painting?” I ask with a smile.
He looks at me, lips parting. “Oh, uh—” Caden shakes his head. “You don’t have to. I was just curious—”
“I want to,” I assure him, walking over to the painting. “I was waiting to show you until it was done. I grip the edge of the tarp and meet Caden’s gaze. “It’s a painting your dad commissioned when he was here.”
Surprise flickers across Caden’s face. He looks from the still covered painting to me. “Mydad?” he asks, making my smile widen a little. “When did—”
“The day after we had lunch together,” I tell him. Excitement and nerves bubble up inside, and I raise my eyebrows. “Ready?”
