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I slipped my arms around her body and she grabbed my forearms.
Her body pressed against mine, we walked together toward her latest masterpiece.
It shouldn’t have surprised me that she was painting the hotel balcony.
A woman with a blanket wrapped around her body, coffee in hand, steam rising from the cup.
All of it done with uneven strokes.
That was Fiona’s style.
Nothing was ever clear andperfect.
Which was her personality too.
“That’s amazing, Fi,” I said. “You know how to capture a moment.”
“I consider this a moment that should have been,” she said.
I reached for her right hand and looked at the mark from the coffee burn.
It looked worse than it was.
I kissed it.
“Still think you’re crazy for all that,” I whispered.
“I had to be there. You wanted me there too.”
“That was almost too close.”
“I keep thinking about that. Thewhat if…”
I touched her face. “If we got caught?”
“Exactly. Would that be the worst thing in the world? How do we know what would happen? And why would it matter? I’m not hurt. You’re not hurt. We’re two adults. We’re… we’re in love, right?”
“Yes, sweetheart. We’re in love. I love you, Fi.”
“See? I love you too, Riff. So what’s the big deal?”
“You know what the big deal is,” I said.
I kissed her forehead and looked at the painting again.
There was a blank canvas on an easel next to hers.
For a second I saw myself grabbing a paintbrush and messing around.
Something I hadn’t done in years.
More years than I wanted to think about.
“I just don’t get it,” Fiona said. “I don’t get what really happened.”
My back stiffened. “Don’t worry about it, Fi. It was a long time ago.”
“It still hurts now, doesn’t it? You two hate each other that much? Still?”
