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Eli squeezes my hand. “Relax, Tink. You want some hot chocolate? I make it from scratch.”
I shake my head, like I can toss out all of the loud, clamouring thoughts knocking around my brain. “Please.”
We step back into the cabin. Riven’s already there, sitting at the kitchen table in front of his laptop.
“Have fun?” He asks, not bothering to look up.
I blush, toeing off my boots. “Eli’s a child. He started a snowball fight.”
“I’m sure he’s enjoying having someone to play with,” he drawls, then nods at my phone. “I put your phone on charge. Someone called Sam keeps calling you.”
My head jerks up. “What?”
He blinks, taken aback by my reaction. “I didn’t mean to pry. His name popped up.”
I shake off my coat and half-run across the room to swipe my phone. A text from Sam glares up at me, and my stomach drops. I quickly delete the message without looking at it. “He’s my ex-boyfriend. We broke up a few months ago, but he still won’t leave me alone.”
Eli whistles, setting a pan on the stove. “That’s shitty.”
“Yeah. It really is.”
Pretty much everything about Sam was shitty, to be honest. I met him about four years ago, at an art show. He swept me off my feet. The longer we were together, though, the more he changed. He was jealous. He kept trying to cut me off from my friends. He didn’t let me speak to other men. I know a red flag when I see one. I gave him some time to clean up his act, and when he didn’t, I left.
And then he showed me exactly how shitty of a person he was.
Sighing, I roll through the rest of my notifications. I have hundreds, mostly texts from old acquaintances who have seen me on the news. There are outraged emails from my students’ parents. Multiple missed calls from the school. I delete them all, trying my best not to look at them, then open up the email box for my painting business. After my big scandal, I’m not expecting any clients; but I guess all publicity is good publicity, because I have a handful of portrait commission requests. Well, three, to be exact, and then a couple of emails from people calling me a whore. Because this is my life now.
Eli puts his chin on my shoulder and holds a square of chocolate against my lips. His curls brush my cheek. “What’s that?”
I quickly delete an anonymous message with the subject line DIE YOU SLUT BITCH, clearing my throat. “Um… my commissions email. I have a couple people who want paintings done.” I open my mouth, letting him pop the chocolate inside.
“Commissions?” Riven’s fingers pause over his keyboard. “I thought you were a teacher?”
I lick my lips. “I’m… ah. Taking a break from teaching right now. I really only do it for the money. My degree is in Fine Arts. I always wanted to be a painter.”
The stove crackles, and Eli goes to check on the hot chocolate. I can practically see the wheels turning in Riv’s head as he pieces the jigsaw together. “Oh? And that’s why you had all that painting equipment in your car?”
I nod. “I actually came up here to paint the Northern Lights. I always wanted to see them, and I needed a holiday, so I figured now was the right time.”
“Hm.” He purses his lips. “Is there a big market for oil paintings nowadays?”
“You’d be surprised. It’s a pretty common wedding gift. People like to have portraits of their families, and stuff. I prefer landscapes, but—” I shrug, uncomfortable with the line of questioning. “Whatever gets the clients, I guess.”
He taps his full bottom lip with the end of his pen. “Do you have a website? I’d love to see some of your work.”
There’s no way in Hell.“It’s under construction,” I say brightly. “Sorry.”
He frowns slightly. “How are you able to get clients if your website is down?”
I open my mouth to try to answer, but luckily, Eli interrupts the interrogation, plonking four steaming mugs on the table. He strokes a hand lightly down my arm. “Wanna check out your bedroom?” He murmurs in my ear. “Cole set it up last night. Probably more comfortable than our sofa.” He pauses. “Definitely moreprivate.”
I think I see Riven roll his eyes. I jump at the chance to get away, picking up two hot chocolates. “Lead the way.”
Eli shows me down the hallway to a door I haven’t seen before, standing aside to let me inside. I get a brief glimpse of a little cot bed and a lamp, before Eli dumps the mugs on the floor, spins me around, and pins me up against the wall, his mouth slanting over mine in a deep, slow kiss. His lips are soft and taste like chocolate, and I sigh, melting under him.
Nine
Cole
