AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“This is way too much,” I tell him, slowly turning around.
“It doesn’t matter. You’re staying here.” It’s not a question. He just spouts off things as if no one else has a say. His word is law.
I open my mouth, ready to argue that I will most certainly not be staying here, but he walks away before I get a chance.Typical high-handed Dante, I grumble inwardly.
“Fine,” I call after him. “If I need something though, how far away are you from this place? I’m guessing you will have a car sent for me in the morning?”
He stops mid-step and turns to face me with amusement written within the crooked smile on his lips. “What are you talking about?”
“What do you mean, what am I talking about?” I ask slightly puzzled.
It takes a moment, but laughter quickly escapes him. “Kylie, this is my apartment. You’re staying here with me. Well—in your own room, but with me, nonetheless.”
Frozen in place, I stare at him. Lips parted, eyes wide, heart racing… “What?”
“This,” he gestures to the apartment around us with his arms open wide. “This is my apartment. I don’t want to risk you staying somewhere else. And this way I can ensure that nothing happens to the paintings. You have your own private wing to the apartment.”
“No.”
His brow furrows. “No?”
“Yeah,” I reply, crossing my arms, feeling overwhelmed by everything. “Look, I’m grateful for a place, Dante. But… I don’t know how comfortable I feel about staying in your house.”
“I sent you the address, Kylie. Just as you requested.”
Rolling my eyes, I glare at him. “Yes, I know that. But I didn’t know it was your place. I mean, don’t you find it weird letting me stay here? We haven’t exactly seen eye to eye on a few things lately.”
Shaking his head, he scoffs before striding towards me. “No, I don’t think it's weird. I’m rarely ever here anyways, and at least this way I know you're in a safe place and able to work peacefully on the paintings. I honestly didn’t think it would be a big deal.”
His words instantly make me feel guilty. A heavy sigh escapes me as I turn towards the window, glancing outside at the New York City skyline once more. “It’s not,” I reply quickly. “I’m sorry— I’m just tired.”
When I look back at him, he’s watching me. But not like he’s indifferent to me. Like he sees something about me that’s enchanting to him in an entirely different way. “What?”
“Nothing,” he replies, shaking his head. “Come on, I’ll show you to your room.”
I follow him down the hallway. My feet move slowly as I try to process the new information. The fact that I’m staying with Dante sends a flush of excitement across my skin, but also forms a ball of nerves within my stomach.
Is this really the best idea?
The moment we pass a partially open door near the end of the hallway, I stop. A shimmer of white—what looks like a canvas—catches my eyes. I can’t help but slowly push the door open, taking in the gorgeous open layout of the room.
And not just any room. An art studio… just for me.
Throughout the room, there are several easels in varying sizes, and I spy more rolls of canvas and stretcher bars than I could use in a year against one wall. Brushes of every size and type are set up and organized by the material of the bristles. There’s an entire cabinet filled with paints.
Unless Dante suddenly developed a taste for the arts, it’s obvious he set this up to be my studio. But there’s just so much! I don’t even have this many supplies in my own studio in New Orleans.
“I was going to wait till morning to show you this, but I guess you found it early. Do you like it?” A deep voice says from behind me, causing me to turn with a smile as I try to calm the excitement burning inside me.
“Yes, this is amazing. Did you do all of this?”
Clearing his throat, he glances around. “No, I had my assistant get it together.”
“Oh. Well, she did a good job.” I try to keep the sound of disappointment out of my voice. It would have been naive of me to think Dante himself would have done something like this for me.
However, when I look a little closer, I notice that the brushes are of my preferred brand, as are the paints. That’s saying something since I don’t always use the most popular artist-grade brands. These are just my tried and true products that I like working with and that work the best for me.
Since Dante is so into designing everything and paying top dollar for whatever he buys, he had to have known my personal choices and told his assistant what to get. A pleased smile pulls at my mouth. The manhasbeen paying attention to me. The knowledge sends a warmth through my body.
