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“And that’s how he woke up cuffed to his bed,” Ethan grinned, shaking his head as bubbly laughter poured out of me. I clutched my stomach and tried to control my laughter, but I couldn’t.

Nearby couples eyed us with envy, Ethan’s fingers stroking my hand and watching me grin.

Ethan had just told me the story of Liam having a threesome in Las Vegas and waking up hungover while cuffed to the bed. He had to call Ethan while he was naked, and Ethan had to cover his crotch before he helped him out of the cuffs with a key he found in Liam’s pants from the night before.

“You guys seem a lot closer than before,” I smiled, sipping cold water.

He nodded, smiling to himself, brushing his finger on his glass of water. I had told him to order wine or champagne, but he didn’t want to because I would drink water or soda.

Today seemed like a great day so far. We showered together, had lunch together in my office, then I waited for him at the bleachers like old times. We even dressed together for the date, eyeing each other the whole time with a heated promise of the passionate night between our unsaid words.

I eyed the navy-blue suit, his white shirt, and the golden skin appearing between the unbuttoned top two buttons. I crossed my legs, my satin beige dress tightening around me. Ethan’s eyes trailed down to my chest when the bodice of my dress tightened, showing off my cleavage. I blushed, looking away.

“Do you want to have dessert?” He asked, his fingers entwining mine and squeezing my hand.

Dessert? Sure, I want you.

Clearing my throat, I smiled at him. “We can have ice cream on our way back home?”

“Sounds perfect.”

We walked together after sharing two ice creams. His arm was wrapped around my waist, my nose pressed against his shirt as I breathed in his musky scent.

“I love how you smell,” I commented, the light cool breeze brushing over us.

He gave me an amused look and lightly tugged at the strand of my hair. “Good to know. I love how you always smell like coconut and something . . .” I held my breath when he leaned down to kiss my neck and took a deep breath. “Somethingexotic.”

The hot whisper of his breath tugged at my belly. Ethan didn’t even need to do anything to turn me on. It wasn’t fair.

“Come on, I want to show you something,” he held my hand and dragged me to a closed shop.

I studied the closed doors and watched Ethan pull out a key from his pocket to open the locked doors.Is he the owner of a shop?

I followed him inside and blinked when he turned on the warm lights, closing the door behind me. The vast space was empty, without any furnishing or carpet. Except for one thing. The walls were framed with paintings.

Tears welled in my eyes, and my heart shuddered loudly as I noticed each painting framed under beautiful light, contrasting each stroke and a swirl of the colors, blending perfectly. My mother, Damini, had painted them.

I found Ethan watching me with a small smile, “They’re all yours if you want them.”

I bit my lip from sobbing as I walked to each of the paintings, smiling and remembering my mother in her art studio. The scent of linseed oil and oil paint wafted in my nose as the memory of my mother became stark and she was all I could think about. Her calloused fingers from holding a paintbrush for almost half a day, every year. Her long hair, darker than mine, coiled in a bun or braid so they wouldn’t bother her while she painted. Her paint-stained face and hands. Her warm smile and kind eyes.

Pausing at one painting she had done before she married my father, I saw my reflection in the frame. I looked just like her, with sharp features and sad eyes with a tear-stained face. Wiping my tears, I forced myself to calm down.

“How did you find these paintings?” I asked. “They were sold or kept in her studio.”

Ethan stood beside me, his hand holding mine, lacing our fingers together. I noticed how perfectly our hands fit each other. He pressed a kiss on my knuckles, his lips cold.

“I bought them from your father and found the sellers when I knew I could afford them.”

I breathed out, “Why?”

He looked between my eyes and cupped my face, wiping away tears with his thumb. “Because I know how special they are to you.”

They were. I remembered every story behind them because whenever I wasn’t writing or running around as a child, I was with my mom in her art studio, watching her paint and listening to her stories.

Ethan had done this for me.

Love is never complicated, it’s easy and simple. You love him?Yes, Mom.Then tell him.

I held his hands, which cupped my face. I whispered, “Thank you, Ethan.”

There were a million things my mind was opposing, but my heart knew that I wanted him. It was too late. I was falling for him.

Ethan smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling as his blue-green eyes gazed at me with adoration. “Anything for you, Bella.”