Page 74 of Love Gamble
She bursts out laughing, then covers her mouth before someone comes in to ask what’s so funny. “Okay, I’m never going to repeat that.”
“Excuse me, how about you? Who would you pick if Romeo didn’t exist?”
She just laughs and leaves the kitchen.
Sneaky.
Damon comes in when I’m squatting down in the fridge, trying to find the snacks I hid in here last night.
“If you’re looking for the chocolate-covered strawberries, Jag found them,” he says, running his hands over my ass.
“There is no time for that right now,” I reply in a dry tone, standing back up and closing the fridge with a swing of my hip. “My mother is on her way here now. Are you ready to meet her? You’re probably more ready than I am.”
“Are you going to tell her about us?” he asks, pinning me back against the fridge door. “Or are you going to save that for another time?”
“I have nothing to hide,” I reply, my gaze dropping to his lips. “But she’ll probably have something to say. She might ask you why you want to be with me, or something like that. Who knows?”
“And I’ll tell her it’s because you are the most beautiful,” he stops to kiss me, “Sexy,” another kiss. “Intelligent,” another kiss, “talented woman I’ve ever met in my life. I’d be a fool to let that go.”
“Youwouldbe a fool,” I agree, grabbing onto his face and kissing him back.
“Yes, get that all out of your system before your mom comes here,” Bella teases, amusement in her tone.
I look around Damon to see her. “Great, I forgot that you’ve met my mom, and that she loves you. That makes it all so much worse.” I bet Bella is the daughter she always wanted, but never had. Just another slap in the face.
“It will be fine, Corey. I promise you. We all have your back.”
“I know. Now if you will excuse me, I’m going to go and mentally prepare myself for seeing her after all of this time,” I say, gently pushing Damon off me and making an escape to my bedroom. He gives me about half an hour before he comes to check on me.
“You okay?” he asks, closing the door behind him. “She’s going to be here soon. You know if you don’t want to see her, we can just hide up here for a while?”
He wanders around my room, looking at my art, until he comes across the easel in the far corner. When I hear his slight gasp, I lift my head up to see what he’s looking at.
Ah, shit.
“When did you do this?” he asks, raising it up into the sunlight and examining it. “Corey, this is amazing. Why didn’t you show me?”
Sitting up, I enjoy watching his expression as he stares at the painting of himself. I spent extra time trying to get the color of his eyes just right, the close-up portrait showing every perfect angle of his face. “I painted it before we were together. And then I forgot about it. Or maybe I hid it, because it’s kind of embarrassing to be painting a man that wasn’t even mine.”
“Well, I’m yours now, and I don’t think it’s embarrassing at all. It’s beautiful.”
“You’ve always been my muse, Damon. Ever since I first laid eyes on you.”
I could paint him all day. I wish he knew how truly beautiful he is to me, inside and out. Whatever life throws at us, he’s worth it.
He holds up the painting next to his face. “I think you’ve made me better-looking than I am in real life. See, love really is blind.”
I roll my eyes. “Modesty doesn’t look good on you. The painting pales in comparison to you. You are seriously the hottest man I’ve ever seen in real life.”
“Yes, blind,” he replies, with a cheeky smile. “Can I hang this up in my bedroom? This is the best thing I’ve ever seen. It shouldn’t be hidden away in the corner of your room.”
“Sure, you can have it,” I reply, laughing at the best thing he’s ever seen being a painting of his own face. “It was always meant to be yours.”
He puts it down and jumps on the bed, cuddling up against me. “When this is over, I’m taking you on a date. A proper date.”
“I’d like that, and maybe afterward you can rip off my clothes...”
A knock on my door makes me jump. “Lisa just called. She will be here in thirty,” Julianna calls out.