Page 98 of Pining for Pierce

“I’ve never done anything like that before,” he’s saying, as he comes up to me, puts his arm around my waist and kisses me on the lips. I smile up at him, and he rolls his eyes, letting out a quiet sigh, still listening to whoever it is on the phone, although his eyes are fixed on mine. “Okay. I can be there by around ten-thirty. Is that okay?” He listens again, and then says. “Fine. I’ll see you then.”

He ends the call, lowering his phone.

“Sorry I’m late,” he says, kissing me again and leading me into the coffee shop. It’s busy, but we find a table near the back, and Pierce holds my chair while I sit, then takes a seat opposite.

“Who was on the phone?” I ask.

“Abigail.”

“What did she want?”

At that moment Everly appears beside us, looking to take our order, and although we haven’t checked the menu yet, we both know it fairly well.

“I’ll take the… um… the prosciutto and brie panini,” I say, smiling up at her as she turns her attention to Pierce.

“That sounds good. I’ll have the same.” He looks at me. “Sparkling water?”

“Yes, please.”

“Okay,” Everly says. “Won’t be long.”

She clearly knows we’re on the clock, like a lot of people who come in here at lunchtime, and she dashes away, leaving us alone again.

“Where were we?” Pierce asks.

“I was asking what Abigail wanted.”

“Oh, yeah.” He reaches over and takes my hand in his. “She asked me to go into the gallery on Sunday.”

“Really? What for?”

“She says they want to have some photographs taken.”

I can’t help smiling. “Of you?”

“Yeah,” he says, shaking his head. “It’s annoying, because I’d hoped to get some work done, but they’ve booked a professional photographer, and they’re gonna create a small display of the paintings I took in there they other day, as a kind of backdrop…” He lets his voice fade, sounding a little overwhelmed.

“They’re taking this seriously, aren’t they?”

“Yeah. It’s evidently the best response they’ve ever had to an exhibition launch, and they wanna make the most of it.”

“That’s understandable.”

“I know. But…”

“But what?”

“Can you come with me?”

“On Sunday?”

“Yeah.”

I lean back slightly, surprised by his request.

“You want me to?”

“Yes. And not just because Sundays are the only chance we get to be together. I—I’ve never been in this situation before, Harley. It’s kinda scary.”

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