Page 390 of His Virgin Romance Series

“Maybe it won’t be,” Gabby said. “Your parents were very nice to me.”

“You they like,” I pointed out. “Me… not so much.”

“They bought one of your paintings, didn’t they?” Gabby pointed out.

“Probably out of pity.”

“Doesn’t matter… even if it was pity that fueled the purchase, that pity came from love.”

I smiled and shrugged. “It doesn’t matter… I don’t mind that you invited them anyway. Just prepare yourself… this night might not turn out like you expected it to.”

“Meaning it might be a disaster?” Gabby asked, reading between the lines.

I smiled and didn’t answer, but in the end, it was Gabby that ended up being right about everything. The night turned out to be far from a disaster, and everyone actually seemed to get along. I was nervous of my parents and the airs they tended to put on without even realizing it, but it seemed that my exhibition had earned some respect because even my father no longer looked at me like I was a total failure. That and the fact that I had somehow managed to get Gabby back had obviously impressed them.

Seth had forgiven me too, and I was endlessly grateful that he and Gabby’s mom had been so kind and generous to me since Gabby and I had gotten back together. After everyone had toasted to Gabby’s new job and the champagne glasses were being cleared away, my father walked up to me.

Neither Mom nor Dad had brought up the fact that they had bought one of my paintings during the exhibition. I wondered if it was something they would rather I not have known about, but I couldn’t help myself.

“So… where have you put it?” I asked.

“Put what?” Dad asked.

“The painting you bought,” I clarified. “My painting.”

Dad looked towards me, and I saw one corner of his mouth tilt upwards. It was the closest thing to a smile I had ever seen from him in the recent past.

“It’s in the study.”

I raised my eyebrows in disbelief. “Your study?”

“Yes.”

“But that’s your special, private, very important space. You’ve handpicked every single thing that went into that room.”

“I handpicked that painting,” Dad told me. “So it fits.”

“You chose my painting?” I asked incredulously.

“Yes,” Dad replied. “Does that surprise you?”

“Of course it does.” I nodded. “I thought Mom had been behind the purchase.”

“It wasn’t her.”

I felt deeply touched at the thought that my father had not only come to my exhibition but he had swallowed his pride and bought one of my pieces. The fact that he had bought it said a lot. It said that he finally acknowledged that this was what I wanted to do with my life; he had finally acknowledged that I was not some talentless layabout who didn’t know what he was doing. This was his way of saying that finally after all these years he finally supported me.

“Dad,” I said. “I have the money to pay you back for the bail posting you made for me.”

“Consider the debt forgotten,” Dad said, cutting me off. “I don’t need the money… nor do I want it.”

“But—”

“I appreciate you trying to pay me back but… it’s not necessary,” Dad said, in his gruff manner. “Now we don’t need to speak about it anymore… agreed?”

I stared at him for a moment and then nodded slowly. “Okay, Dad,” I said. “Agreed.”

“I’m glad you’ve managed to turn your life around, Miles,” Dad said, with his eyes trained on Gabby. “You’ve finally found your way.”

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