Page 117 of The Fine Art of Faking It
Whenhadhe stood his ground?
When had he fought for…anything?
Eden hadn’t been insulting his manhood. She’d been citing an observation, and if Davis couldn’t be counted on to stand up to his father when it came to grapes and wine labels, how could he be counted on to stand up for her?
He stopped behind her, drawn to the familiar scent of her shampoo. It twisted the knife in his gut. The way her shoulders tightened, he knew she could sense him behind her. Davis saw the prickle of goose bumps on her neck above the collar of her silky, sheer blouse.
“How does it look?” she asked shyly, never taking her eyes off of her canvas.
Davis couldn’t resist. He leaned in, his chest brushing her back. She tensed against him, then relaxed, remembering their pretext. Her canvas was a tangle of darkness. Navies, purples, and grays warred over the white in bold brushstrokes. One didn’t have to guess what was on her mind. Turmoil. Doubt.
And it gave Davis great satisfaction. Eden Moody might not be ready to admit her feelings for him, but she couldn’t keep them out of her painting.
“Very nice.” He let his lips brush the curve of her ear. She dropped her paintbrush with a clatter on the table, drawing eyes.
His blood emptied out of his head in a mad rush to his rapidly hardening erection. This was the other reason he’d been avoiding her. He couldn’t control his impulses around her. It would be too easy to fall back into her bed while she talked friendship and he felt more. Much more.
And Eden felt it, too. She just had to believe in him. And it was up to him to give her a reason to believe.
He left her staring after him and strolled further down the aisle, a smirk on his lips. He felt fifty pounds lighter.
For the first time in his life, Davis knew what he wanted. And he wasn’t going to let anyone stand in his way. Now, he just needed a plan.
“Excuse me, Davis?” Kathy Wu waved him down. “We were all just wondering when you’re scheduling the nude painting class.”
Davis had the misfortune of a swallow of wine going down the wrong pipe. “I beg your pardon?” he coughed.
Fitz raised his hand, his tight waffle weave shirt unbuttoned to his sternum. “If you’re not interested in posing, I can make myself available for a small fee.”
46
“Those are my terms.” Davis said. He was sitting cross-legged on the red velvet floor cushion in Gia Pierce’s darkened yoga studio. Not exactly neutral ground, but if he wanted to make this deal, concessions had to be made. Plus, Eden would flay the skin from his bones if she knew what he was doing.
His plan was… well, complicated. And it involved asking the enemy for help.
Ellery stared at him for almost a full thirty seconds in silence, her lips painted what looked like a navy blue tonight giving her pale skin a bluish tint. “I’d like to consult with my colleague,” she said finally.
Davis raised his palms. “By all means.”
Ellery ducked her pigtailed head toward Eva’s red curls. Eva had worn head-to-toe black in honor of their covert meeting. Top secret, back yoga room negotiations with the enemy called for stealthy wardrobe.
They’d recovered quickly after Davis had dropped the bomb on them. He knew what they’d done. What they were responsible for. What they owed him. And then he told them exactly whatheowed them.
To their credit, neither woman dissolved into tearful groveling. They were smart enough to admit nothing.
They whispered to each other for an interminably long time. Long enough for him to braid several of the tassels on his meditation cushion.
“Okay,” Ellery said stoically. “We accept your terms.”
“With the addition of a few of our own,” Eva added.
Davis narrowed his eyes. “Tell me.”
“We want the credit, of course,” Ellery began.
Davis twirled a braided tassel, considering. “If you’ve earned it, you’ll have it.”
Ellery rolled her eyes. “None of this would have happened if we hadn’t matched you two,” she reminded him. “You’d still be all by your lonesome at the winery while your next-door neighbor avoided you for the rest of your life. She would have eventually met and married someone else, and you would have had no idea how good you two would be together.”
