One to Love (One to Hold 4)

Henry was sitting in the parking lot when I arrived at the crummy apartment building he called home. I tried to imagine what in the world he could want to show me as I studied the sun glowing deep orange as it made its way lower in the sky. It was a beautiful evening.

My phone went off again. Text me when you get here.

I smiled. Just pulled in.

From the corner of my eye, I saw his door open, and he stepped out wearing dark jeans and a white tank. The sight of him made my chest swell with happiness. He was so gorgeous with that light scruff on his cheeks, his muscled arms bent with his hands on his hips. A smile touched his lips, making him look even sexier, and I wanted to run across the parking lot and jump into his embrace. Instead, I opened the door and walked to him.

“Hey,” I said.

He still had that sexy grin on his lips, and he reached for me, tracing a line from my forehead down my cheek to my neck. Energy buzzed through my entire body.

“You were only gone twenty-four hours,” he said quietly. “It felt like you were gone a week.”

Reaching forward, I held his neck as I rose on my tiptoes to kiss him. He quickly wrapped his arms around my waist, scooping me against him in a kiss so full of emotion it stole my breath. His lips moved to my cheek then up to my eyebrow, and I tried to calm my breathing.

Leaning back, I traced my thumbs over his cheeks. “What did you do while I was gone?”

“Worked yesterday. Today Rook made me an official trainer and gave me a raise.”

“Hey!” I laughed. “Sounds like I need to go out of town more often.”

“No way. I’d rather have you here.” He smiled before leaning forward to kiss me again, right at the base of my ear.

“What did you want to show me?”

With one more squeeze, he released me. “Come on.”

Instead of going into his apartment, he led me in the direction of the pier. I didn’t understand, but I followed him until he stopped abruptly causing me to bump into him.

He laughed. “Sorry.” Catching my cheeks, he kissed me quickly again, and happiness filled my chest. Leaning down, he caught my ankle, slipping off my shoes as I held his shoulders. Then he stood up again. “Close your eyes.”

I wrinkled my nose, and he took one of my hands, lifting it to my eyes. “Close them.”

I did as instructed, and he led me slowly over the sand to the wooden boardwalk. A light breeze blew off the water, and I was glad I’d worn a cardigan for our impromptu beach stroll. Only we didn’t go to the beach. As I followed him, I recognized the sounds. We were walking on the pier.

“You’re going to stop before we get to the end, right?” I teased.

“Stopping... now.” He pulled my hand away from my eyes, and I blinked, looking all around. “Look down.”

My eyes went to the wooden planks in front of us where two large pads were arranged with three small plates holding red, blue, and yellow paint.

“I... I don’t understand.”

“It’s finger paint.” He stepped carefully across the setup still holding my hands. “Sit. We don’t have a lot of daylight left, but you can show me how it works.”

My mouth dropped open, and I sat slowly across from him with the two large, empty sheets between us, slipping my arms out of my sweater.

“I don’t have any fine art books, but I figured nature is a pretty good substitute.”

It was all so unexpected and amazing and sweet. “Yes, I mean, definitely nature is the best subject.”

“Except naked women, of course.” He gave me a sly grin, and I laughed.

“I’m pretty sure we’d get arrested out here.”

“Too bad.” He sat forward, and in the light tank he wore, he might as well have been shirtless. “Blue and yellow make green, right?” He held up a white plastic bottle, tilting it side to side. “I have white here, but I ran out of plates.”

“What do you want to start with? The ocean?” Leaning forward, I dipped three fingers in the dark blue paint and slid them across the paper in a wavy motion.