I looked up at him and saw a twinkle of pride in his eyes. Drew was steadily working the cash register, taking down names and phone numbers for those who wanted their things shipped out. I wrapped my arm around Bryan while we surveyed the room, taking in the holes in the walls that we could no longer plug with paintings.
It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever been a part of, and I felt the birth of a wonderfully new beginning taking place.
“I love you, Hailey.”
I smiled up at him, my heart soaring with joy as I raised up and planted my lips firmly onto his.
“I love you, too, Bryan.”
Chapter 27
Bryan
The gallery was dying down, and Drew had finally left. He and Hailey had pounded out the details of advertising his tattooing in her shop, which all but officially solidified his leave from the company. I was happy for him and this new venture he was taking on, but I would have to talk with him soon about liquidating his share of the company.
There was a lot of paperwork to fill out regarding that move, and the quicker we could get going on it, the better.
I was still reeling from the fact that my parents had shown up. I still had no idea what they were doing there, especially since they didn’t stay long. Part of me wondered if they would’ve stayed longer had I not intervened, but at this point, it didn’t really matter. I still had no intention of resuming my dinners with them until they could apologize, which was not something they ever did.
Now, I was helping Hailey clean up. The catering company had packed up and left, and Hailey was placing her artwork on the wall to fill up the gaps John’s work no longer took up. I was helping her count her register and get everything in place, so she could start framing pictures and shipping them out. All the while, Hailey was sweeping and wiping down different surfaces.
Hailey developed this system where she had a notebook of numbers, and beside those numbers were names, phone numbers, and addresses. Then, each painting bought by that person had that number taped to the back of it. It really was a genius system, though I was already dreaming up ideas of how we could streamline and make that process electronic. I was running numbers and figures for security systems and the like in my head while I stowed the paintings away in the back shed, and by the time I came back in, Hailey had moved into the small back room of her gallery.
“Knock, knock,” I said.
“Hey there,” she said, smiling.
“I’d say tonight was a success,” I said.
“It really was.”
Hailey looked absolutely radiant. Her cyan blue hair was my favorite thus far, and it matched the silken dress I’d bought for her for the evening. Her faux-fur shoulder wrap was tossed across the table, showing the spaghetti straps of the shoulders just before her neckline swooped. The fabric slid across her body, not clinging to it but rather accenting it. It melted all the way down her legs and stopped right at her ankles, allowing her feet to boast of the matching high heels I’d found at the last minute.
By the time I was done admiring her, my lips were on her bare shoulder, and she was giggling relentlessly.
“Bryan, what are you doing?” she asked.
“Admiring you,” I said darkly.
“Mmm. Like the outfit you bought for me, huh?”
“Very much.”
I grabbed her hips and swiveled her around before our lips found one another’s. My hands grabbed her body and hoisted her onto the table while her legs wrapped around to the back of my thighs. My arm slid behind her back while I slid my fingers through her bright, beautiful hair, and the moment our tongues touched, I could feel the passion burning between us.
“I believe congratulations is in order,” I said.
“Hmm, and what did you have in mind?” she asked.
I reached down and unbuckled my pants, sliding them to my legs and revealing how much my body had risen for her.
She reached down and wrapped her hand around me as our lips connected once more. I groaned into her lips, pulling her closer and closer to me as her heels dug into my skin. I laid her back onto the table and climbed on top of her, kissing down her neck while her body arched and shivered against mine.
There wasn’t an inch of her I didn’t love, and I wanted to make sure she understood that.
“You are, without a doubt, the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Hailey.”
“Oh, Bryan,” she said, sighing.