She innocently places her hand on his arm, and it takes everything in me not to walk over there and remove it. I can’t wait till the day that everyone can know that he’s mine and I’m his. As if he realizes she’s touching him, he takes a step back, putting some space between them. I can feel eyes on me, and when I look up, I find Sebastian staring at me. The heat in his gaze is enough to burn me to the ground.
My core tightens. Stop staring at me. I will my gaze to say, but instead, I’m sure I look like a doe waiting for the hunter.
The night carries on, and more and more people fill the gallery, looking at my paintings in awe. Soon all the paintings that adorned the walls of the gallery are sold, and I’m left standing in the middle of the room, my entire face filled with wonderment.
“Lily, love, it seems as though you are a hit.” Margret smiles, showing off her perfectly straight white teeth, a flute of champagne in her hand.
“Thank you, Margret. I’m a little shocked. I can’t believe it if I’m being honest.” And I can’t. I went from being told there was no money in art, that I would never make it, to selling every single painting in one night.
Margret rolls her eyes, “Please, I knew the moment that I met you, you were destined for great things. When Mr. Miller showed me one of your paintings, I was… I cannot even describe it. You literally gave me goosebumps.”
I’m not sure what to say. In fact, I’m a little speechless.
Thankfully, my brain connects the dots, so I’m not standing there like a mute unable to speak, “Thank you. Thank you so much. I’ve always been told that I would never be able to support myself with my art, and while I’m not doing this to make money, I truly love painting, to be able to do this for life, for a job, it would be nothing but a dream come true.”
She smiles against the flute of champagne, “Is that so?”
I nod, “Yes, it’s my dream. My biggest goal.”
“Hmmm,” she purses her red lips, “what if I told you that I had a spot for you. A full-time apprenticeship?”
Shock fills my features, and the swooshing of blood fills my ears. She didn’t just say what I think she did, did she?
“What?” I ask, even though I’m pretty sure I heard her correctly.
“Full-time paid apprenticeship. It’s yours if you want it.”
“Really?” I lift a hand to my chest. My heart feels like it’s going to burst right out of my chest. Margret nods her head and smiles.
“Is it really so hard to believe? You sold every single painting tonight and brought in many new customers. I would be stupid not to bring you on.”
“I….” I’m floundering, my lips aren’t moving, and I probably look like a fish plucked out of the water, gasping for air.
Placing a hand on my shoulder, she leans in with a smile, “A thank you is sufficient enough, darling. I’m more than excited to be working together. I already know there are great things to come from our joining.”
“Thank you,” I whisper graciously.
“You’re welcome, now go celebrate and do whatever it is that you college kids do.” She moves her hand from my shoulder and waves it in the air, in a get out motion.
“I was going to stay and help you clean up.”
“No need, child. We have a cleaning company that will do that for us. Go enjoy the rest of your night. I’ll call you tomorrow, and we’ll talk about all the details for your apprenticeship,” she says, before giving me kisses on each cheek.
She turns around and heads to the back room. Only then, do I realize Sebastian has been standing a few feet away. I look over my shoulder, and our eyes meet. “Did you hear?”
He nods, a massive grin on his lips. I spin around all the way and fall into his arms. We are the last two people left in the gallery, so we don’t have to hide our affection any longer.
“Let’s go home and celebrate,” Seb suggests, tugging me toward the door. “I always wanted to bang a famous artist.”
We leave the gallery laughing, hand in hand, we walk to Seb’s car, and I can’t remember the last time I was this happy. Maybe not ever. Once in the car, I turn to Seb.
“So… I’ve been thinking,” I start while Seb pulls into the road. “I want to drop out of school, and before you say anything, I will tell you that I have been thinking about this for a while. This is not a spur of the moment thing. Honestly, I never wanted to go to college anyway. I only went because of my grandparents. This is what I’ve been wanting to do, and getting this position just sealed the deal for me.” The words pour out in a faster than normal tempo, and when I’m done, I find I’m sitting there waiting for him to respond.