But all I had to do was blink my eyes closed for a split second to remember him in a Nirvana t-shirt and baggy jeans.
His eyes were on the children when he first walked in, the same humorous smile I wore reflected on his face, but the second he lifted his gaze and took in the gallery, he stopped dead in his tracks, a look of awe washing over him.
I stood next to The Art of Hope and watched as his eyes scanned the room, taking in the nearly two-dozen paintings the Seattle Art Museum had curated for the event — an event our entire family was coming for. He’d seen every single painting hanging on these walls before, but the way his jaw fell slack and his eyes grew wide with wonder, you would have thought it was the very first time.
He blinked out of the spell after a moment, and then his eyes were on me.
Liam’s smile was soft and sure, and one I should have been used to after eight years of marriage. But it still made crimson shade my cheeks, my neck hot to the touch when he slid his arm around my waist and pulled me into him for a gentle kiss.
“Well, hello there,” I said.
“Hello. I’m looking for the artist,” he said, glancing around the room before staring down at me once more. “Do you know where I can find her?”
“Possibly. Depends on the nature of your business with her.”
“I want to ask her to marry me, of course.”
“I believe she’s already married, sir. Sorry to burst your bubble.”
“Ah, figures,” he said with a snap of his fingers. “Lucky bastard.”
“Lucky, indeed,” I echoed with a smile, leaning in for another kiss.
“Momma!” Anna said, tugging on my dress. “Can we go play in the courtyard?”
“Yes, you may,” I corrected. “Listen to your aunt Nella.”
She nodded emphatically before she, Kyle, and Nella linked hands and ran through the museum like a bunch of monkeys.
“Are you sure we should let them run loose like that?” Liam asked.
“Your mom is out there. Think I’d trust the three of them on their own?”
He chuckled. “Never. Grandma Benson will keep them in line.”
“She always does.”
“And how is Mrs. Benson today?” he asked, wrapping me up from behind.
I sighed, resting my head back on his shoulder as we both looked around the gallery. It was a private viewing for just us and our close family before the exhibit opened to the public tomorrow, and as my eyes washed over the culmination of my hard work over the last decade, I couldn’t help but get emotional.
“Humbled,” I whispered with misty eyes.
Liam kissed my cheek, holding me tighter. “This is just the beginning.”
“Ha, tell that to my thirty-two-year-old wrinkles.”
“I love your wrinkles,” he said with another kiss. “And your gray hair, too.”
“I don’t have gray hair.”
“Oh? What’s this?” he asked, sweeping a bit of my long hair off my neck and holding it to his face for inspection.
Panic zipped through me, and I grabbed the lock of hair in my own hands, desperately searching until Liam barked out a laugh. I narrowed my eyes, elbowing him in the gut, but he was already sweeping me up in his arms again before I could wiggle away.
“Not funny, Liam,” I said.
“I don’t know. It was pretty funny to me.”
I rolled my eyes.
“You’re as beautiful now as the first day I met you,” he whispered in my ear before pressing his lips to the shell of it. “And the only thing more beautiful is the art you create.”
I flushed, leaning against his chest again. “I can’t believe they wanted to include this one,” I said, nodding to The Art of Hope.
“I’m glad they did,” he said, though his brows furrowed deep with the words. “Even if I hate that I’m the bastard who made you feel all the things necessary to paint it.”
“It wasn’t all bad,” I reminded him. “And hey, at least I got something out of that heartache.”
He twisted me in his arms until I faced him. “I still don’t know what I did to deserve your love, especially considering what a mess I was.”
“You introduced me to lampredotto,” I said with a shrug. “How could I not love you after that?”
Liam chuckled, kissing my nose before his eyes flicked back and forth between mine, a thousand emotions swirling in their depths. “And now look at us.”
“Married.”
“With kids.”
“You, a lawyer.”
“And you, a world-renowned artist.”
I snorted. “I don’t know about that.”
“Have you looked around?” he asked. “This entire exhibit is dedicated to you, my love. And like I said before — I know this is only the beginning.”
Liam framed my face in his hands, not letting me look away from his earnest eyes. He pressed his forehead to mine, his lips on track for a kiss I knew so well now, but before his mouth met mine, an awful, loud, gagging noise came from the archway.