Page 56 of His Sold Fated Mate

He nodded, his eyes staying on his canvas. “She died two years ago. She was married and expecting, but the baby came early, and she crashed. She lost too much blood and died.”

My heart twisted up.

He plopped his brush back into the can and grabbed the yellow. He splattered more paint, a smile pulling at his lips. “This is actually really fun.”

I swallowed. “I’m glad you like it.”

“You remind me of my mom, the way you look over your shoulder and tense up.”

“That’s not exactly a compliment.”

“Yeah, it felt like one before I added the details.”

The space felt too tense, too raw. I pulled my brush up and whipped my hand. Paint splattered across his chest, and Klaus’s eyes widened. The shocked look on his face brought a giggle from me.

“You did not.” He looked down at his chest and then brought his hand up. I moved back just as he whipped his hand, paint splattering forward. I whipped my hand, splattering more paint, and bounced behind the canvas.

Klaus followed me, whipping more paint. I threw some back at him, continuing to move around the paint. But my foot got caught on a paint can, and I squealed as I fell forward. Klaus caught me, yanking me against his chest.

“Oh shit,” I cursed, glancing down as the paint tipped, spilling over the ground. “Oh, it’s on my shoes.”

“We can clean them.”

I pulled my gaze up, locking eyes with Klaus. My face felt hot as I realized I was pressed tightly against him, his arms wrapped around me.

I swallowed, feeling my heart racing. “I’m going to have paint on me.”

He smirked. “Good. You deserve it for starting this.” He pulled his hand up, running his finger over my nose. I raised an eyebrow as his smirk grew. “Now we’re even.” I could see the paint on the tip of my nose and couldn’t hold back a laugh.

Klaus let go, and I stepped back. We looked at the paint cans and the canvases. I pointed. “We should probably continue with those rather than each other.”

“So, you’re saying a truce?”

“That is exactly what I’m saying.”

“Okay.” He grabbed a paintbrush, looking toward the canvas.

I chewed on my cheek. “Do you miss her?”

Klaus nodded. “Yeah. I do.” He tilted his head as he looked at me. “She would have loved this.”

I looked back at the canvas. I couldn’t help but feel a little closer to Klaus. We finished painting half an hour later, and every inch of the canvas was covered. Klaus went into the bathroom to clean himself up while I waited in the front.

“You guys finished already?” Beverly asked as she came in from another room.

I nodded. “Yeah. We had a blast. We also tipped over a paint can. We tried to clean it up.”

She waved a hand. “That’s okay. That’s what the tarps are for. As long as you guys had fun.”

I heard the bathroom door open. “Alright, I think I got all the paint off. Or at least everything that’s going to come off.” Klaus walked out, still with some paint in his hair and on his hands. But he had his shirt on now.

“Can we make a stop before heading home? I had some books that I requested at the library, and I want to stop and see if they got them in yet.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Don’t they normally call if they’ve got them in?”

I nodded. “Yes, but the cut-off time for returns is at three, and I know there are a lot of people who will bring their books in just before it. And my book could be in that equation.”

“Alright, yeah. It’s on the way.”