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“Your penthouse is adequately sized.”
“Only adequate?” When a teasing eyebrow lifts, I nearly choke on my own spit.
Is my fake husband flirting with me?
Shane has already been protective, caring, and cavity-inducingly sweet, but flirty? I don’t know if I can handle flirty on top of everything else.
“Is that your friend’s daughter?” he asks, turning toward the canvas again.
I swallow, trying to regain my composure. “Piper. She’d like to meet you.”
“Really?” The confusion in his tone makes my heart contort.
“Yeah,” I say, moving until we’re side by side in front of Piper and her pet.
“I’m not—” He blows out a breath. “I’m not really good with kids.”
“Sure, you are.”
When Shane’s puzzled gaze snaps to mine, a tiny spark pings between my ribs.
“You were helpful, attentive, and patient with the girls at the coffee shop. That’s all most kids need. Someone who’s willing to be there and listen.” I tilt my head to the side. “And maybe go along with their kooky ideas occasionally.”
“Willow, you don’t understand. I’m not—”
“Could you move the canvas for me?” I cut Shane off, unwilling to let him tear himself down. “It’s a bit bigger than my wingspan.”
I spread my arms wide to demonstrate.
Shane grunts but picks up the dry canvas. “How did you get it in here?”
“I didn’t. Sally coordinated the delivery for me,” I tell him, following him to the living room with the drop cloth.
Since my paintings are so large and I’m kind of tiny, I prefer to set them on the floor until I need to work on the bottom edge. Otherwise, I have to paint for hours on a ladder, and that gets old fast. It’s inevitable, but I try to avoid it for as long as I can.
“Would it be weird if I started calling Sally my fairy godmother? You’ve got to admit she even looks a little bit like the character from Cinderella.”
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never seen it.”
After placing the drop cloth on the floor, Shane carefully leans the canvas against the wall. Before he can kick the bucket I’d been using to scrub the baseboards earlier, I scoop it up and take it to the laundry room. When I return, Shane is nearly finished moving all the rest of the art supplies I had in my room. I guess when you have giant hands, you can carry a ton more brushes.
“Thanks.”
He nods.
I don’t think he’ll say anything else, but then he adds, “Can we put the rooster print in the kitchen? The bathroom feels like a weird place for a bird with that much confidence.”
When a laugh barks out of me, Shane ducks his chin, hiding his grin as he marches back toward my bedroom.
Chapter 18
Shane
Igrunt, rolling my stiff right shoulder, knowing I can’t delay the inevitable any longer. I tasked Sally with informing Dustin that my RSVP to his wedding would now include a plus-one, but I need to call Carter myself. Ironically, my relationship with my sports agent is closer than the one I have with either of my brothers.
Stalling for another minute, I rack the weights I’d been using and stare at the gray cloud wrapped around the windows. Willow’s door had been closed when I rolled out of bed at ten, so I stuck to my routine of a morning workout before breakfast. Though I hadn’t seen Willow, there had been progress on the painting.
She must have worked on it after we’d said goodnight or maybe early this morning. Piper’s cheekbone has the beginnings of color and definition. Beside the canvas, a large glass slab is covered in various shades of beige with a paper-sized pad with smaller bits of color nearby.
