Chapter 29: : Chapter 29

“What are you doing here?” Ezra asks his sister, looking straight past me, confusion flickering through his eyes.

I hold up my hand and shake my head. “I think the better question here is why the fuck are you in my house, drinking my beer?” My heart races as I try to recall what Sera and I must’ve looked like as we walked in together. I wasn’t holding her hand, but had we been smiling a little too widely? Was I looking at her with my desires written all over my face? “You gave me a near heart attack.”

Ezra smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Couldn’t help myself. I have no idea how you keep getting your hands on these niche microbrews, but they’re something else.” His gaze returns to his sister, and it’s clear he expects an answer to his question.

“Archer told me I could use his guest room to paint in since he doesn’t use it,” Serenity says, walking past me to hug her brother. Her tone is light and calm, but I notice the way her hands tremble just a touch. My girl is as rattled as I am. “More importantly, I thought you had a client meeting?”

He wraps his arm around Serenity, his gaze roaming over her face. “Work wrapped up earlier than expected, so I managed to get home early for once.”

I shrug out of my suit jacket, and Serenity’s eyes flick to my chest before she drags them away. I try my best not to smile, not wanting to make Ezra even more suspicious than he already is, but it’s hard to resist when she looks at me with such regret, like she wishes she could’ve been the one to undress me.

“So you came over to paint?” Ezra asks, letting go of Serenity to move toward my guest room, like he doesn’t believe her. “You never said anything when we spoke about you picking up painting again.”

She nods and follows him, wringing her hands nervously. I can pretty much guess what she’s thinking. She’s wondering if we left any evidence of us anywhere but my bedroom. Since we started sleeping together, I’ve started to find her hair everywhere, but I don’t think it’s the kind of thing Ezra would notice.

Ezra opens the door and freezes at the sight of the easel in the corner, his expression changing as he takes in the silhouette Serenity started to paint. He turns to look at me, surprise flickering through his eyes. “What is that?” he asks, almost like he’s hoping it isn’t what he knows it is.

Serenity steps forward. “It’s the price Archer asked me to pay for the favor he granted me,” she tells him, clearly trying to stay as close to the truth as possible, and it makes me feel like shit. “It’s a replica of The Muse’s ballerina piece.” It’s one of many canvases in the room, and the one she works on least frequently, but it’s unmissable.

Ezra’s gaze cuts to hers, and he searches her face. For what, I’m not quite sure. His jaw clenches as he turns to look at me. “I’m surprised you’re letting Serenity use your guest room when you normally don’t tolerate anyone but me invading your space or privacy.”

Serenity tenses, and she looks down, hiding her face from me. Something about the way her shoulders droop doesn’t sit well with me. The last thing I want is for her to feel unwanted in my home.

I sigh and wrap an arm around her shoulders, causing her to tense. She looks up at me sharply, seemingly having forgotten that me holding her this way isn’t anything new. “Honestly, I only barely tolerate you, Ezra. Letting Sera use my guest room in return for an original Serenity Adesina painting, however, is hardly a bad deal.”

I squeeze Serenity’s shoulder reassuringly, needing her to know that Ezra’s words and opinion don’t matter. “You’re both being weird,” she says, stepping away and into the room. Ezra straightens when she throws him an irritated look. “Is there a problem with me coming over to paint?” she asks pointedly.

“No,” I reply instantly, before Ezra can. “He’s just giving me shit because that’s what I did to him when he started spending time with Celeste.”

Ezra sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “I’m just surprised,” he says, his voice weak. “You never even told me that you’d started painting again, let alone that you have a whole room filled with supplies in Archer’s house.”

She walks up to her brother, her expression placating. “I’m sorry,” she murmurs. “You’ve been gone so much, and I didn’t think much of it. I already took up your guest room, but Archer’s was free, so it just made sense to paint here.”

He nods and brushes one of her curls out of her face. “I wish you’d told me, but regardless, I’d rather you paint here than—” Serenity’s eyes widen, and Ezra snaps his mouth shut for a moment. “Than somewhere Mom would see it,” he finishes weakly.

Serenity’s expression falls, and she looks down, looking utterly defeated, and it takes all of me not to pull her into my arms.

Ezra mutters something under his breath and raises his hand to his head to squeeze his curly hair. “That was the wrong thing to say,” he admits. “I wasn’t thinking, Ser. I’m sorry. You can paint wherever you want. Remember what I told you?”

She nods and forces a smile, and all the while, I wonder how I missed it. She didn’t stop painting because she wasn’t interested in it anymore—she stopped because of her mother.

“Speaking of Mom,” Serenity says, her voice weak, “it’s her birthday next month and we need to choose a gift.” She glances at her easel, and it’s clear she wishes she could paint something for her mother. It’s unbelievable to me that anyone could look at Serenity’s work and not see how fucking priceless it is.

“You’re coming home with us, right?” Ezra asks, lifting his beer bottle to his mouth.

I nod and pull my tie loose. “Of course. I’d never hear the end of it if I missed your mom’s birthday.”

He nods as he begins to run me through gift ideas, and I glance back at Serenity as he walks out of the room. “He clearly has no intention of leaving anytime soon,” I murmur.

She looks at the door and nods. “I do actually need to paint for an hour or so today,” she says, turning her back to me. “I owe you a painting, after all. Gotta hold up my end of the bargain.”

“Serenity.”

She looks over her shoulder, but her eyes don’t quite meet mine. “You’d better go before Ezra gets even more suspicious than he already is.”

I nod, my heart heavy as I walk out of the room. This is not how I thought my evening would go. Fucking hell. I’d planned to make her forget all about Theo and his goddamn ice cream. I wanted her to still feel me between her legs by the time she sees him tomorrow, but I’ll be lucky if I even get to steal a single kiss from her now.

Ezra looks up from my sofa, and I sigh as I sink down next to him. I’ve never minded his penchant for showing up at my place uninvited, especially since he let Celeste live in his home for years while he took my guest room, but today I wish he hadn’t.

“You’re having her paint Tyra,” he says, and I tense, staring ahead. “Fuck, she finally picks up painting again, and that’s what you’re having her paint? You know how much she loved Tyra, and it’ll kill Serenity to paint her for you.”

I bury a hand in my hair and look away, unable to refute his words. The worst part is that this isn’t about Tyra anymore. It never really was, and it took me a while to realize that. “I’m trying to let her go,” I admit.

He looks at me like he doesn’t believe me, his gaze filled with pity. “Is that why my sister is currently in your spare room, painting an image that you’ll keep forever?”