Bring Me Fire (16 page)

Chapter 32

A few weeks after the auction, Sky took a walk through Josh’s house, trying to see it as if she were a visitor at a public gallery. There were only a few more pieces of art that needed to be hung, and she was pleased with the way everything had come together. She walked down the long hallway upstairs, admiring each of the paintings, awash in the white glow of the halogen lights. She really did feel as though she were in a revered art museum, some sort of special, private collection that not everyone got to see. At the end of the hallway she stopped; the door to Josh’s erotic art collection on her left.

She walked over to it, but didn’t go in. What might’ve happened if he hadn’t caught her in there that day? She thought back to it and couldn’t believe she’d picked the lock, it seemed so reckless now, such a silly thing to do. But she had, and she was glad that she did. She wasn’t sure they would have gotten involved if that hadn’t happened. Maybe she would’ve gone about doing her job, trying to behave as she thought a good employee should.

"Are you planning on trying to pick that lock again? You can just ask for a key, you know."

Sky jumped at the sound of Josh’s voice.

"I wasnt..."

"
Here." He held out his hand and dropped a key into her open palm. "Let’s go in here, anyway."

She unlocked the door and they went inside.
"Come over here," he said. "There’s something I want to show you."

She followed him toward the back of the room, passing by the Seamus McManus painting. Fleetingly, she thought of Ashley and Aidan and wondered how everything was going at
Prelude
.

Josh stopped in front of a wooden antique easel that had a thin cotton blanket thrown over it.

"This is for you," he said, gently pulling the blanket away to reveal a painting underneath.

Sky knew right away it was another McManus painting, this time of a man and a woman, standing naked and embracing, limbs entwined, faces hidden. The woman had long hair that cascaded in waves down her back; the man had defined upper arms and a lean, muscular back. There was nothing in the background, only a little simple shading where the couple stood.

"It’s beautiful," Sky said, taking a step closer to read the nameplate on the frame.
"You Bring Me Fire
. Josh, it's perfect, absolutely perfect."

"
It’s not a forgery," he told her with a wink.

"
Honestly, I wouldn’t care if it was. Well, not really. But you didn’t have to get me a painting, you know."

"
I know I didn’t, but I wanted to. I appreciate all the hard work you’ve done around here. And I figured, you’re working with all this art and arranging it in the most aesthetically pleasing way so why shouldn’t you have some of your own? And when I saw this, I knew it was the one. And not only all the good work you’ve been doing, but being with you has really changed my outlook on a lot of things," Josh continued. "I got really caught up in art, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s like for a while, that’s all there was. I didn’t want to think about or focus on anything else because it was just easier to keep doing what was safe."

Sky smiled.
"Are you saying I’m not safe?"

"
Not at all. But you’ve sort of shaken things up around here and
in
here." He took her hand and placed it against his heart. "It’s certainly not what I was expecting to have happen when I put it out there that I was looking for an assistant."

"
Well, I’m glad I could help you with that."

"
I mean that in the best possible way."

"
Thank you, then."

"
And I appreciate all the hard work you’ve done. The house looks great. I checked out the database the other day and it’s really great to have everything there, cataloged. I kind of feel like a mother hen over it, but I love this stuff. I love every piece of art I’ve ever purchased, and to have it all displayed and accounted for is pretty awesome."

"
I’m glad you’re happy with the way it turned out."

"
You’ve got a knack for it, you know. You really do. Were you serious when you told me that someday you wanted to open your own gallery?"
Sky laughed. "Of course, one day. Once I win the lottery!"

"
I don’t know if you know this about me, but one of my side projects is supplying start-up capital to people passionate about art who are interested in opening their own galleries."

"
Oh, really?"

"
Really. I guess you could say it’s a very
new
side project, since I haven’t actually supplied any capital yet, but it’s been something that I’ve been thinking about" He gave her a coy look.

Sky frowned and bit her lip, not sure if he was playing a joke on her. Was he offering to help her start her own gallery?
"Wait," she said. "You’re saying you want to give me money to...?"

"
No," he said. "I’m not going to
give
you money. It would be an investment. But I happen to believe in you and I know that you’ve got a very good eye and a natural aptitude for this sort of work." He gestured to the walls. "I mean, look what you’ve done here. And so, when you told me that your dream is to one day have your own art gallery, well it seems like a great idea."

"
But what if it fails? What if it turns out to be no good?"
"I don’t think that’s going to happen."

"
It might, though."

"
Nothing in business, or life, for that matter comes with a guarantee. Nothing is for certain. Could it fail? Of course it could. But you won’t know unless you try. And I know it’s something that you want to do, that you have a passion and a talent for. If I can help you out with that, why wouldn’t I? Why wouldn’t anyone not want to help out someone they care about if they can?"

"
I know, it’s just - it’s a lot of money."

"
I know."

"
And a lot of work."

"
Which you are more than capable of doing. Really, Sky, it would give me no greater pleasure than to do this with you. Think of it like us going into business together, if you want."

"
So you’d be like a silent partner?"
"Something like that. Emphasis on the silent part. I can spare Conner to work with you to set it up and then he can help oversee the management. He has a very large and astute business brain and I'm afraid that he is not challenged enough just running my day-to-day life. I've asked him already and he is desperate to start planning it with you."

Sky’s mind started to race at the possibilities.
Her own gallery? Her own space where she could decide what sort of artwork was displayed, who they hosted for art openings? She grinned. "I can’t believe you’re offering this," she said.

"
You should say yes."

"
Okay. I say yes. And then I also say
thank you.
Thank you! I love you so much." As usual she couldn't help herself. The words just came flowing out. Her brain was shouting at her wildly -
What the hell did you just say?

Either Josh seemed to have not heard her or he was politely pretending it had never happened.
"I want you to know that I'm only doing it because I'm a selfish, selfish man."

Sky leaned against him her arms draped around his waist.
"What are you talking about? This couldn't be further away from selfish."

Josh looked into her eyes.
"It's selfish because it's a way to keep you in my life. I've fallen in love with you too Sky, deeply and completely.  I couldn't let you go to work in some other gallery, every working day to be kept away from me. Not now." He took her face in his hands and leaned down, kissed her. She let her eyes fall closed as she kissed him back. She wrapped her arms around his torso and as she felt his hands move down the length of her body. With her heart hammering and the rush of emotions pulsing through her she could only give herself over completely to Josh's touch and the sensation of being truly loved.  The two of them the living embodiment of a fine art painting.

-The End-

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