Tempting the Artist (10 page)

Silence filled the room, both
engrossed in their own thoughts. What he didn’t understand was why
she felt she couldn’t tell him about this side of her. Why couldn’t
she share such an important part of her life with him?

“
Why are you hiding behind
your talent? Why paint under a pseudonym?”

*

Now for the moment of truth. How would
she explain her reasons for keeping a secret? A secret from him as
well as her family? Christina didn’t know if Luke would ever
forgive her deceit, but she had shared this much, she might as well
tell him everything.

“
Why don’t we continue this
conversation in the living room?” She moved to the door, her hand
hovering over the light switch. Finally, Christina had shared this
part of herself with someone other than Jada. It felt good. It felt
right.

Again, Luke stood in front of her
favorite painting, the one that she would never sell. She wondered
if he knew. She wondered if he knew that their time together had
inspired the piece.

He turned suddenly and moved toward
the door, but stopped short before crossing the threshold. Glancing
back, he took one last look before heading back into the living
room.

He knew.

“
Can I get you something
else to drink?” Christina asked and relocked the bedroom
door.

“
No, I’m good. Thanks.” He
reclaimed his spot near the window where he stood when they first
arrived. She grabbed a bottle of water for herself, noticing his
mood had changed. The tension bouncing off of him was undeniable
and could be felt clear across the room.

“
What I don’t understand is
why this is a secret.” He turned toward her but maintained his
distance. “You’re a gifted artist. I could see if you were an
operative or if you were CIA, but there’s no danger of revealing to
the world, that you’re the talent behind that amazing
work.”

Pride swelled in her chest. Knowing
that he thought she was talented, meant more to her than she ever
imagined. Suddenly keeping this part of her life a secret from him
didn’t seem warranted.

“
You don’t know the Jenkins
family. My grandfather to be more specific.” She played with the
cap of her water bottle, spinning it on the granite countertop.
“Since we were little kids, it has been drilled into us that family
comes first. What we do in public or behind closed doors can affect
the family. That we shouldn’t say or do anything that would cause
negative attention on the Jenkins. I don’t even want to think about
how he would react to my nudes.”

“
But you only recently
started painting nudes.”

“
I only recently started
sharing my nudes with the public. I’ve been painting them for a
while.”

“
I guess what I’m asking is
why didn’t you share your work with your family early on, when you
were only doing landscapes and abstract?”

“
I was afraid my family
wouldn’t be supportive, wouldn’t accept my creativity. They didn’t
support my father. When he was younger and announced that he wanted
to play the drums and the saxophone professionally, he received a
lot of pushback from the family. They made comments like – don’t
quit your day job and keep dreaming. Besides, painting on the side
and making a name for myself, feels a little disloyal.”

Luke’s brows drew together. “How
so?”

Christina tried to think of a way to
explain what she felt. Luke didn’t come from a large family and
wouldn’t understand the dynamics. “My family has invested a lot
into the company, as well as a lot of time and money into me. We
work together in one capacity or another to build the Jenkins
family brand. To build the Jenkins family empire. That company has
been the foundation for all of us as it relates to first jobs.
Giving us an opportunity to gain experience, learn a trade and to
get further ahead financially than most people our age.” She paused
thinking about how supportive her family had always been in most
aspects of her life. Doing her own thing as an artist, with all of
the traveling, as well as her latest shows displaying her nudes,
she didn’t think this part of her life would go over
well.

“
I know I only met your
family a couple of times, but they seem extremely supportive of
each other. I still don’t understand your concern.”

“
I want to tell them, but
if they shun my work or think I’m wasting my time, I don’t know if
I could take the rejection. Whenever I put a piece out there for
sale, I brace myself for the negative feedback. I don’t think I
could handle it if my family weren’t supportive of this.” She
shrugged. “So I’ve been keeping this part of my life to myself.
Well, actually you and Jada know.”

Luke took a deep breath in and
released it slowly. When he looked up, their gazes collided. It was
as if all the air had been sucked out of the room. The first time
they met, there was an immediate attraction and what she saw
swimming in his brown eyes now, felt like so much more. Heat spread
through her, and every cell tingled as his gaze caressed her like a
soft feather.

God she had missed him. She
missed everything about him, especially his touch and his deep,
toe-curling kisses. Their intellectual conversations from
discussing the controversy around one of Robin Thicke’s songs to
disagreeing about the Affordable Care Act, was something else she
missed. Never had she been in such a thoroughly fulfilling
relationship than she had when they were together. And their sex
life…
whew
. The man
made every nerve ending in her body sing. They fit together
perfectly in more ways than one.

She wished he would say
something.

“
You didn’t trust me enough
to share this part of your life with me.”

Okay, maybe she liked it better when
he wasn’t saying anything. But he was right. Her art was so close
to her heart that she wasn’t willing to let anyone close to her
have a chance of shooting down her dream.

“
It wasn’t that I didn’t
trust you.”

“
Then what was
it?”

“
I guess I wasn’t ready to
share this part of my life with anyone. Besides, my family doesn’t
know. I couldn’t see telling someone I was dating about Sasha
Knight, before telling them.”

“
So why now? Why bother
telling me, especially if you still haven’t told them?”

“
I miss you.” The words
flew out of her mouth before she had a chance to think. After the
conversation with Jada, Christina knew that if she wanted another
chance with Luke, another chance at love, she had to be straight
with him. “Not telling you about this was the biggest mistake I
ever made.”

He looked away. She wanted another
chance with him, but at this point, there was nothing else she
could do. Their fate was up to him.

He shoved one hand into his front
pocket and rubbed the other hand over his forehead. “For the first
time in my life, I don’t know what to say. When you refused to tell
me why you wanted to stay in New York, I honestly thought you were
seeing someone else. I’m glad to know that wasn’t the reason, but
this new information doesn’t excuse the fact that you lied. I
opened my heart and my home to you, only to find out you’ve been
lying, keeping something important from me.”

Luke might not have come out and said
it, but Christina knew part of his reaction had to do with all that
he had already lost. He had once told her that one of the reasons
he had avoided relationships was because he couldn’t stand the
thought of losing someone else.

“
I’m sorry … for
everything,” she moved toward him but stopped when he shook his
head and rubbed his eyes.

“
I can’t help but wonder
what other secrets you have. If you were willing to keep something
this small from me, how do I know you’re not harboring other
secrets? Bigger secrets.” He glared at her. And just that fast a
nice evening had quickly veered south.

“
This wasn’t a
small
secret.”
Christina’s insides vibrated with anger. “Sasha Knight is a big
part of who I am. My creative outlet. All it would take is for one
person that I love to belittle what I do, and wipe out any
creativity that I have. So forgive me if I held that secret close
to my heart. And anyway, I could say the same thing about you
keeping secrets.”

Confusion showed in his eyes. “Excuse
me?”

“
You say that you left New
York for a quieter, simpler life, but I have a feeling there’s more
to it. Much more. I’ve come clean with you. The only way this,” she
pointed back and forth between them, “is ever going to work is
if
we
put
everything on the table. No more secrets.”

When he didn’t respond, Christina had
her answer. He was definitely keeping something from her. She
walked to the door and opened it.

“
Maybe this wasn’t a good
idea. Good night, Lucas.” She used his given name, always
preferring it over his nickname.

He hesitated. His eyes were steady on
her as seconds ticked by. Finally, he moved toward the door but
stopped short.

“
Oh and don’t worry. Your
secret’s safe with me.”

Christina slammed the door the moment
he cleared the threshold.

Asshole
.

Chapter Seven

Days later, Christina pulled into the
driveway of Zack and Jada’s estate, still pissed at Luke. Her
cousin insisted that some retail therapy is what Christina needed
to get out of her funk. Unlike Jada, Christina didn’t much care for
shopping unless it included a trip to a thrift shop or an antique
store.

She climbed out of the car and walked
along the cobblestone walkway trying to free her mind of Luke. She
didn’t know why she was still mad at him. It was her fault for
withholding information. No, actually, she did have a good reason
for still being angry. He acted like a complete jerk the other
night. Well, maybe not a complete jerk, but a jerk nonetheless. At
first, her heart sang inside her chest at how impressed and
complimentary he was of her work, but the way he left was
unforgivable. Sure she could understand that he was hurt that she
had lied to him. Okay, she had lied more than once, but still. She
had a good reason. She wasn’t totally confident in her abilities as
an artist … yet. She couldn’t afford to have anyone, especially
him, derail her mission of being a world renowned artist. All it
would have taken was for him to say the wrong thing and she
might’ve given up.

“
Are you coming in?” Jada
stood at the open door, her hands on her hips and a frown covering
her ruby red lips. Christina hadn’t realized she rang the doorbell
or that Jada had opened the door.

She stepped into the house without
saying hello or anything else. Instead, she made a beeline to the
half-bath off of the family room, slamming the door behind her. The
door barely closed before she burst into tears. Normally, she
wasn’t a crier, but at the moment she felt as if her heart had been
ripped from her chest and stomped on over and over again. She
hadn’t shed this many tears since the day after Luke had left New
York. But the other night, she had been more angry than sad,
calling him every name but his own.

Letting the lid of the toilet seat
down, she sat on it, propped her elbows on her knees and buried her
face in her hands. The smell of lavender from the air freshener
sitting on the counter should have been calming, but the scent did
nothing to make her feel better.

Jada knocked on the door, calling out
Christina’s name for the first few minutes before she eventually
walked away. No sooner than she left, Christina jumped at the loud
pounding on the other side of the door.

“
CJ?” Zack yelled. “You
need to let us know if you’re okay otherwise this door is coming
down!”

Christina had no doubt that the former
football star would plow through the door if Jada asked him
to.

“
I’m fine. I just need a
minute.” Christina sighed with resignation. Actually, she needed
more than a minute. Days would have been a more accurate
estimation.

Fifteen minutes later, she had finally
pulled herself together enough to leave the bathroom. She opened
the door to find Jada standing in front of it with a container of
their favorite butter pecan ice cream. How many nights had she
shared a tub of ice cream with Jada? Christina didn’t care what
anyone said. Butter pecan ice cream was the cure for any
ailment.

Jada handed Christina the container, a
long handled spoon sticking out of it. “I can’t remember the last
time I saw you cry and I didn’t know what else to do. And don’t
worry,” another spoon miraculously appeared from behind Jada’s
back, “you won’t have to eat alone.”

Christina laughed through her tears
and accepted the ice cream as well as a hug from her cousin. The
small gesture was making her feel better already.

They ate and talked in the
family room about practically everything under the sun. The one
topic that was off limits though –
Luke
. Jada had made the mistake of
mentioning his name during part of the conversation and Christina
had abruptly broken into tears again. Granted she knew some of her
sadness was from the way things ended the other night, but part of
her emotional state was from lack of sleep.