I sigh and slouch against his arm. “It was uh-mazing. I want to go back,” I whine. “It was like time stopped and the rest of the world just slipped away. We had no agenda, no alarm clock, no interruptions.”
“Sounds incredible.”
“It was. The days and nights just sort of blended together. But we spent a lot of the time swimming, because it was hotter than the surface of the sun.”
“Something tells me you did other things too.” He bites the end of his pen and widens his eyes playfully.
“Maybe.” I raise a suggestive eyebrow. “Maybe we did other things all over the island. On the beach. In the ocean. In every room of the magnificent house. Want me to keep going?”
“I get it.” He laughs. “You were making up for lost time.”
“Something like that.”
“Must have been nice to have a private island all to yourself,” he says wistfully.
“It was. I mean, it took a little coaxing from Sam to embrace the idea of being able to do whatever we wanted, wherever we wanted, but it was pretty freeing once I did.”
“I bet.”
“We did other things too, you know.”
“Like?”
“We just hung out together. We watched movies, listened to music, talked. We talked a lot. It was nice to be able to get to know each other again without any outside distractions. A lot has happened in our lives over the last ten years. It gave us a chance to fill in the gaps. And at the end of the day we just want to be together.” I smile. “He asked me to move in with him.”
I can see the hesitation in Bas’s eyes when he asks, “Are you going to?”
“Yes,” I say confidently. “I’ve given it a lot of thought and it’s what I want.”
“Good,” he says without judgment. “I’m happy for you, sweetie.” He gives my hand a squeeze, but I see a flicker of sadness in his eyes when he releases it.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
He sighs. “It’s just Paul. He and I have been fighting lately.”
“What? Why?”
“Because he’s decided that we should be parents now.”
I nearly choke on my coffee. “Oh.”
“That was my reaction too.”
“Sorry, I’m just surprised.”
“You and me both. I mean, we’ve talked about having a family one day, but not anytime soon. I’m twenty-nine—I thought I’d have at least another decade before bringing a baby into the mix.”
“Paul’s ready now?”
He shrugs a shoulder. “He’s thirty-five, which according to him, is when he always planned to start a family—something he probably should have mentioned to me before we got married.”
“Would it have changed your mind?”
“No,” he says with an exasperated huff.
“Well, what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. He’s been researching options, and it’s a pretty long process. It could take years, whether we decide to adopt or go with a surrogate. And don’t even get me started on the cost.”
“I’m sorry. That sounds really stressful.”
“Well, Paul thinks that if we don’t start the process now, it could be five years or more by the time we actually have a baby.”
I press my lips together over a smile I can’t hide.
“What?”
“It’s just, the thought of you with a baby is kind of awesome. You’d make a great dad. So would Paul.”
“Okay, please don’t tell me you’re teaming up with Paul on this.”
“No.” I laugh softly. “I’m team Sebastian all the way. I’ll support you any way that I can. And provide babysitting services as needed.”
“Lucy.”
“Aunt Lucy.”
“Oh, my God. Stop.”
“Okay, but seriously, how am I ever going to take care of kids of my own if I don’t start practicing? This could be good for me. I don’t know anything about babies.”
“Me neither!”
“Well, sounds like you’re going to find out before I do.”
He narrows his eyes. “I missed you. But only a little.”
I shove his arm. “Mean.”
He laughs, and it chases the worry away from his face. “I really did miss you. A lot.”
“I missed you too. It was a wonderful, unexpected break from reality, but part of me felt off-kilter without you for so long. Especially when I needed some Sebastian-brand therapy.”
He pulls his dark eyebrows together over the rim of his glasses. “What for?”
“Oh, you know, just normal stuff, like realizing my boyfriend has more money than I’ll make in my lifetime. Worrying that I’m going to end up on the cover of In Touch magazine. And wondering what my jilted ex-fiancé plans to do with my beloved studio. Nothing quite as life-altering as having a child, but problems, nonetheless.”
He puts his hand under his chin thoughtfully and holds a curved finger over his mouth. “Well, you knew Sam had money. Why the sudden concern about it? Most people consider that a good thing.”
“I know. It’s definitely a very good thing, for Sam. But I’m not really comfortable with him spending it on me so freely. I mean, he wouldn’t hesitate to buy me a new studio altogether, if I let him. Which I won’t.”
“Funny, you didn’t have a problem letting Drew buy this one.”
“That was different. Drew bought it as an investment that we could eventually benefit from, jointly. It was meant to be a source of income for both of us. Sam’s motivation is just…me.”
“Just you?”
I shrug. “He knows how much my career means to me. He just wants to help.”
Bas sips his coffee and narrows his eyes at me. “So now that we’ve got that worked out.”
“No, Bas. I won’t let him buy me a studio. It’s going to be bad enough when people realize I don’t have my own money. Not the kind Sam has, anyway. I can just see the headlines now. Lucy Bennett…Gold Digger. It’s inevitable.”
Bas laughs and puts his coffee down. “That’s what you’re worried about?”
“Yes. You know that’s what everyone’s going to think. Where was she before he got famous? She’s only back with him because he’s got money now.” I close my eyes and try to drown out the imminent rumors before they consume me.
“Listen to me. You’re no longer just Lucy Bennett. You’re Lucy Bennett, up-and-coming contemporary realist artist and Sam Cole’s girlfriend. You don’t get the luxury of filtered thoughts and polite smiles anymore. You’re going to be judged loudly, and you’ll be criticized loudly. But you’ll also be loved loudly. Everyone who loves Sam will love you too, because they’ll see how much he loves you and how happy he is with you. Sure there are going to be people who call you a gold digger. But screw those people! You think Sam has only ever had nice things written about him? No. But there’s so much more good than bad. So, starting this very moment, I want you to make a vow to ignore any and all negative things written about you and focus on only the good things instead. Okay?”