I Married a Billionaire: Lost and Found(58)

"Sure," I said. "I almost wish the paparazzi would show. Let them see me ready for my close-up."

"Oh, they don't care about that. That's boring." She held the earrings up on either side of my face, tilting her head to look at them. "I mean, they might show up if you tip them off. I did some design work on a house - I'm not allowed to say whose, but it's somebody you'd know. His publicist had every single trashy newspaper and gossip blog on speed dial. It was completely ridiculous. He got pissed if he went to Starbucks and there weren't candid shots of him in line plastered all over the internet by the time he got home."

"God. I can't imagine."

Lindsey shrugged. "It's a different world, you know? That's what some people live for."

"I just want people to maybe like my paintings," I said. "Then I'd be happy."

She looked at me, serious for a moment. "Is that really all you need?"

"Well, you know," I said. "And maybe some other stuff too."

She smiled.

***

Lindsey had been right about one thing - the lighting in the gallery was incredibly dim, with the room mostly illuminated by the individual light sources that were dedicated to each work on display. I got there early, and I had to rap on the door for Curtis to let me in.

"Hey, sweetie! I'm so glad you could make it!" He clasped my hand as I walked in. "How are things going?"

"Well," I said. "Do you want a real answer, or just pleasantries?"

"Real answer, always. Of course."

"Not great," I said. "I mean, things were going better, but then I f*cked up. As usual."

"How so?" He took my coat and went to hang it up in his office.

"It’s weird," I said. "We were able to successfully petition for a new judge, so we got exactly what we wanted. But afterwards, I just felt worse. And I ended up starting a fight about something stupid."

"That’s understandable," said Curtis. "You’ve probably been bottling everything up for months because you didn’t want to add to the general stress, and now that things are better, you can’t really tamp them down anymore."

"Yeah, I guess." I shook my head at the memory. "I had a couple beers, and all of a sudden it seemed like a good time to hassle him about a bunch of things that don’t really matter. You’re right, there’s a lot I’ve been ignoring. This journalist who’s been flirting with him…and, you know, other stuff…" I certainly wasn’t going to get into the prototype lawsuit now.

"Well," he said. "Couples fight about things like that all the time. I'm sure you'll bounce back just fine. It's not like anyone really did anything wrong." He glanced at me. "Right?"

"Right," I said. "As far as I know." I was talking about the prototype, but I was really talking about Gen, too.

He raised his eyebrows slightly.

"I mean - I don't really think anything happened," I said. "But does it really matter? I mean, ultimately what I want is for him to want to be with me. If he stays with me out of obligation even though he'd rather be with someone like her, it feels like winning on a technicality."

"I'm sure that's not true," he said. "I’m sure he’s with you because he wants to be, because you’re not like all the people who hang on him because of his money and his reputation."

"He's said stuff like that before," I agreed. "But I don't really understand. Like…if he was interested in just any old average woman, he could go down to the grocery store and pick one up just like anybody else could. He doesn't have to be with models and heiresses if he doesn't want to."

"But you're not ordinary," said Curtis, softly. "You're pretty extraordinary, actually, I think."

I felt my ears turning red. "Thanks," I said. "But a lot of people can draw."

"I'm not just talking about that." Curtis took a step towards me, and I didn't step back. "You're…I mean…I don't know you well, but honestly, I know exactly what he sees in you. I can't really explain it." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, I - this is weird. I'll shut up."




"No, it's okay," I said, smiling. "This is…it's nice to hear. Sometimes I never know when Daniel is being…you know, genuine."

"More than you think, I'm sure," said Curtis. "He's very…he's a very lucky guy."

I cleared my throat and looked up at him. His clear, gray eyes were fixed on mine. I felt myself turning up to him, further, almost as if -

"Oh, my God," we both said at almost the exact same time, stepping away from each other hastily.

"I'm so sorry," said Curtis. "Maddy, I'm really - I'm really really sorry. I never do this kind of thing. I - this show is crazy, I'm stressed out, it went to my head. I'm….I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," I said. "Really." I smiled, encouragingly, even though my legs felt like jelly. "I understand, we both got….caught up. But it's okay. We didn't…it's fine." I pushed my hair behind my ears, smoothing it and clearing my throat. "I'm going to go take a look at my installation and get ready."