A Forbidden Love (Eligible Billionaires Book 9) (7 page)

“Great ocean view,” he murmured. “Steps from the beach. Rent can’t be beat.”

Her heart fluttered. Was he suggesting that she stay with
him?

“Come stay at my place.” He spun her around in his arms to face him. The sparkle in his brilliant blue eyes made her want to blurt out “yes,” and yet…

“Really? Doesn’t it seem—” She glanced away.

“Fast?” He lifted her chin and stared into her eyes. “Uh, yeah, I guess it should. It probably would, with anyone other than you.”

He pressed his lips to hers, and any reservations or fears Ilana had melted in that one delicious kiss. Sure, she could pack her things and
pretend
that she’d go stay at Amelia’s house, just like she could pretend that she’d been staying at her own apartment the last two weeks. But she hadn’t. She’d spent absolutely zero nights in her own place since the first time she and Devon had made love.

He pulled back. “Can I take that as a yes?”

Ilana laughed, nodding. “I love the guy who runs the place. He’s pretty easy to get along with.”

“Yeah? And I love my new roomie.” Devon’s arms tightened around Ilana as he kissed her again.

The amount of time didn’t matter because the relationship growing between them felt one hundred percent right. But fear still gnawed at her heart. She wanted to give him all of herself, her love and her future. But after seeing what her mother had gone through, could she really believe a man’s love could be trusted?

By the time she had turned the lock on the front door behind their last students on Friday of the Center’s opening week, Ilana could barely remember her name. Fatigue flowed through her body. Two more days and they’d have Monday off. She loved the Center and the kids and the enthusiasm the community had for them—she did—but she was exhausted. She stood at the kitchen counter laying out last batch of just-washed paintbrushes from the day’s classes. Her ankle throbbed. She arranged the brushes on a layer of paper towels to dry and then limped into the art room to double-check that she’d put everything away.

Amelia called out from the front room, “I’m going to head home and get ready for tonight.”

Ilana jumped, startled. “What’re you still doing here? I thought you left an hour ago?”

“Wanted to hang some of these pictures first.” Amelia ducked her head into the art room and beckoned Ilana toward the front room. “Come see.”

Ilana followed her friend. “Oh my gosh!” She clasped her hands together and raised them to her lips. Amelia had covered the front windows with the kids’ stained–glass tissue paper art projects. The setting sun beamed through the translucent, multicolored paper, and the front room blazed with rainbows of color.

“See the butterfly?” Amelia nodded toward a purple-and-red-winged butterfly. “That’s Jake’s.”

“So beautiful!” Small for his age and speech delayed, Jake had been brought to the Center by his foster mother, who frankly confided to Ilana and Amelia that every doctor she had seen believed he would never speak or read. But there was so much going on behind Jake’s eyes. He said so much with his smile and the emotion that traveled through his gaze. Now this. This brilliant beautiful butterfly with its red and purple wings. “Absolutely beautiful.”

“I told him that. You should’ve seen the look on his face.”

Ilana could picture Jakes smile. She’d already, in one week, seen joy spread across his face a half dozen times. He was adorable and sweet and exactly the kind of kid the Center was meant to serve. His foster mom had thanked them over and over again, because Ilana and Amelia had made Jake their first full-scholarship student.

“Your flowers still look good.”

Heat flamed Ilana’s cheeks. The huge bouquet of peonies and freesia Devon had sent on opening day sat on the table next to the front desk, blooming and fragrant.

“How are things going with Mr. Outrageously Good-looking?” Amelia lifted an eyebrow. “I’m guessing by the shade of pink on your cheeks that they’re going well.”

“I”—Ilana took a deep breath—“I’ve never been this happy.”

“You
deserve
to be this happy, you know that, right?”

Ilana nodded. It was hard to believe in happiness. She couldn’t quite grasp that joy could be perpetual. While she wanted to believe Amelia, to feel as though she deserved this happiness, she couldn’t help thinking something bad would happen.

“We’re both going to the show tonight.”

“Of course you are.” Amelia flashed a smile.

“Are you nervous?” Ilana knew this show meant a lot to her friend.

“Does it show?”

“Maybe just to me.”

Amelia laid her palm flat on her stomach. “Honestly, I feel like I’m going to be sick.”

“You’ve had lots of shows.”

“Right, but this one
feels
different somehow. Maybe because it’s my hometown?”

“You’re right on the cusp too.”

Amelia nodded and took a deep breath. “That too. I’m a little freaked out by the guest list. Buyers from MOMA and The Broad are supposed to be there tonight.”

“Well, I love the collection.” Ilana shut down the computer at the front desk. “I think it’s some of your best work.”

“From your lips to God’s ears.” Amelia glanced around the front room of the Center. “I’d love to sell out this entire collection. That would help a lot, you know?” Amelia’s brown eyes landed on Ilana. “I…I just want this, the Center, to work. This place is as important to me as my art. The two feel tied together somehow. And if the collection sells out, that’s a lot of money.”

The muscles in Ilana’s shoulders pulled tight to the bone. She nodded, but her gaze fell to the floor. She felt too ashamed to look at Amelia. My God, she was the absolute worst friend. She still hadn’t told Amelia about Mrs. Luskey and the lease and how the owner had refused the assignment— “Amelia?” But now? Before Amelia’s big opening at the Legend Gallery? Really…was this the right time? But would there ever
be
a right time?

“Hmm?” Amelia paused from digging through her purse for her keys and turned to Ilana. In that unguarded moment, Ilana could see the tension building on Amelia’s face, the anxiety she’d been hiding under cheerfulness for a week or more. Amelia had worked for years as an artist to get to tonight, to have such a big and successful gallery showcase her work.

Ilana licked her lips. No. She wouldn’t ruin Amelia’s opening night. “I just…good luck tonight.” Ilana pulled her best friend into a hug. She’d find a solution to the problem, she would, and if she didn’t and soon, then she would tell Amelia and they would find a solution together.

Wouldn’t they?

“Thanks.” Amelia slipped from Ilana’s arms. “See you in a couple hours. I’m so glad you’ll be there with me.”

Ilana nodded. She shut the door behind Amelia and locked it again. She looked up at the ceiling and closed her eyes.

A solution…she would find a solution, because she couldn’t go on hiding the truth about the lease from Amelia. That simply wouldn’t be fair.

*

Amelia DeLoitte was a big deal. An eclectic mix of art collectors, critics, entertainment industry executives, and celebrities packed the Legend Gallery. Brad Pitt and Dillon McElroy stood in the far corner discussing Amelia’s piece
Desperation City
with Rhiannon Legend, another huge L.A. artist and sister-in-law of the Legend Gallery’s owner, Amanda Legend. But Ilana wasn’t really surprised. Amelia’d been a big deal even in first grade when Ilana met her.

Ilana’s first day had been midyear, and she hadn’t known anyone. New to Venice, she was too shy to talk to any of the kids. Popular Amelia, with her beautiful braids decorated with pink and white beads that said shh shh shh when she shook her head, had taken pity on Ilana, sitting all by herself with her pb&j at lunch. Amelia had sat right down and offered Ilana half of her blueberry muffin. That shared muffin had sealed the “best friends forever” deal.

Across the gallery, Amelia stood beside the L.A.
Times
art critic, charming her with a big smile and warm laugh and the ability to put anyone at ease. The critic smiled and waved her arms toward
Late Night Landscape
, a depiction of downtown L.A. at night. Amelia nodded and replied. Although Ilana was too far away to hear the words, she was certain that her best friend said the absolute right thing in response, because that’s who Amelia was. The girl who always knew just what to say. Yes, after years of work, Amelia had made it in the art world. The same Amelia who’d been all-in when Ilana suggested the Enrichment Center and who had helped Ilana to convince their artist friends in their beachside community to give classes to the children of Venice.

“People love Amelia’s art.”

A shiver chased up Ilana’s back and warmth flooded her body. Just the sound of Devon’s voice made heat flow through her. Desire. Want. She turned and her breath caught in her chest.

Would she ever look at Devon without being gobsmacked by his gorgeousness? Maybe, but probably not. That smile made sunshine look dim. Her gaze swept across the T-shirt he wore, just tight enough without being obnoxious. His pecs firm beneath the cotton fabric and the sleeves hitting the center of his biceps. Now
those
were a work of art. She imagined letting the tip of one finger trail over the golden skin, pulled taut over muscle. Having him lift her into his arms again and carry her across the room, maybe straight out to his car…

Devon put a hand on her waist. Heat flashed down her hip and flared between her legs. He leaned forward. A whiff of mint and soap and clean-man scent filled Ilana’s nostrils, as he leaned in to kiss her.

Heat cascaded through her body. His tongue touched her lips and teased them open. In this very public setting, Devon’s kiss seemed to tell the world that she was his. He pulled away. She fought hard to breathe.

He pressed his forehead to hers. “Hello, beautiful.”

“Hi,” she whispered, her pulse skyrocketing, her body craving a private place for them to kiss again.

“I missed you today.” He pressed his lips to her forehead.

Almost as though they weren’t in an art gallery filled with fifty other people. She closed her eyes. This, Devon, how she felt, her life, almost all of it seemed too good to be true.

Fear sliced her heart.

What if it was? What if something bad happened, what if—

He pulled her body tighter against his. “I always feel better once we’re together.”

Ilana sighed. This. This moment. She would surrender to it and simply feel the happiness, not second-guess it.

“Me too.” She smiled up at Devon, the love she felt reflected in his eyes.

Devon leaned closer. “I saw a couple of prominent buyers.” His voice was low and his breath tickled her ear. My God, even when the man was just talking about her best friend’s art, her nipples tightened beneath her shirt. “Good sign when museums want to buy your work.”

“I’m so happy for her.”

Devon smiled, nuzzled her cheek. “How’s the ankle?”

Ilana shrugged. “It’s been a little sore. It’s been hard to stay off my feet as much as I should.”

“Lean on me.” He pivoted and offered her his arm. “Makes me feel useful.” She wrapped her hands around his bicep. Devon steered them toward the nearest piece.

“Do you have any of her work?”

“From her early period. Third grade, I think?”

“Seriously?”

Ilana nodded. “We’ve been friends since we were six. Met in first grade when I arrived midyear.”

“You guys are really old friends.”

“Closest thing either of us has to a sibling.”

Ilana’s eyes swept the canvas with bold brushstrokes of yellow in the mixed-media piece that featured wood cut-outs in amoeba-like shapes surrounded by screens with animated graphics that Amelia had designed. Amelia’s art was complex and cutting edge and intriguing.

“I always wanted brothers and sisters when I was little. I thought it’d be cool to have a big family, but after my parents split up, my mom never remarried. It was just the two of us.”

“You don’t talk about when you were little very much.”

Ilana stiffened. She felt so comfortable with Devon that for a second she’d forgotten her mother’s admonitions.
Never talk about your family.
A heaviness seeped into Ilana’s heart. Could she really never share her past with Devon? Tell him who her parents really were, about the life she and her mother had fled? And the pain of losing her mother…Even after two years, Mama’s death felt fresh, a wound carved into her heart that wouldn’t heal. “It’s hard. Talking about it reminds me that Mama’s gone. Even though it’s been two years, her passing still seems so recent.”

Devon nodded. Deep understanding and compassion filled his gaze. “Never goes away, does it?”

Ilana leaned her head on his shoulder, thankful that she could say these things to him without feeling strange or morose. “I…I don’t think so. I think…I think I’m just…I’m getting more accustomed to living with the loss.”

Devon nodded. “That’s a good way to put how it feels.”

“Devon!” They turned together toward the voice. Amanda Legend, with luxurious black hair that wouldn’t dare be out of place, alabaster skin, and luminous blue eyes that nearly glowed in the gallery light, swept toward them.

Devon kissed Amanda on both cheeks. “Amanda, this is Ilana Reynolds, the co-founder of the Children’s Enrichment Center.”

“So nice to finally meet you. What a perfect idea for Venice, for the community, for artists in the community—”

“Thank you for the paper, on behalf of the children and the Center,” Ilana said.

“Of course. I want to hear more about the Center. There has to be a number of ways that the gallery can be supportive and helpful. Your Center is good for the entire community.”

Ilana licked her lips and glanced at Devon, who smiled and squeezed her hand.

“Admiring your new piece?” Amanda nodded toward the artwork that Ilana and Devon had just been viewing.

Ilana’s heart beat faster.
Devon’s new piece
?

“We’ll deliver it to your house as soon as the show is finished. Also, Sterling has that name for you. The commercial real estate agent you were interested in meeting?”