Tempting the Artist (27 page)

Unfortunately, her taunting worked.
Christina perused the menu with every intention of ordering the
biggest, greasiest, coma-inducing burger the bar had. No longer
would she deprive herself of re-experiencing the delectable taste
that at one time made her toes curl. So what if Martina teased her.
As long as her cousin was picking on her, then she was leaving
someone else alone.

Christina waved the server over and
ordered a burger and fries. She rolled her eyes when Martina
started in on her. Reminding her that being a vegetarian for a
limited amount of time could be added to her list of failed
attempts.

“
Okay, enough,” Peyton
nudged Martina in the side with her elbow. “I want to hear CJ’s big
news.”

Christina’s brows drew together. “What
big news?”

“
You might as well tell us,
we’re going to find out eventually anyway.” Peyton took a sip from
her glass of wine.

Christina shook her head and shrugged.
“For real. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“
I think she’s serious.”
Martina wiped her mouth and tossed her soiled napkin onto her empty
plate.

“
We assumed you and Luke
would come back married.”

“
What? Uh, nooo.” Christina
wiggled her bare ring finger.

“
Were you disappointed?”
Peyton asked.

“
Not at all. Marriage
wasn’t even mentioned on this trip.”

Luke might not have mentioned marriage
while on vacation, but over the last couple of months, he had made
comments about them someday marrying. Saying things like: “How long
would you want to be engaged?”, “What do you think about us
relocating once we get married?”, “When we start a family …” And
those were only a few mentions.

In her heart, Christina knew she would
marry him in a heartbeat should he ask, but in reality, she wasn’t
ready for marriage. She loved Luke more than she thought possible,
and he was excellent marriage material. But after her behavior in
his office weeks earlier, she achingly realized she still had some
growing up to do. She claimed to trust Luke, but that afternoon
said otherwise.

“
For a minute there, I
thought you were trying to pull a fast one over on us like you did
with
Sasha Knight
.
I still can’t believe you paint nudes and Gram and Grampa haven’t
kicked you out of the family,” Martina said.

“
Oh please. If they haven’t
kicked you out yet, there’s no threat of them doing that to me.”
Only a few months ago, Christina had the same thoughts as Martina.
But the news of her being Sasha Knight went over much better than
Christina had anticipated. Her parents were a little surprised by
the nudes but proud of her success as were other members of the
family.

“
I heard Uncle Ben offered
your man a job,” Peyton said cutting into Christina’s
thoughts.

“
Yep, he made the offer the
day before we left.” The server placed Christina’s meal in front of
her along with a Sprite.

“
So is he going to accept?”
MJ asked.

“
I don’t know he hasn’t
said.”

When Luke quit his job at Atwater,
Rouse & Stevenson, Christina was afraid he planned to move back
to New York. He had never mentioned going back, but every month he
seemed to get a call from a law firm offering him a job.

While on vacation, she asked him if he
were planning to go back. He answered with a question. He asked
whether or not she would go with him if he did decide to move back
to New York. Without having to think, she said yes. She recalled
his shock. He had pulled her into his chest, told her how much he
loved her and that he had no intention of leaving Cincinnati,
knowing how important family was to her.

“
Alright, you guys. I’m out
of here.” Martina stood and slipped into her jacket. She glanced at
the food bill and dropped some cash on the table.

“
Don’t forget about the
breakfast meeting tomorrow downtown,” Peyton said. “Wear something
nice. You don’t have to wear a dress, but at least wear a nice
pantsuit. We’ll be schmoozing with some big-time business
people.”

“
Then why are you taking
MJ,” Christina asked, having a hard time keeping her smile at
bay.

“
Forget you future Mrs.
Thug Lawyer.”

“
Don’t call him
that!”

“
I know you’re not
try—”

“
Would you two stop?”
Peyton nudged them both. “MJ, just promise me you’re going to be
there and that you’re not going to wear some old, ripped jeans and
steel toe boots.”

“
Yeah, yeah, I’ll be
there.” Martina pulled Christina’s hair when she walked
passed.

Christina shook her head and smiled.
If Martina behaved any other way, she would think something was
wrong.

“
How did you talk MJ into
attending that breakfast with you? Isn’t Senator Paul Kendricks the
guest speaker at that event?”

Peyton nodded and frowned, her lips
pursed tightly.

Martina would rather eat nails than
even hear the name – Paul Kendricks. She thought he was the lowest
form of human life and often referred to the senator as Satan’s
spawn. Kendricks was against the trade unions, and Martina had
spent most of her carpenter career as an advocate for the
unions.

“
The senator is the
speaker, but I didn’t tell her.”

Christina finished chewing and then
threw her head back and laughed. “You’re going to be
sorry.”

“
I know,” Peyton whined,
covering her face with her hands. “I wanted at least two of us
representing Jenkins & Sons. Nick was going to attend, but he
and his crew have to install a furnace this weekend for a new
client.”

“
Since he’ll be working the
whole weekend, and you were just getting back into town, I thought
of MJ.”

“
She is going to totally
flip at that meeting.”

“
That’s why I’m going to
have Craig and Uncle Ben on speed dial, just in case.”

Having a police detective and a lawyer
in the wings probably wasn’t a bad idea.

“
Is Luke still meeting you
here?” Peyton placed the money for her meal on top of
Martina’s.

“
Yes, he should be here any
minute now.” Christina rubbed her stomach feeling nauseous. Maybe
she shouldn’t have eaten the whole burger.

“
I’m glad we have a few
minutes alone. I wanted to talk to you, to apologize. I know I’ve
been a pain to deal with lately, and I’m sorry … for
everything.”

“
PJ, you don’t have to keep
bringing it up. We’ve already settled our differences.”

Before they had left on their trip,
Peyton had invited Christina and Luke over to her house for dinner
so she could apologize.

“
So what’s been going on?”
Christina asked. She never had a chance to find out why Peyton had
been so unhappy.

Her sister’s gaze traveled around the
bar, before returning her attention to Christina.

“
I’m not sure. I think a
combination of things. I’m tired, CJ. I’m tired of my life, the way
it is. So instead of me taking some much needed time off, I’ve been
taking my frustrations out on everyone around me.”

“
Is there anything I can
do?”

“
I’ll probably need your
help in the office next month when I go on vacation. Other than
that, I should be able to handle everything.”

“
Do you want to talk about
what’s been frustrating you?”

Peyton shook her head. “There’s just
some things I need to work through on my own.”

“
Does it have anything to
do with Dylan?” Christina asked, taking a chance on mentioning
Peyton’s ex-husband.

“
Indirectly. When we broke
up, it left a void in my life. I have felt empty ever since. Don’t
get me wrong, I have no intention of getting back with him, but
there are some things I do miss about not being a couple
anymore.”

Peyton told her how weird it was
trying to make new friends and start over. She and Dylan did a lot
as a couple, and most of their friends were married. So after the
divorce, she felt as if they either had to split up their friends
or move on all together and not hang out with them. Peyton also
talked about how empty her house felt. She received the house in
the divorce settlement. Instead of selling the four bedroom, three
bathroom home, she had decided to stay.

“
Well, it looks like Luke
just arrived.” Peyton stood and slipped on her jacket. “Thanks for
listening and don’t worry about me. I’ll get myself together. I
always do.”

She watched her sister walk up to Luke
and greet him with a hug before leaving. Christina smiled to
herself, so glad they were finally getting along.

“
Hey, baby. You ready to
go?” Luke bent down and kissed her.

“
Yep, I’m ready. Do you
want to order anything to take home?”

“
Nah, I’m good. Did you
already pay for your meal?” he asked, his money clip in his
hand.

“
Not yet.”

After a quick glance at her bill, Luke
tossed two twenties on the table, more than covering her portion of
the bill.

Christina stood and wobbled on her
legs, clutching her stomach. “God I feel sick.”

Luke held onto her elbow. “Were you
drinking?”

“
Nothing but
soda.”

“
And what did you eat?”
Concern spread across his face.

“
A bacon cheeseburger with
steak fries.”

Luke stared at her, and Christina
understood the look. She couldn’t believe that after almost a year
of being a vegetarian, she’d ruin her mission by indulging in a
burger and not just any burger.

“
You’re kidding
right?”

She shook her head, wishing she
were.

“
Baby, you can’t go from
eating lettuce and tomatoes for almost a year to eating a pound of
beef. No wonder your stomach is protesting.” He rubbed her
belly.

Normally his touch anywhere on her
body sent tingles of desire to every cell, but not tonight. “I’m
going to be sick.” She darted off to the bathroom clutching her
stomach, her hand clasped tightly over her mouth.

She rushed into the dingy, two-stall
restroom and barely made it to the toilet before the contents of
her stomach declared war. Each time she thought she couldn’t
possibly have anything left to throw up, her stomach rolled again,
and bile rose in her throat.

Christina didn’t know how long she
hugged the toilet, but it must have been long enough for Luke to be
concerned.

“
CJ?” He called in the
distance. She could only hope he was standing at the door and
hadn’t walked into a ladies’ room. It sounded as if she were the
only one in there, but she still didn’t think it was a good idea
for him to be there.

“
Christina?” His voice was
closer.

“
In here,” she said, barely
hearing her own voice and doubting he heard her.

The sound of water flowed from the
faucet, and then the electronic towel holder whined.

Too weak to do anything else, she
dropped on her butt and leaned against the white subway tile lining
the wall. Her eyes barely open, she noticed when the door to the
handicap stall creaked open.

“
Hey.” Luke filled the
opening. “I thought you might need a little help.” He lifted what
was probably twenty sheets of paper towels scrunched in his hands.
Some were wet, most were dry.

God I love this
man.
She closed her eyes, fighting another
wave of nausea.

The sound of Luke’s footsteps moved
closer, and she cracked open her eyes just as he bent down next to
her, resting on his haunches. Without saying a word, he used one of
the wet paper towels to wipe her face. The coldness of the cloth
brought some relief.

“
Are you feeling well
enough to leave yet?”

“
I think so.”

Luke helped her out of the stall and
over to the sink. He held her wild curls away from her face while
she rinsed her mouth. Who knew such a simple gesture could make her
feel so treasured?

“
Thank you,” she said when
he handed her a paper towel.

The bathroom door swung open, and a
woman pulled up short when she saw them at the sink.

“
Can you give us one
minute?” Luke said as if he had a right to be in the women’s
restroom.

The woman backed out without a
word.

“
Here.” Luke handed her a
piece of peppermint candy. He had quit smoking, but now popped
peppermints throughout the day. “They might help get the bad taste
out of your mouth.”

Christina quickly placed the sweet
treat on her tongue. “Thank you. You take such good care of me,”
she mumbled and leaned into him. He wrapped his arm around her and
guided her toward the door.

“
I love you and will always
be here to take care of you.” He kissed the top of her head and
opened the door. “Come on. Let’s go home.”