Chapter 444

Olivia

I stepped out of Dianna Miller’s house that day with the scent of oil paints in my nostrils and a newfound sense of hope in my chest.

“Dianna,” I said as I stopped on her porch, “thank you so much for talking to me. And thank you again for donating those paintings to the auction; it’s going to make a world of difference.”

Dianna nodded, flashing me a warm smile. “I’ll admit that it was nice to have such a sweet young lady to talk to,” she said. “Most people who come by here just want to line their own pockets in some way or another; get a photo, ask me questions for their book, you name it. But you…”

“I just want what’s good for our pack,” I said. “We need the help of the Alpha association if we’re going to grow and rebuild after everything our pack has been through, and that’s why this auction is so important.”

“Of course,” Dianna said softly. “Feel free to stop by anytime. It does get awfully quiet around here.” She paused, her gaze sweeping over the austere landscape around us before landing back on me; and most importantly, the painting tucked under my arm. “And enjoy that painting.”

Over the next few days, the tension and excitement surrounding the upcoming auction mounted, filling every corner of our lives. The flyers featuring Dianna Miller’s famous artwork were everywhere in town, her stunning landscapes and hauntingly beautiful portraits drawing more attention than we had ever hoped for.

And yet, as the auction neared, the murmurs online grew into a clamor of expectation—people wanted to see the reclusive artist in person.

Sitting in our living room, Nathan and I scrolled through the comments on the event’s social media page.

“Listen to this,” I said, reading aloud a comment. “‘I’ll only come to the auction if Dianna Miller is going to be there. It’s one thing to see her art, but meeting her in person would be a dream!’’”

Nathan looked over, his eyes weary yet amused. “They really said that?”

I nodded and held the phone out for him. “Take a look for herself.”

Nathan was quiet for a moment as he read the comment, then handed the phone back to me. “You think you can convince her to come?” he asked.

I shrugged, a knot of uncertainty in my stomach. “I can try, but… no promises.”

The following day, I found myself again at Dianna’s doorstep, the familiar butterflies in my stomach fluttering wildly. The door opened to reveal Dianna in her paint-stained overalls, her expression curious but guarded.

“Olivia, what brings you here again?” she asked, glancing behind me as though she expected me to have brought someone with me.

Taking a deep breath, I launched into my plea. “Dianna, the response to your artwork has been incredible. People are so excited for the auction, but many are saying they’ll only come if they get to meet you.”

Her expression faltered, a flicker of apprehension crossing her features. “Me? Oh, I don’t know, Olivia. I haven’t been out in public for so long. The thought is quite... overwhelming.”

“I understand completely,” I said. I had expected this, and instead of pushing the matter and making her feel pressured, I just handed her one of the flyers. “The date is on there if you change your mind. But really, don’t feel pressured. I’ll be saving a seat for you, just in case.”

Dianna sighed and took the flyer from my hands. “Okay, um… thanks,” she said, offering me a stiff smile. “I’ll think about it.”

Back at home, however, things were a bit… different. It was clear that Nathan and I had been feeling the strain of the preparations as the days ticked closer. We moved around each other in a daze of exhaustion, our conversations brief and focused on the tasks at hand.

The twins were eating up what little time we had left in the day when we weren’t busy with the auction preparations, and by the time we got them down to bed each night, it was all we could do to drag ourselves to bed.

Late one evening, after a particularly grueling day, I found myself alone in the kitchen as I was washing the dishes. Nathan was on bedtime duty tonight, and the house had finally gone quiet, which usually meant that bedtime was a success.

I yawned as I scrubbed a plate, reaching over to set it in the drying rack—and missed. The plate shattered on the floor, breaking through my reverie and causing me to jump.

“Shit,” I murmured, quickly stooping down to pick up the broken pieces. “Great.”

I got to work cleaning up the remnants of the plate, but was in such a daze I didn’t even hear the footsteps approaching. I was only alerted to Nathan’s presence when I felt his fingers brush against mine, and I looked up to see him crouched beside me.

“Hey,” he said softly, his blue-green eyes searching mine in the dim light of the kitchen.

“Hey,” I replied, a small smile tugging at my lips despite the fatigue.

For a moment, we just crouched there over the broken plate, caught in the quiet intimacy of the moment. Then, we finished gathering the broken plate in silence. Nathan took the thick shards from my hands and tossed them into the trash can.

“Thanks,” I murmured, passing my hand over my weary face. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

He shrugged as he returned to me. I felt his hands on my waist; they were cool and soft. “It’s just a plate,” he whispered.

I swallowed. The feeling of his hands on my skin, slipping up beneath my shirt to stroke my waist, made me shiver. I tilted my head back to look up at him, letting my blonde hair fall away from my face. Then, slowly, Nathan leaned in, his lips meeting mine in a tender, longing kiss.

It had been so long since we had the time to share a moment like this. The kiss deepened, and I felt myself melting into him, the stress and exhaustion of the past few weeks fading into the background. I reached up to wrap my arms around his neck, letting him work his tongue into my mouth and swirl around mine.

God, even his tongue tasted sweet. He still smelled like grapefruit salt, even after all this time. I would have thought that I’d have gotten used to it by now, but I hadn’t. Not even a year after I had first stepped into this house.

As our lips continued to stay locked together, Nathan wrapped his strong hands around me and lifted me up onto the counter with ease. I spread my legs, pulling him close. He slipped his shirt off over his head before pressing himself against me, and the feeling of his warm skin made me tingle inside my panties.

But just as we were getting lost in each other, a sudden cry from the nursery shattered the moment. We both froze, then sighed in unison as our lips pulled apart with a wet smack.

“The twins,” I murmured, pulling away reluctantly.

Nathan gave a rueful chuckle. “The timing is impeccable, as always.”

I smiled, though a part of me ached for the connection we had just been rediscovering. It had been so long since we had been intimate; we hadn’t even had sex since the wedding night, and I was beginning to feel the strain.

“Let’s go take care of them,” I murmured. “Maybe... maybe we can try again later?”

Nathan nodded, but I could tell that our window of opportunity had passed.

“Yeah.” His shoulders slumped ever so slightly as he helped me down from the counter. “Sure.”