14
LACHLAN
Miranda stared at the discoloration on the wall where the Pollocks had once hung.
“I’ll have to buy some new art. Only…” I rubbed my neck. “That’s if I don’t sell.”
“Oh. You’re going to sell this apartment?” she asked, knitting her brow.
“I might have to.” I shrugged. “Unless I can find a spare few million soon.”
She shook her head. “I don’t even know what that much money looks like.”
I removed some crumpled notes from my pockets and set them on the coffee table. “This is the first time I’ve received cash for a gig.”
“Did you sell the one genuine Pollock?”
“Not yet. It’s going through a process of authentication.”
“But you have a certificate of provenance.”
“After what happened with the others, they need to go through the proper channels to ensure it’s genuine.”
“I suppose that makes sense,” she said thoughtfully. “It shouldn’t take long, though. And it’s worth eighty million or so.”
I nodded. “I was meant to pursue it. Hurry them along. But I’ve had my head in a fog. What with you not talking to me and the bullshit back at the estate with Tammy.”
“Tammy?” Miranda asked.
I gulped down my drink. “She’s just hanging around more often and giving me the shits.”
“Then you’ll need to keep this apartment.”
I sat on the sofa and patted it. “No more money talk. I need you naked.”
She smiled apologetically. “I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“No. I needed reminding.” I brushed her rosy cheek affectionately then took her soft hand and played with her fingers. “My life’s complicated. My father hasn’t behaved well. So in the coming weeks, if anything happens to me, remember this…”
Her eyebrows knitted.
I stared into her eyes. “You’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a long while. I’ve grown up at last, and now I’m seeing what matters the most.”
“And that is?”
“This. Us. Connecting with someone on a deep level. And not just for the sex, even though that’s pretty amazing. You’re so different from all the others.”
“All the others?” Her dark eyes shone with curiosity. Miranda wasn’t going to let that comment pass.
“I haven’t been a saint.” I bit my cheek. “Oh, fuck.” I took her into my arms. “Enough talking. I need you naked. Now.”
Our mouths touched, and things heated up from there. Before I could think straight, I was on top of her, ripping off her panties.
I lifted Miranda off the couch and carried her to the bedroom.
She laughed. “I’m too heavy.”
“Bullshit. You’re as light as a feather.”