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“Oh,” I said, sing against ht throat “I’m sorry Traffic was a little cluttered”

Rafiq let out a low, quiet laugh that ht out with it “If you’re bothered by lint in his eye as he took another sip of coffee told e

My nervousness gave way to an aard smile and flushed cheeks “It’s your house; you can hatever you want”

He laughed again and moved away fro first to push off a pile of unclai his coffee, he lifted his eyebrows and pointed at a door that was ajar on the other side of the living room “That’s your part of the house,” he said

Following his lead, I peeked inside a huge, beautiful bedroom, fully furnished in a clean,with lush white roses in an array of decorative vases Everything looked brand new, and the room smelled incredible

“Wow,” I said under ?”

“Is it suitable?” asked Rafiq frouess what type of e it without a proble but comfortable”

“It’s gorgeous,” I said honestly “I’m sure the bed will be fine It certainly looks better than the one I sleep on now”

I didn’t say it, but I was distinctly relieved that Rafiq had no expectation that I would be sleeping in his bed

As I retrieved my suitcase from the hallway, the sound of a buzzer interrupted the quiet of the apartment, and Rafiq cursed under his breath He pointed to another door “That room next door is yours, too Excusedown the hallway to answer the doorman’s call

Curious, I dropped ate the second roo as the first, but this roo co sizes waited patiently against one wall A collection of canvases was propped in one corner, and next to it, a long supply table filled with any and every tool I could ever have use for Too excited to help myself, I opened the doors on the cabinets underneath the table top and discovered rows and rows of paints

This was a very surprising develop to feel less like a weird-but-necessary hassle, and , taking tihable, I never even considered it incoallery and er

What Rafiq offered me, I realized, was the chance to finally take a breather Whether he knew it or not, it was soeous apartment and paint all day while Rafiq did whatever it was that he did It was alement

As I waited for Rafiq to return, I wandered around and gave myself a quick tour The penthouse took up the entire top floor of the building, and most of its space was open-plan, verys lined the living roo room, draped with delicate, sheer white curtains that did little to block the excess of natural light Hardwood floors were covered by ornate rugs with beautiful patterns and bright colors, surely from Rafiq’s homeland

All of the furniture wasthe chairs and tables scattered around the wrap-around porch outside Gray leather couches surrounded a flat otten, eue stretched in one corner near the s, adjacent to the dining room table that looked barely used The kitchen was silver polished and completely modern

The penthouse had four roo fairy tale, and I was the princess I peeked in one of the other rooms, darkened as it was, and saw a four-poster bed made of wood and draped with a deep blue co isolation, like a cozy log cabin tucked in the middle of the woods, but the lack of décor sapped some of the warmth from the room

Peering in further, soht my eye, and I realized the roo on the wall opposite, facing the bed, was Oceanic, the painting Rafiq had taken hoallery

I flushed a bit This had to be Rafiq’s bedroo soabout that seeured, after his proposition, that he had purchased Oceanic just to sweeten me up for the eventual offer But that didn’t explain why it was here, now, in such an intimate place