Picture Perfect

Chapter Thirteen - Tyler

Chapter Thirteen

Tyler

Sorcha watched as I dropped my paintbrush. "Alright," she said, putting her tin down and folding her arms. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," I said, picking up the brush. We were both trying our best to paint the bar area; the base colour had gone down and we were adding huge, artistic-looking brushstrokes in complementary colours across the wall, like a feature piece. Adam had made the brushstroke shapes out of wood, and we were applying the paint on top. It looked pretty good so far, but I had dropped my paintbrush three times, fortunately not hitting the wall with it.

"I think we're done with the yellow," I said to distract Sorcha. "Want to start with the raspberry?"

"Sure," Sorcha said. When I inevitably failed to open the tin of raspberry-coloured paint, Sorcha took it off me and wrenched it open, slopping paint on herself in the process.

"Brilliant," she grinned. "Now I feel like I own an art gallery."

I laughed, and loaded my thick, bristly brush with the raspberry, tapping it against the side of the can to remove the excess. It felt like both Sorcha and I held our breath each time I did a brushstroke, in case somehow in the last thirty strokes I had lost the ability to paint a wooden shape.

"God this is nerve wracking," Sorcha breathed out, as I finished the first stroke. The raspberry paint was beautiful, especially next to the light grey and pale yellow, making it pop out.

"Looking good!" Adam praised us as he walked past. I liked Adam; he was light-hearted and sweet, and I had never met a man who loved his wife as much as Adam did. There were probably women throughout the world that wouldn't receive in their lifetime the sort of reverence and adoration that Rowan received daily from Adam. It was lovely to watch.

"Thank you," I tilted my head to examine the spacing between strokes. "After the raspberry, we'll need to let it dry before we move onto the darker colours."

"Good idea," Sorcha replied. "I'll make a coffee run when we're done."

"Bless you," Adam said sincerely. "Oh, and Sorcha, I've been instructed to pry into your personal life and ask you if you have a partner."

Sorcha spluttered with unexpected mirth. "By whom?"

"My wife, mostly," Adam replied, shamelessly giving Rowan up. "But also two of the guys on the team. They made passing comments that you're terrifying, and indicated that they both liked that in a woman."

Sorcha's eyes glinted with amusement. "I'll keep it in mind. No, I don't have a partner. I haven't had a long-term relationship in... well, the long-term. Tyler is the monogamous type, I'm more of a 'go with it' type."

"I moved to England to open an art gallery with you on a whim," I argued. "Super adventurous, me."

"Rowan also wanted to know your sexuality," Adam interjected, before I could start an argument about who was more adventurous that I would absolutely lose.

"Oh, I'm bi," Sorcha shrugged offhandedly. "Or pan, both labels suit me just fine. I love freely and indiscriminately."

"Understood, thank you," Adam replied, and then turned to me. "Okay, now it's your turn."

"Oh, God," I said heavily, and then sighed. "I'm gay, and I'm recently separated from my husband, so I will not be dating anyone on your team. Technically, I'm still married for the next two years before I can legally divorce my husband."