𝗣 𝗬 𝗥 𝗢 𝗠 𝗔 𝗡 𝗜 𝗔 | BOOK THREE

T H I R T Y - T H R E E

[graham eaton]

"When are Atticus and Lillian getting in? I want to be sure that I close up shop in time to ride with you to the airport." Jolene says, carrying a finished canvas to the sales rack.

I retrieve my cellphone and text Atticus, leaning against the doorway.

When do you guys get in? I'd like to take you to dinner tonight.
Around five o'clock.
Five your time or five my time?

I tuck my phone away in my pocket and look back at Jolene. She begins to clean up her supplies so she's ready for when we get the news about Atticus and Anya's arrival time. I grab her water cup and carry it to the back room, then return to the table to grab her paint palettes. I return to the back room and stand beside her. She scrubs one palette and I scrub the other beside her. Her blonde hair is clipped back behind her head and she thoroughly scrubs at the paint dried onto the palette. Luckily, with acrylic, once it's completely dry, you can peel it off of the palette. She uses a scrub brush to scrape the paint off the palette in her hands, tilting her head left to right with the beat of the music playing in the main studio. I drop the palette I scrub into the basin of the sink, wrapping my arms around her waist, pulling her towards me. She drops her palette and scrub brush, wrapping her arms around my neck. I press my lips to hers, backing her against the counter. She takes one hand back and grabs the edge of the counter behind her, stabilizing herself. I lift her off of the ground and set her up on the counter, smiling up at her now. Strands of her hair fall from her clip, framing her face. She reaches down and cups my face with her hands, kissing me again. She backs off and begins to laugh. I raise an eyebrow and smile up at her.

"What?" I ask. "What's so funny?"

She tries to contain her laughter, quiet bouts of laughter escaping her lips here and there.

"You've got some paint on your face," She says, serious now, a tight smile on her face. "Quite a bit, actually."

I raise an eyebrow and chew on my lip. She grabs the handheld mirror from beside her and hands it to me. A large blue handprint covers my right cheek, stretching from just above my lips onto my ear and neck. I reach up onto my cheek and take some paint on my thumb, dragging my thumb down across her cheek, leaving a deep blue streak across her face. She gasps, laughing. I kiss her again and my phone buzzes in my pocket.

"Is that Atticus?" She asks.

I shrug, returning to her mouth again, wanting this moment to continue on for forever.

"I'll check later," I say. "Now, where were we?"

She laughs and reaches into my pocket, grabbing my cell phone. 

"Um, Graham, we've gotta go. Like, now." She says, jumping off of the counter.

I take the phone and raise an eyebrow.

We actually just started our descent... I guess it was Five your time.

I run after her, grabbing a wash cloth to wash off my face and ear. She runs out of the bathroom, changed out of her painting clothes into a black dress and heels.

"Come on, we've gotta go!" She exclaims. "I can put on my mascara in the car."

I laugh, running to Atticus's car, continuing to washing my face off, exhaling sharply. I climb in and watch as Jolene locks the shop behind her. She climbs in and nods. I take off the parking break and speed away from the shop. She pulls on her seatbelt and takes the washcloth from my hand, washing the blue off of her cheek quickly. She leans over and starts washing my face off, groaning sharply.

"Sorry, I should've washed my hands first. If I had, we wouldn't be washing paint off of your face right now." She says.

I smile and shrug.

"I really don't mind, Jolene. Besides, we had fun, right?" I ask.

She nods, finishing washing off my face, ear, and neck. Her lips touch to my cheek and she returns to facing forwards. The drive from Jolene's studio to O'Hare airport is roughly twenty minutes, give or take with traffic.

"Are you nervous?" Jolene asks.

I raise an eyebrow and look at her momentarily before looking back at the road.

"Why would I be nervous?" I ask. "It's just Atticus and Anya."

She takes my hand and looks at me, her face gentle and sweet.

"It's been six months since you last saw him. His trip was extended an extra three months and it was hard. And I can only imagine that letting him leave almost felt like he was in a coma again, right? You didn't get to see him everyday and talk with him all the time like you had before everything changed. And now he's coming home. It's okay if you're nervous." She says.

I part my lips and look at her, eyebrows raised.

"Thats exactly how it felt. If I'm being honest, Im terrified. I just got used to him not being home and suddenly he and his girlfriend are gonna be back in town. It's weird." I say.

She smiles and nods. I pull up to the pick up lane of the airport and nod to her.

"Get out here and climb in after they get in, okay? Atti doesn't know that we got back together." I say.

She smiles and nods, walking to a bench about twenty feet away from the car, just within my view. I drum my thumbs on the steering wheel and smile when I see Atticus and Anya walking through the exit. I climb out and wave to them. They run over, each hugging me tightly.

"God, it's been too long, Brother." I say. "Mom is so excited that you're finally home."

Atticus smiles and nods. They lift their luggage into the trunk and climb in the backseat. Jolene runs to the car and climbs in, smiling at me. She takes my hand and spins around and smiles at Atticus and Anya.

"Surprise!" We exclaim in unison. "We got back together."

Atticus reaches forward and slaps my shoulder happily.

"Congratulations, man!" Atticus exclaims.

Jolene reaches back to Anya with an open hand to shake.

"Hi, I'm Jolene. Graham's girlfriend." She says.

I smile and drive to Leo's diner where we order our dinner. I sit beside Jolene, my arm wrapped around her shoulders, her leaning into my torso, her hand on my thigh, relaxed. Atticus's knees bump against my own as we talk, eating handfuls of French fries dipped in ketchup and the best deep dish pizza in Chicago. Atticus sets his piece down on his plate and wipes his mouth looking at Anya.

"Actually, we have some news too." He says, smiling at us.

He takes Anya's hand and raises it, a large, sparkly diamond sitting on a band of silver sitting on her left ring finger.

"We're engaged." He says, smiling at Anya.

I gasp, sitting up now, smiling at them.

"What?" I ask, an eyebrow raised. "Are you serious? Oh my god, congratulations!"

I stand and hug him, laughing as I do so. I hug Anya and watch as Jolene hugs each of them too.

"Do Mom and Dad know? Or Livia?" I ask.

Atticus clears his throat and shakes his head.

"No, actually. I mean, it's not like we're getting married anytime soon, but we are planning to. We've practically been dating since we met. You saw the sparks fly between us." He says.

I nod and laugh, throwing my arm over his shoulder.

"God, my little brother is getting married!" I exclaim.