“That’s a pretty private place.” A devilish grin curved his lips, and he said, “No woman I’ve gone out with has ever seen my studio.”
“A virgin studio?” She hooked her finger in the waist of his jeans and said, “My, my, Mr. Wicked, that makes it even more intriguing.”
Chapter Twelve
REBA HAD ALWAYS said nothing felt as good as coming home, but as Justin pulled up to his secluded pond-front home Saturday night with Chloe by his side, he knew Reba was wrong. Coming home was great, but coming home with Chloe made it a million times better. He was nervous and excited to share this part of his world with her. He’d been honest about having never brought a woman he was dating into his house or his studio before. He knew how it felt to live someplace tainted with negative energy, and that was something he never wanted to do again. His home was his sanctuary, where he could kick off his boots and relax in peace, free from bad mojo. He hoped to one day raise his own family there, teach his kids to fish in the pond, to hike the woods, and if they were interested, he’d foster their artistic abilities the same way Preacher had with him.
“Whoa, Justin. Is that your house or your studio?”
He parked next to his motorcycle and said, “That’s my house. There’s a pond behind it, but it’s hard to see in the dark. The studio is down there.” He pointed to where the driveway veered off down the hill to the glass greenhouse-type roof of the enormous stone and glass building that never failed to help center him.
“Your house is gorgeous. It looks like that famous house by Frank Lloyd Wright. You know the one with all the cantilevered decks and roof overhangs.”
“Fallingwater. That’s the property that inspired the architect who built this house.” He got out of the truck and came around to help her out.
He put his arm around her as they walked down the hill to the studio, and even though he’d often put an arm around her before she’d agreed to go out with him, it felt damn good to do it as her boyfriend.
“My studio is a mess inside,” he said as he unlocked the door. “And however you define mess, this is probably about ten times worse.”
“I assume messes go hand in hand with being an artist. I’m excited to see where you create and to gain a little insight into how your artistic mind works.”
As they stepped inside, the scents of cold stone and shattered ghosts surrounded him. While his home was his sanctuary, free from bad memories, his studio was his lair. In his studio he unleashed his anger, wrestled with his demons, celebrated his happiness, and found his way to the peace he carried into his home at night.
He tried to see the studio through Chloe’s eyes as she took in the concrete floors, tables, and shelves covered with stone dust and littered with sculpting tools, books, and other paraphernalia. Easels held sketches of future sculptures and ones he’d already finished. There were old pieces of wood and metal and several large slabs of stone placed throughout the studio. Two of his current works in progress were covered with sheets, one in the center of the room and the other to their left on a worktable. Against the far wall were two large stainless-steel sinks, several work areas, and an enormous kiln.
Chloe eyed the worktable to their left and said, “This is kind of a turn-on, like I’ve been invited into your secret refuge.”
“If I’d known that, I would have dragged your pretty little ass here long ago, princess.”
She touched the sheet covering his work in progress. “Can I peek?”
“Sure.”
She lifted the sheet, revealing an enormous slab of marble, partially carved into a woman, huddled forward. Her shoulders were mostly defined, her head was bowed, her hair spilling toward the ground like a stilled river.
Chloe looked sorrowfully at the piece and said, “Is this what you’re making for the rally?”
“No. That’s a commissioned piece for a guy in Brewster.” He put a hand on her back and said, “I have a long way to go until it’s done.”
“Do your clients choose what you make?”
“It turns out I don’t like to be told what to create, so I guess the answer is no. I made two commissioned pieces where the clients asked for specific