Covered In Paint: Book Five of the Art Of Love Series (8 page)

Michael congratulated himself on not laughing, but couldn’t help smiling. He’d never seen such a possessive, jealous woman in his life—well none he had ever acknowledged. Brooke’s reaction was shedding some light on things his mother had often said.

“Let me ask this again and see if I can appeal to the very logical Dr. Daniels that I first met. Why are you talking to me about this and not Drake? I’ve been on the ass-biting receiving end of your directness, so I know you’re not an emotional coward.”

“No, I’m not—not usually. But I’m practically having an anxiety attack over this. Why the hell am I lusting after some guy almost my mother’s age anyway?”

Brooke sighed as she headed out of the kitchen and to the door.

“Thanks for answering my questions, Michael. I know I seem a bit irrational right now, but I just wanted to see if I could get a different mental handle on the situation. Apparently, I can’t. The more I learn, the worse it becomes. I guess this is just something I’m not going to be able to deal with well.”

Huffing out a frustrated breath, Michael got up and followed Brooke. It truly was like hearing all the arguments between his mother and father over art. Brooke’s reaction did seem irrational. Just like his mother’s reactions always did. He’d never really been able to see the other side—hell, he didn’t really in Brooke’s case either. The man was teaching his students how to draw.

“You really need to talk to Drake. Ask him what you asked me. His life has been a hell of a lot different than mine. For a long time, I had the luxury of being a selfish jerk, but Drake didn’t. He watched his wife wither and die from a horrible disease. Cut the man a break and talk to him about your feelings. The art thing—my mother felt like you do. Look how badly it turned out for her and Dad because of her negativity about what she didn’t understand.”

Brooke stopped at the door and turned back. “Right. But isn’t your mother happily married now to a man better suited to her? Isn’t your Dad happier with Jessica? We can both agree on those situations as well, but that still didn’t stop your parents from screwing up you and Shane on their way to what was best for them. Sometimes it’s better to cut your losses and move on
before
you torture your entire family with trying to love the wrong person.”

Giving up trying to soothe a hurt he would never be able to understand, Michael sighed softly. “Are you going to be okay to drive back? You really do seem more upset than when you showed up.”

“Of course. I’ll be fine,” Brooke said flatly. “I just…I just thought maybe you might make feel…oh never mind, it was a stupid idea. Sorry to interrupt your day. Tell Carrie I said hi and that I hope she’s feeling better.”

“She is. The morning sickness is almost completely gone now. Her skirts aren’t fitting anymore, so she’s been shopping for sexy preggie clothes. I’d tell you about how wonderful things are between us, but I’m not sure how you’d take good news at the moment.”

Hanging her head, Brooke groaned. “God, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to dump my pisser of a mood out on you at your kitchen table. I’ve had a hellish week and just wasn’t prepared for the uncomfortable reality about the man I was planning to seduce. I promise you, I will survive this. There are a ton of other men in the world. I’ve just been silly about my infatuation with Drake.”

She let go of the door and turned to hug Michael. When he froze in her arms, his surprise made her laugh.

“I am truly sorry, Michael. I’m not like this usually. I’m rational and sane and…well level-headed about most things. It was the naked woman. I just…Drake and I hadn’t gotten to the point of seeing each other naked yet. And now I can’t even imagine ever getting naked with him. It was a bit much to take in when I wasn’t expecting it.”

“You might just be in denial. I really think you should give the jealousy thing some thought,” Michael choked out, wincing at her glare. “Seriously. It’s perfectly understandable. You want him and…okay, forget it…never mind. Call Shane and ask him to explain it. He’s owes you after you rescued Chelsea.”

“Brandon rescued Chelsea. I was the sidekick that drove the hero’s getaway car,” Brooke said, smiling as she remembered. “I guess Drake can’t be total scum warmed over if he was able to raise a son like Brandon.”

Michael blinked and warned his mouth not to open, but the ‘oh hell’ side of him won. “Do you think Brandon saved Chelsea, and never had any reaction to her? The girl is turning into a woman. A man is just a man, Brooke. Be careful of putting people on pedestals. It hurts to fall off one. Trust me—I know.”

Brooke raised a hand to the ceiling and let it drop back to her side.
Men.
They were a united front about their insane beliefs. They all felt they had some biological imperative to indulge in the debauchery of every female who crossed their path.

“Why did I bother coming here? I should have known you’d take Drake’s side. You’re a guy.”

“Side? What side? I’m taking no one’s side. I simply think you should talk to Drake, not just me.”

“Come on, Michael. There are a ton of women on campus who would lay down at Drake’s feet and let him walk all over them for the hope of sleeping with him. It wasn’t just the naked woman today. It was everything leading up to it—like his dead wife’s pictures, which he still paints and sells. I was already worried about competing with his ideal of
her
. I didn’t know he had regular access to all the beautiful women a man could want to look at
and
a damn booty call. Do you really think Drake walks around completely obtuse? Do you really think Drake never has any reaction to all those naked women he sees?”

Michael shrugged. He knew it was the wrong response when Brooke all but screamed. The explosive look in her eyes made him step back a couple steps.

Brooke raised her arm and swept it towards the ceiling. “Well, you know what I think? I think I’m done. And I say fuck all masculine rationalizations. These are my feelings, and I damn well have them. I don’t believe Drake’s oblivious to any of the female attention he receives and really that’s what matters. He’s been playing a mind game with me, but I’m done playing.”

Michael stared at his door as it slammed shut behind Brooke. Exasperated about the drama always hitting his front door first, he thought about calling Shane and dumping it on his head. But he didn’t because his younger brother had enough going on in his life. He and Reesa had one teenager in college and another about to leave the nest, plus a third coming up quickly behind them. Then there was the little one who was so cute she had them all dancing to her tune.

He shook his head as he tried to talk himself out of caring. “This is none of my damn business anyway. Fucking hell, Brooke. Why am I making this my business? Why did you have to come and grill me for answers? My wife understands the artist in me.”

Snorting and resentful, Michael grabbed his car keys and headed out the door. Brooke and Drake were his mother and father happening all over again. Maybe it wouldn’t work out. Who knew? There were certainly no guarantees—but damn it—the unsuspecting man deserved to know his stepsister had gone ape-shit crazy over something so stupid.

He could well imagine a stunned Drake being blindsided by a cold-shouldered Brooke. He’d seen his Dad struggle to understand his mother’s crazy accusations about his fascination with the human form. Spousal understanding had never happened for his father when he had been married to his mother. Divorce hadn’t mended anything. It had just brought relief from it.

Frowning, Michael backed out of the driveway. Maybe it was better Brooke and Drake had never started anything. But why wasn’t his gut buying that rationalization?

Thinking of Carrie’s proud gaze on him when he talked about his inspirations, he realized again how insanely lucky he was. Somehow he had landed in love with and married to the absolute right person to share his creative life.

“Thank you, God—I love my wife. I freaking love everything about my smart-mouthed, bossy, artistically supportive wife.”

Michael continued to chant his gratitude as he drove to campus.

Chapter 7

“I don’t understand,” Drake said, rubbing his chin. “Her mother is an artist who makes glass vaginas. How can Brooke be such a prude?”

Michael snorted. “Have you met my mother?”

“Oh, right. I remember you telling me that was why your mother didn’t come to the gallery opening.”

Drake rose from his chair to walk around while he thought.

“But Brooke didn’t even flinch at any of the art. I watched her all evening. I couldn’t help myself. We went out afterward.”

Being conservative was one thing, but Jessica Daniel’s daughter being prudish was a tough one for Drake to fathom. The concept of her being jealous of his class model was also a mind-blowing concept. The girl was barely half his age. What was Brooke thinking? Dating someone Brooke’s age—someone already a decade his junior—was about as far as he could consider for any kind of a genuine relationship.
Damn.
He couldn’t seem to get inside her mind well enough to even feel empathy for her reaction today.

“What the hell am I supposed to do about this, Michael?”

Michael shrugged. “Beats me. I’m just grateful I don’t have to deal with it myself. Look on the bright side though. At least Brooke was insanely jealous. Has to mean she cares.”

Drake chuckled dryly and shook his head at what Michael Larson considered a plus.

“I couldn’t even tell you what the model’s breasts looked like. They were proportionate to her body. That’s about all I recall.”

“
I know.
Dude—I tried to tell Brooke that’s how it works,” Michael exclaimed, lifting both hands to the ceiling of Drake’s office. “But if you go to talk to her about it, cover your head and your man parts. Brooke was on some feminist kick and ranting about ‘all men’ when she left. She also said she’d never gotten to any naked stuff with you and was glad.”

Drake winced at the news Brooke had made public.

“Well, I’m not glad. I can’t seem to get my son to leave the house and Brooke refuses to let me come home with her.” He ran an agitated hand through his hair. “Hell—what am I supposed to do? This is my job.”

“I truthfully don’t know,” Michael said in sympathy, rising from his seat. “I just wanted you to be aware of what the crazy was all about when Brooke started dishing it out to you.”

Drake sighed and pinched his nose. “Being with her is all I think about, Michael. My fantasies are so bad, I can barely look her mother in the eyes when I go to the gallery.”

Michael snickered at the most honest comment he’d ever heard from the man.

“Yeah—it would suck to have to see Carrie’s mother so often. I’m just glad my mother-in-law likes me. If she ever finds out what I do to her daughter with those yogurt bars in our freezer, she’ll never speak to me again.”

“You really have no boundaries when it comes to talking about sex, do you?” Drake demanded, his face flushing as his imagination ran with the images Michael had planted in his brain.

Michael laughed wickedly. “No—not a single one where my amazing wife is concerned. Carrie is the perfect woman for me. I’m going to go home and tell her again this evening for the millionth time.”

“I guess all I can say about your bragging is
damn you
…and thanks for coming by,” Drake said stiffly. It was impossible not to feel envious of Michael’s life.

“Here,” Michael said, standing up and holding out his hand. “I lost this today. Maybe when you find it, you can return it to me.”

It was Drake’s turn to snicker when he looked at the key in his hand. It didn’t take much to figure out whose door it unlocked. Brooke probably didn’t realize Michael even had a copy of Shane’s key.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t with it,” Michael ordered.

“What wouldn’t you do?” Drake asked.

Michael laughed loudly as he tossed up a hand and turned to leave.

Drake was busy pondering what he might dare and barely remembered to wave back as Michael walked out.

***

That evening Drake was still pondering, but he was doing it with a triple dozen bouquet of roses in hand and Michael’s
lost
key burning a hole in his pocket. He stood in the hallway a good ten minutes without acting at all. Finally saying to hell with his concerns over using it, he was inserting the key into her lock when a man ten years younger than him came striding up to look directly at Brooke’s apartment number.

“Hello. Sorry. First date. I must have written the apartment number down wrong.”

Drake sighed. What would Michael do? Probably much worse than anything he would ever dare. He could only think of one way to play this scene out.

“No—you probably have the right place. I told Brooke I wasn’t really into having a threesome, but since you’re here, I guess you can come in if you want. It’s our anniversary. Frankly, I was hoping to have her all to myself tonight.”

He held up the bouquet of flowers to show the man, glad he’d sprung for the effusive display of floral intention. It backed up his anniversary story in a way few other things would have.

The guy laughed and held up his hands. “Dude—no thanks. Sharing is not for me. Tell Brooke I pass.”

Drake shrugged and held back his sigh of relief as the younger guy turned on his heel and walked away at a fast clip. Brooke was going to be pissed about his lie, but he wasn’t in the mood to deal with competition
and
correcting
her weird-ass thinking.

But the guy showing up had certainly cemented his resolve.

Turning back to Brooke’s door, he turned the key until it opened. Stepping inside, the first thing he heard was the shower running in the bathroom. Sticking one hand in his pocket, he walked around the small living area and finally selected a chair where he could sit and wait. The sound of a blow-dryer rapidly followed the shower finishing.

He grinned as he imagined a naked Brooke rushing to avoid her missing her date with the man he’d chased away. Any lingering guilt he felt using the key fled as he imagined that same naked Brooke slipping into sexy date clothes.