Repaying the Debt

Chapter3

Chapter Three

Cy pulled me closer to the group that surrounded Leonardo. I tried to pull my hand away and he tightened his grip. His fingers felt warm and soft.

I saw the two women from before. Their gaze flicked to our clasped hands. Anger was clear in the eyes of the one with pink hair. I looked away, trying to avoid their glares. I tried to pull my hand away and realized that Cyrus had no plans to let me go. Chrissy bounced beside me in her excitement to meet Leonardo.

“That’s where the idea came from for Windswept.” Leonardo finished, his deep baritone voice filling the small space. The crowd clapped and he shook hands with a few of his guests before pointing them to the next installation piece.

Cyrus tightened his grip on me when I tried to slip away from the group. He looked over at me, flashing me an overly bright smile before turning to look at his friend.

“Leo,” he called out and I looked towards Leonardo. My breath caught in my throat as he tucked his hands into his pockets, making his shirt stretch over his chest. “I think I’ve found two of your prettiest fans.”

“I’m not-”

“A fan?” Leonardo asked, his lips twitching up into a smile.

“Yes, she is. Just a new one.” Chrissy said, stepping forward, her hand outstretched. “Not as big of a fan as I am, though.”

She looked up at him through lowered lashes, letting out a giggle when he took her hand in his. Bringing it to his lips, he gave her a wink before pressing his lips to her knuckles. “I’m always happy to meet a fan. Call me Leo.”

Chrissy let out a squeal, looking back at me. “I’m never washing my hand again!”

“Chrissy.”

“A true fan then,” Cy whispered to me. I looked up at him and nodded.

“She really is.” I looked back at Chrissy as spoke animatedly with Leo, her face lit up like a child’s on Christmas morning. It seemed like he genuinely cared about what she was saying. I wondered if he was like that with all of his fans, or was it because Cy introduced us?

Cy let go of my hand. He turned back to Leo, “This is Izzy.”

Leonardo looked away from Chrissy, his eyes moving over my red heels and up my legs. I shivered, moving closer to him when I felt someone push me from behind.

Stumbling, I brought my hands up, trying to catch myself. It was like being in a car wreck that I couldn’t stop as I fell towards the glass work of art.

Leo’s face was a mask of shock and surprise. He reached for me, trying to save the sculpture, but it was too late. The sound of glass shattering made the buzz of conversation die away.

I looked at the mess of blue, white, purple, and red glass scattered all over the floor. My hand burned almost as much as my face did.

My lower lip trembled and I looked over at Leo. His lips were pressed in a hard line. Arms still around my waist, I could feel the hard press of his muscles beneath his suit. He didn’t say anything, just stood staring at the damage I had created. I looked away from him, back towards Cy. The two women from earlier stood beside him, hands covering their mouths.

“Leo, who is she?” someone asked and I was blinded by the bright lights of cameras flashing.

His arms tightened around me. “You’re hurt.”

I looked down at my hand. Blood dripped across my palm and down my wrist onto his suit. Not only had I ruined his sculpture, but I had ruined his suit jacket as well. “Leo, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to-”

He glared down at me before putting on a fake smile for the surrounding crowd. I realized that the crowd had grown bigger. People had their phones out, snapping pictures and recording us. He grabbed my other hand. “Let me take care of it.”

“Izzy, are you okay?” Chrissy called out, and I nodded. Trying not to freak out more than I already was, I felt like my heart was about to beat out of my chest.

How was I going to pay for the sculpture that I’d just smashed to bits? Or the dry cleaning for the blood that dripped onto his suit?

“She’s hurt. Let me make sure she won’t need stitches.” Leo wrapped his other arm around my waist.

“I’m fine, I don’t-” I start to say, but he cut me off with a look.

“Come with me, darling.” He smiled out at the crowd. “She’s not used to the media and fans. Let me make sure she’s okay.”

What did he mean by that? I was no one. Why would anyone care about me? His body is warm, wrapped around me as he guided me past the crowd and into a darkened storage room.

“You don’t have to do this, really I’m fine.”

The door closed behind him, blocking us from the flashing lights of the cameras. “I’ll have to deal with that later. Let me grab the first aid kit.”

“Really, I’m fine.” I said to his retreating form as he walked deeper into the storage space.

“Stay there.” He all but growled and I froze.

I hadn’t expected his demeanor to change so much behind the closed door. Gone was the camera-ready smile. Now, he just looked angry and upset. Which I could understand, I had just smashed his sculpture and ruined his gallery showing.

There was a step ladder sitting beside the door. I sat down, studying my hand in the dim light. It didn’t really hurt, but there was a bit of blood. I knew I wouldn’t need stitches. His concern was nice, but I had to wonder if it was just because we were in front of his fans?

He probably didn’t want to break the illusion for people like Chrissy.

Or maybe I was wrong and he did care about what happened to me. Bringing my other hand up to my face, I chewed on my thumbnail, trying not to think about his arms. and how good they had felt wrapped around my body.