Free The Art of Ethan by Cara North

when I passed the room, it just didn't sound like they would.” He rubbed his forehead now focused on the screen. How do you say my brother is banging your cousin like a gentleman?
    "Oh,” Grace said with a faint blush. “Well then, what do you want to do?"
    She looked at the screen and pushed play on the remote. She hoped he would just stay and watch Casablanca , her favorite movie.
    Grace was going to stay, but now second thoughts moved into his mind. Ethan began the ticker tape of reasons to get up and go. This is Megan's cousin. If I do anything I might regret later, I will have to live with it the rest of my life.
    He looked at Grace, who was focused on the screen, but her foot was patting the floor quietly and quickly. She's nervous, and her eyes seem so sad. I can't just leave her. Just watch the movie and go to bed .
    Ethan decided right then, as long as he didn't touch her, no harm would be done. He really just wanted to get to know her anyway. Since he seemed to be the only one trying to touch, he could keep his hands off.
    "Whatever is good for me, I'm not really tired.” He dipped a cookie in his milk. He was a little tired, but he wasn't going to miss the chance to talk to her. “I slept most of yesterday."
    "Good.” She began biting her lower lip. Her eyes had wandered to his agile fingers, which held a single Oreo. The cookie was between the index and middle finger on his left hand. Gently he dipped the cookie into the milk.
    "Do you like old movies?” She gulped. It was such a high school thing to say, and Grace felt like she was seventeen again, nervous and flirty. Her foot moved independent of her thoughts to stop tapping. She remembered how those fingers felt on her shoulders. It had been so long since a man had touched her.
    "Yeah.” He shrugged. She keeps looking at the cookie. Maybe she's afraid to eat. She seems self-conscious for some strange reason. “This ones my favorite though."
    "Mine, too.” Grace smiled. Her eyes fixed on the motion of the cookie in the glass as it pulled out and headed to his mouth. God, he had great lips.
    "Would you stay or go?” Ethan loved dipping cookies. It reminded him of a simpler time. A time when the only women in his life were related to him. He missed simple pleasures—easy living. He wanted to escape, but the gallery was too important to let go of. He loved art, loved the work but hated the party scene and the fanfare that came with it.
    Escape, he bet Grace felt like an escape; no, she would feel like a grand adventure. She seemed so uptight and cautious. Like he should be after this last incident with Chloe, but somehow being around Grace he felt safe. He wanted to feel more of that.
    "What do you mean?"
    "If you had the choice, like the movie, would you stay with the man you loved or leave with your second choice?” Don't say leave.
    "I don't know. I've never been in that kind of love before.” What a weird question to ask. It's a movie not real life. “What would you do?"
    "If you were in that kind of love, what would you do?” When he asked the question, he wanted to see if she was a passionate woman not get a real life example. He only loved his art that passionately. When Emma made him choose, he chose New York. He stayed. “I'd stay."
    "Even to your doom?” Grace lit up. Was Ethan a romantic? It couldn't be true.
    "If I ever lost the love of my life, it would be because it was taken from my cold dead hands, not because I walked out on it.” Of course, the love of his life was art.
    Grace sat silent for long seconds. She watched the screen, trying not to look at Ethan. She really wanted to talk to him, to know him. He was a passionate man. She had never really met one before. She had to clear some things up, but Megan was right. They may hit it off after all, as friends at least. Yeah, she was convinced they could be really good as friends. Though deep down in a dark place, she wanted to hope he may drop his standard a bit and think about