Free Her Wedding Escort: A BWWM Alpha Male Romance by Alexis Gold Page B

that’s it. Okay? Please understand that,” he told her seriously.
    She pouted and smacked him on the ass. “Oh all right. I am still going to try to change your mind, and you are still going to be my date for you gala opening show, okay?” She came close and ran her hands over his chest. “Do you promise me?” she asked, her blue eyes looking up through her fake lashes at his eyes.
    He nodded. “I promise.”
    She grinned and turned to leave his studio apartment, blowing him a kiss on the way out.
    When she left, he buried his face in his hands. He was going to have to be her date for the gallery opening night. He had no idea how he was going to try to explain that to Julia and get any kind of a positive response. Most of the recent paintings and sculptures were of her, and he knew she would want to be there to support him and encourage him as she always did, telling him how proud she was of him and making a show of her love for him.
    He couldn’t begin to imagine the blow that it was going to give her to know that he was going to actually, finally, be having his own gallery show, and in a Weston Gallery of all places, where he was sure to make some sales and get his name out into the art community in the Bay Area in even as far south as Silicon Valley. She would either have to miss the show altogether or show up and pretend not to be his girlfriend while he walked around with Felicia on his arm telling everyone that he was her date.
    The idea sickened him and he had no idea what he was going to do. What was worse was that he had almost no time at all to prepare for it. Two weeks was going to fly right by them.
    ***
    He spent the next week working hard in his studio with every bit of spare time he had, creating new paintings and sculptures, forming all kinds of new art pieces in preparation for the show. He would go to Julia’s place covered in art mediums, worn out and tired, and she would shower with him, washing him carefully and lovingly, taking him to bed and rubbing him down, and then making love with him before they fell asleep. He still had not told her what it was that he was working so hard toward and what he was preparing for.
    When there was only four more days before the show, he felt like he was watching sand spin around the bottom of the top half of an hourglass, just about to fall through it. He knew time was short, and he was working extra hard, and hoping that everything he was working toward was making a difference for him, either then or the foreseeable future.
    Three days before, he knew he had to tell her, so he took her out for an ice cream and a walk and she was glad to get the extra time with him.
    “You’ve been so busy lately!” She told him, “I was beginning to wonder if we were going to go on any of our romantic dates anytime soon again.” She smiled at him and he nodded quietly.
    “I know. I’m so sorry I’ve been so busy. This has really been a crazy couple of weeks for me,” he said, not meaning to have given her the exact time frame like he had. She stopped walking and looked up at him.
    “What do you mean? What crazy couple of weeks? What’s going on?” she asked curiously.
    He sighed. “Well, one of the women that I... that hires me through the escort service, is a gallery owner. She has four galleries, and they are all really big, really successful galleries between San Francisco and San Jose.”
    Julia’s brow lowered and she watched Derek closely, looking for some sort of clue about what he was going to tell her.
    “Well, she saw my work and she loved it and wanted to sponsor a gallery show for me to help me sell some of it. I took her up on it,” he said quietly.
    Julia grinned in excitement. “That’s some of the best news that I think I’ve ever heard!” she exclaimed.
    He stopped and turned to look at her. “Well, there is a catch,” he told her quietly.
    She frowned slightly. “Is there? And what catch is that?” she asked in confusion.
    Derek took