True Art

Epilogue

MATTHEW'S POV

"Do I need a passport?"

"Nope."

It was a wet and wild December morning when Remi decided to surprise me. He bundled me into the Jeep after breakfast and told me we were going on a trip.

We strolled along the wet streets, past the National Gallery and along the row of Georgian terraces, until we were at a very familiar-looking street.

"You know, when you said you were taking me somewhere, I thought maybe Paris, or Milan, or New York. This isn't exactly what I was imagining."

He grinned. "Just keep walking, sweetheart."

We crossed the street, and I knew where he was taking me. "Really? This is too cute!"

"It's the very first place I saw you. I'll always remember that morning. It changed my life, Matthew."

"And mine." I started laughing when I realized that the two little tables we'd sat at that day had 'reserved' signs printed on A4 pages and taped on top.

"I can't believe you did this. This is so sweet."

He indicated for me to sit. "Please wait here one moment," he said in a fancy voice.

I grinned and watched him dash into the café. Seconds later, he returned with two large envelopes.

"What is this?" I said, excitement bubbling up as he sat beside me in the freezing morning air.

"Okay, so it's a little colder than when we met, but it had to be here. This is for you."

He handed me one of the envelopes, and I opened it, pulling out a stack of documents stapled together. I flicked through and realized it was a contract.

"I don't know what to say. I don't understand."

"I've been showing your work to some of the gallery owners I know, and several are eager to take you on. There are two offers and one full contract for a solo show. They love your work. It's only the start, Matthew. You're going to be a huge success."

I shivered and pulled my coat tighter around me, shocked. "I can't believe this. Thank you."

"Don't thank me, this is all you. Your talent is getting you the recognition you deserve. All I did was make sure the right people saw it."

"What's in that one?" I picked up the second envelope. It was heavier than the first, and as I tore it open, one of documents slid out and landed on the table. "I'm confused. What is this?"

Remi took my hand, his eyes locked on mine and sending electricity surging through me the way it always did.

"The day I met you was the most serendipitous day of my life. I found myself here at this café by chance when I should have been somewhere else. But I wasn't. I was here, sitting beside you. It was as if the universe laid it all out so that we'd meet. And do you know what else happened before I sat at this coffee shop?"

"No?"

"I'd flown in from another long trip away, and I'd thought to myself how nice it would be to not have to travel so much. To maybe have my own auction house or gallery. I'd thought about it as I walked past that place, right there."

"Where?"

"That, right there. The building across the street."

I followed his gaze across the road to the row of period townhouses. There was an unkempt one, clearly lost in time and in need of some love, a large 'Sold' sign sitting in the front garden.