A Deal with Demakis(70)

                They came to a stop in front of the closed door.

                “Open it.”

                Her heart in her throat, Lexi pushed the door. Nikos switched on the lights behind her. Tears clogged her throat, her stomach a mass of flutters at the sight that greeted her.

                A huge drafting table stood at one corner, with a detachable drawing board set up on top, slightly angled and perfectly positioned for her height. A sleek silver laptop sat on a table next to it with a printer/scanner, a filing cabinet next to it. Reams of four-by-six paper, magnetic draw/erase boards, paintbrushes and boxes, pencils in every brand and size, erasers, everything and anything she could ever want was in the room.

                It was a studio he could have plucked from her dreams.

                Her mouth dried up, her chest filled with a lightness that should have made breathing easier.

                Nikos stood leaning against the door, drinking in every expression on her face.

                “Do you like it?”

                “It’s perfect,” she whispered, her pulse hammering in her throat. “I... You have thought of everything. But I... It’s just always been a hobby.”

                “Why is it just a hobby?”

                She couldn’t even answer for a few minutes for the tumult of feelings that flew within her. For years, she had wished for someone to think of her, to care about her. And in his own way, she realized, Nikos did.

                “Your talent is beyond average, Lexi. You should finish your graphic novel and submit a proposal.”

                Her heart slammed against her rib cage. “For what?”

                “For publishing it.”

                Trepidation swirled through her. He caught her hands in his, his fingers drawing circles on the backs of her palms.

                “Or you can just scan a few teasers, and put it up on the web. There’s a large community online that’s much less scary if that’s what you—”

                “Wait. How do you know all this?”

                “I’ve been researching it. People are going to love your work. Compared to everything that’s out there, I have no doubt your work will stand out. The second way, you create a reader base, and the best thing about it is, knowing that people want to read it will motivate you to keep going.”

                Lexi blinked, unable to formulate a response. The fact that he had put so much thought into this, that he had researched it, the fact that he understood her trepidation, it sat tight on her chest. “I just... It’s not going to be like Superman or Spiderman, you know. And I’m not that ambitious really, either. I just want to be able to do it more and support myself.”

                His long strides swallowed up the distance between them. His gray V-necked T-shirt delineated that broad chest gloriously. His long fingers clutched her shoulders as he looked down. “Then stay here.”

                “What?”

                “Stay for as long as we both want this. It seems even your friend is going to be here for a while, right?”

                She laughed at that last incentive and liked him a little more. He was making it so hard to say no to him, to refuse this chance. The little resistance she might have had was crumbling before his thoughtfulness.