I stood in front of Brian's portrait, which was protected better than Mona Lisa. I hadn’t stopped to simply enjoy my work of art until that very moment.

Sure, I had admired my work when I was finally done painting it. Then, I caught glimpses of the portrait when I visited Brian's office, but I had never soaked in the beauty of my dearest painting.

I had allowed for it to be displayed in my show, though I had complete veto for the place it was hung. It was in a separate room with limited access, because I knew how Brian's portrait was going to steal my show if it became the centerpiece.

“The artist has an amazing eye for the human form.”

I spun around to stare at Brian. He was supposed to be out of state for the week.

“Hi,” he added, smiling softly.

“Hi,” I whispered, going to him and wrapping my arms around him. “I wasn’t expecting you here.”

“Pittsburgh’s youngest and most talented painter has recently relocated to Washington DC, and he has his very own show. The catch? He has painted the president, and the portrait is on display.”

“I missed you,” I laughed, kissing his nose.

Brian grinned, glancing at his portrait. “You have incredible talent, Justin.” He stroked my hair, meeting my eyes. “I took a chance when I contacted your former agent. I have seen your art, but then again I have seen other paintings from different artists. Something in the way you draw pulled me in.”

“You never told me this,” I said, shocked.

“Then I saw pictures of you, and the choice was easy to make.”

“Always a romantic.” I rolled my eyes.

Ben joined us, looking on alert. “People approaching this room in twenty seconds.”

“That’s my cue,” Brian said, and with another kiss on my forehead, he turned to leave with Ben.

I foolishly hoped he would stay, though I knew he had dropped by for me.

Brian and Ben were close to the side door when a small group appeared in the main doorway. They were talking about me.

I made sure to keep my back to them, curious what they had to say.

“I always say artists are so lucky. They meet the coolest people. Take this no-one from Philadelphia…he met President Kinney,” a girl said with envy in her voice.

It was on the tip of my tongue to correct her and explain I was from Pittsburgh.

“And he didn’t only do his portrait,” a man commented. “This painter did the president.”

“Guess the president was desperate and had nowhere to choose from…if he settled for a painter.”

“Must be hard to find a good lay from his position,” the girl laughed.

I spun around, ready to give them a piece of my mind, but the words got stuck in my throat. Brian was standing in the middle of the room, with Ben hovering. The three people in the doorway seemed frozen.

“Please, apologize to my husband,” Brian said through clenched teeth.

My heart did a flip at the way he addressed me. I looked at the group, and found their eyes on me.

“We meant no disrespect, sir,” one of the boys said in a hurry.

“Now, apologize to your president for how you spoke about him,” I demanded, going to stand next to Brian. I grabbed his hand, squeezing it.

Everyone from the group stammered an apology, before they scurried away.

Brian raised a hand to Ben, who was ready to say something in his sleeve. “Fuck them and their preconceived ideas. Justin's show is far too entertaining to depart so soon. Let’s stick around,” he told Ben. Then, he pulled me closer. “Show me around, Mr. Taylor.”

“That’s Mr. Taylor-Kinney to you, Mr. President,” I teased.

“You’re a twat,” he joked.

I steered him to the door. “It’s been a while since you called me that.”

“It’s been a while since you acted like one,” he retorted, amused.

“He’s lost his mind. I need all the backup in the world,” I heard Ben saying hurriedly in his sleeve. “Eagle on the loose.”

“Take a chill pill, Big and Bulky,” Brian said seriously.

I laughed loudly, managing to attract attention upon us. Thankfully, after the people who stopped inspecting my art to check the source of the noise got over the shock of seeing their president mere feet away, they returned to looking at my paintings.

“I’m so proud. You got his nickname right,” I said enthusiastically.

“Give me the grand tour, Painter Boy.”

“This way, Mr. President,” I said courteously.

I hadn’t allowed him in my little studio at home, and all the paintings on display were new to him. It helped that he loved art and I could hold a pertinent conversation with him about the style of my paintings.

Our tour of the gallery was interrupted by some brave persons coming to shake Brian's hand, others were interested in talking to me. Ben seemed ready to have a meltdown when a loud group came to talk to us.

Shortly after escaping the group, I had to abandon Brian when someone was interested in a commission. It took no less than half an hour to have a deal with Mr. Thompson.

When I looked around for Brian, I couldn’t see him, which meant Ben had managed to take him away.

Matt approached me a short while later, leaning to speak in my ear. “Whenever you are ready, let me know. Mr. Kinney said you have dinner reservations for eight-thirty.”

I checked my watched to see it was a little after eight. “Let me see if it’s polite to leave early.”

Matt nodded, slipping away.

I knew by now not to worry, and that if I lost track of him in a room full of people, I only had to head to a door or look around, for him to materialize next to me.

After having a few words with the curator, I was ready to escape.

On my way to the door, I was stopped by several more people and it was only polite to talk to them and shake their hands. My mother was a WASP, and she had raised me accordingly.

I nudged Matt through the door when I finally reached him, making him laugh. “Hurry, before I’m late.”

“You already are late,” he said seriously.

I climbed in the backseat of the Cadillac, and checked my phone for the first time since the show had begun.

I had a few apology messages from both Michael and Emmett about not being able to make it, my mother missing her flight, even Lindsay excusing herself for unpredictable changes in her schedule.

Brian's surprise visit at my show had made me forget about being bummed about all my friends being otherwise engaged and not being able to be there for me.

“We’re here,” Matt announced suddenly.

I looked up, confused at why we were in front of the fanciest restaurant in town. I had been sure we were going to dine at home, though the dinner reservation made sense. I was curious about what secret section of the restaurant Brian had booked only for us.

Matt walked me inside.

The place looked completely deserted. Until my eyes landed on a big table near a large fish tank. Everyone was at the table: my mom, her boyfriend, my sister, Emmett, Michael, even Debbie, the girls, Gus.

Brian stood and came to greet me, smiling. “Congratulations, Justin.”

“What’s this?” I asked, trying not to start crying. His gesture spoke loudly about how much he loved me.

“I thought you’d love to have the whole family here for the big night. I’m sure you were confused why everyone had to cancel, that’s why I decided to brighten your time at the show and drop by.”

“You’re unbelievable,” I gasped, blinking through my tears.

“It’s true. I am,” he replied, grinning.

“I love you!” I threw my arms around him, kissing him long and hard.

“I love you,” he said emphatically.

We walked toward the table, but my mom intercepted us, extracting me from Brian's arms to hug me tightly. I was soon hugged and kissed by everyone, while I kept trying not to cry at the surprise.

When we finally settled, Brian and I sat in the middle of the big table so I could talk to everyone. I shouldn’t have been surprised to see Drew and Ben sitting next to Emmett and Michael, they were part of the family, too.

“Consider this the wedding reception we never had,” Brian whispered into my ear.

“Thank you. This is the best surprise,” I said, cupping his cheek.

He smiled softly, leaning closer to kiss me. “Anything for you.”

Such stolen moments when I had around all the people I loved gave me hope for our future. In four years’ time, we would be able to have a quiet life surrounded by our family and friends. Of course, Brian would still be an important name in the country, but the attention wouldn’t be so much on us.

All we had to do was survive for the next four years while Brian would still be president.