You Say It First
Page 27

He kissed her nose. “You always had more trouble with her than me. I tune her out. You take things to heart.”
“Maybe I’ve changed.”
“I don’t see any pigs flying around, so I’m going to say no.”
She sighed. “One day I will. One day I’ll stand up to her. You’ll see.”
She thought about their lunch today. While she’d told her mother what she thought, she’d also bolted rather than face the consequences. Still it was a form of progress. Baby steps, she told herself.
“Where are you staying?” she asked. “Want to bunk with me?”
“No, thanks. I’ve seen your tiny house. Plus, you have too many girlie things in the bathroom.”
“You mean the matching towels and candles?”
“That would be them.”
She grinned. “Afraid you’ll wake up with boobs?”
He laughed. “Not really.”
“So where are you staying?”
“At the big house.”
Which in their family meant the Saunders/Dineen home, not prison. Although a case could be made that there were similarities.
“Just until I find out what Grandpa Frank wants,” Cade added. “If it is a job at the ranch, I’ll live out there.”
“Outside the county line,” she said wistfully. “You’re lucky.”
“You left off handsome.” He put his arm around her. “It’s good to be me, sis. Now I’m hungry. You need to take me to lunch.”
“I’d love to. Oddly, I didn’t get much to eat myself. I know a place that serves a great avocado burger.”
* * *
“THIS IS THE list of what we currently have out at different galleries,” Natalie said, handing Nick three sheets of paper. “As per the agreement, each new gallery has six months to sell a piece. If they do, they can replace it with another. If they don’t, they’re taken off the preferred list for your work for at least a year. So far that hasn’t been a problem.” The petite brunette smiled. “You sell very well pretty much everywhere.”
Good news, Nick told himself. His work was popular. He should be thrilled or at least happy. Instead all he felt was restless.
“I keep a complete inventory on my computer,” Natalie continued. “At any given time, I can tell you where the works are and what we’re going to ship next. I’m still cataloging your work by type and price. Different styles and mediums work well in different parts of the country and the world. There’s an art to placing artists. Atsuko is an expert at it.”
Natalie smiled at him. “You came to us with a huge inventory. Normally artists only have a few pieces.”
“Before coming here, I hadn’t had a show in over ten years,” Nick admitted. “I like to keep busy, so it sort of built up.”
“That’s what we like to hear.” Natalie turned her computer so he could see the photographs on her screen. “This is what we send to the galleries we work with. A complete profile of the work. If they’re interested, we discuss terms. We will only agree to what’s allowed by your contract with us.”
Nick began to regret agreeing to let Natalie explain their policies to him. When he’d first signed on with Atsuko, he’d had his lawyer review the terms. When he’d been told they were fair and reasonable, he’d signed on the dotted line and promptly forgotten about the business side of things. Every few weeks he received a check. Sometimes more than one, depending on how many pieces he sold. The money flowed, he had time and space to work. He was pretty much a happy guy.
“You find this tedious, don’t you?” she asked.
“Yup.”
She sighed. “You’d be more interested in the business side of things if you weren’t so rich,” she said lightly, then sighed. “And well recognized.”
He thought about the pieces of hers scattered in the gallery. “You’ll get there,” he told her. “Fame and fortune are right around the corner.”
She pushed up her bright red glasses. “You have no idea how much I want to believe you. In the meantime, I love what I do. This job covers food and rent and anything I make on my art gets plowed right back into supplies.”
He knew it was like that for most artists. They slaved away in obscurity, hoping to be “discovered” or at least turn a small profit. He and his brothers had been lucky—the upside of being one of Ceallach’s talented offspring. The world already knew their names.
“Do you like working in the gallery?” he asked.
“I do. As ‘real’ jobs go—” she made air quotes with her fingers “—this one is pretty great. As long as I get my work done, Atsuko isn’t overly concerned about when I’m here. So if I’m on a roll, I can keep working at home.”
“You have room there?” He thought about the big open space he shared with his brothers and swore under his breath. “Did me showing up mean you had to move out of the studio here?”
She grinned. “While I appreciate the worry, don’t bother. I’m happy in my little cubby at home. I couldn’t possibly work with Mathias and Ronan. They make glass. My favorite medium is paper. Fire and paper are not a good mix.”
He was about to agree, but before he could speak, he glanced out the window. Natalie’s office faced the street. There were nearly always people out, walking around the shopping district of town. But what Nick didn’t expect to see was Pallas with a guy. A good-looking guy who obviously knew her well. They were talking and laughing, oblivious to everyone but themselves.
His gut tightened as all his senses went on alert. Who the hell was he? An old boyfriend come to town? He started to get up, then forced himself back in his seat. Natalie saw the movement, then glanced outside, following his gaze. She smiled.
“Oh, look. Cade’s back. Pallas didn’t tell me. I wonder if she knew he was coming.” She glanced at Nick. “Cade is Pallas’s twin brother. He manages a horse ranch in Texas. At least I think it’s Texas. It might be Kentucky. Either way, it’s somewhere that sounds wonderful and beautiful.”
“Not loving Happily Inc?” Nick asked, deliberately looking away from the window.
“I do like it here. I just always thought it would be nice to travel.”
As she talked about the places she would like to see, Nick told himself that his reaction to seeing Pallas with another man didn’t mean anything. Not really. Sure he liked her, but it wasn’t more than that. Yes, he wanted her in his bed, but only in the short-term. He liked things controlled. Defined. Wanting was safe, but passion—too much passion—was dangerous. It consumed and destroyed. Not that it was a problem with him. He would be leaving Happily Inc in a couple of months. Leaving Pallas. Relationships with a time limit he could handle. Anything else was asking for disaster.
* * *
PALLAS SMOOTHED THE front of her light sweater before getting out of her car. She was ready. She was prepared. She was wearing mascara on a weekday. A small thing, sure, but one that could give a girl confidence.
Any nerves she felt were her own stupid fault. She’d been the one to think about flashing her breasts at Nick. The poor man knew nothing about it. Technically, there was no reason to be embarrassed or concerned or jumpy, and yet she felt all those things. Maybe it was because being around him was confusing and a little bit more fun than she was used to. Maybe because she hadn’t had a guy in her life in maybe forever. Whatever the reason, she would get through it. She would be her normal cheerful, energetic self and no one would ever guess that on the inside, she was one flirty smile away from eating an entire bag of Hershey’s Kisses by herself.