artists who ran away after they painted the side of a train.
Snap bounded up and rubbed against my ankles, which gave me a reason to look at the floor instead of the kitchen.
“Okay, Snap. Tell me that Dex doesn’t think fuchsia has visual impact.” I forced myself to look up.
Wow.
The cupboards were green. Not leprechaun-green or pea-soup-green but a pretty, subdued ivy-sort-of-green guaranteed to instantly lower a person’s stress level. And it brought out the earthy red and gray tones in the brick in a way I wouldn’t have expected.
It had to be a fluke.
“Knock, knock.” Jared’s voice came through the open door. Followed by Jared. My heart returned his greeting with a joyful skip. Down, girl!
He hopped over the stack of paint cans. “I saw you on the landing so I thought I’d make sure you got my message.”
“I got it but I should point out that a sticky note is much easier to deal with than a canoe paddle.” Wait a second. Did I bat my eyelashes? Jared’s teasing dared my inner flirt to come out and play.
Jared grinned. “I’ll try to remember that. What are your dinner plans?”
“Chicken salad.”
“Sounds good. Got enough for two?”
“I do.” Did I really say that? See Heather blush.
“Why don’t we eat at my place? It has less atmosphere but at least we’ll be able to breathe.”
I hesitated.
“Or we can eat in the park.” Not a drop of sarcasm in the suggestion. He was too good to be true.
“The park sounds great.”
“Good color choice.” Jared nodded toward the kitchen cupboards. “I think Marissa spent an hour at the hardware store this morning with that guy…I can’t remember his name.”
“Dex,” I murmured. “ Marissa helped him?”
“He came to the studio this morning and asked her opinion on some paint samples. She closed up the place and they took off together. I didn’t realize it was your kitchen he’d been commissioned to paint, though.”
“My…Alex hired him to do some remodeling this summer,” I explained. Quickly. There’d been a question in his voice that called for immediate clarification.
“Marissa mentioned she hired him to clean the studio twice a week after closing,” Jared said. “I wonder when the guy sleeps.”
Oh, I’m sure he fits it in somehow.
“I need a few minutes to put things together.” Including myself. “I’ll meet you over there.”
After Jared left, I went into the kitchen to give the cupboards a closer inspection. I probably should’ve been glad that Dex had asked Marissa for advice, but I was disappointed. Maybe I’d hoped the color he’d chosen was an indication there was some creativity underneath the surface. Something…interesting. A hidden ability that went beyond outsmarting two-headed dragons.
I piled the chicken salad onto the croissants I’d bought over the weekend and tossed in two peaches just to show him I understood the importance of a healthy diet.
Jared was waiting for me on our—correction, the —park bench when I crossed Main Street. There was a cooler at his feet and when I glanced inside, I saw two bottles of water and something wrapped in foil.
“My measly contribution. Not half as good as what you brought to the table.”
Did I tell him it was from the grocery store deli? Mom had taught me how to cook but I was still trying to find a balance between running the Cut and Curl all day and having enough energy to drag something out of the refrigerator when I got home. Lately, prepackaged was in the lead.
“You worked late tonight, didn’t you?” Jared balanced his sandwich on one knee while he reached down and grabbed a bottled water. Which he handed to me.
A series of little bells went off in my head. Ding, ding, ding. Major points for Jared Ward!
“A little.” More than a little, but it had been worth it to see the spark of life in Amanda’s eyes.
“I spent the day up to my elbows in clay, reconstructing Junebug.” Jared said. “Marissa and I cleaned out a
Snap bounded up and rubbed against my ankles, which gave me a reason to look at the floor instead of the kitchen.
“Okay, Snap. Tell me that Dex doesn’t think fuchsia has visual impact.” I forced myself to look up.
Wow.
The cupboards were green. Not leprechaun-green or pea-soup-green but a pretty, subdued ivy-sort-of-green guaranteed to instantly lower a person’s stress level. And it brought out the earthy red and gray tones in the brick in a way I wouldn’t have expected.
It had to be a fluke.
“Knock, knock.” Jared’s voice came through the open door. Followed by Jared. My heart returned his greeting with a joyful skip. Down, girl!
He hopped over the stack of paint cans. “I saw you on the landing so I thought I’d make sure you got my message.”
“I got it but I should point out that a sticky note is much easier to deal with than a canoe paddle.” Wait a second. Did I bat my eyelashes? Jared’s teasing dared my inner flirt to come out and play.
Jared grinned. “I’ll try to remember that. What are your dinner plans?”
“Chicken salad.”
“Sounds good. Got enough for two?”
“I do.” Did I really say that? See Heather blush.
“Why don’t we eat at my place? It has less atmosphere but at least we’ll be able to breathe.”
I hesitated.
“Or we can eat in the park.” Not a drop of sarcasm in the suggestion. He was too good to be true.
“The park sounds great.”
“Good color choice.” Jared nodded toward the kitchen cupboards. “I think Marissa spent an hour at the hardware store this morning with that guy…I can’t remember his name.”
“Dex,” I murmured. “ Marissa helped him?”
“He came to the studio this morning and asked her opinion on some paint samples. She closed up the place and they took off together. I didn’t realize it was your kitchen he’d been commissioned to paint, though.”
“My…Alex hired him to do some remodeling this summer,” I explained. Quickly. There’d been a question in his voice that called for immediate clarification.
“Marissa mentioned she hired him to clean the studio twice a week after closing,” Jared said. “I wonder when the guy sleeps.”
Oh, I’m sure he fits it in somehow.
“I need a few minutes to put things together.” Including myself. “I’ll meet you over there.”
After Jared left, I went into the kitchen to give the cupboards a closer inspection. I probably should’ve been glad that Dex had asked Marissa for advice, but I was disappointed. Maybe I’d hoped the color he’d chosen was an indication there was some creativity underneath the surface. Something…interesting. A hidden ability that went beyond outsmarting two-headed dragons.
I piled the chicken salad onto the croissants I’d bought over the weekend and tossed in two peaches just to show him I understood the importance of a healthy diet.
Jared was waiting for me on our—correction, the —park bench when I crossed Main Street. There was a cooler at his feet and when I glanced inside, I saw two bottles of water and something wrapped in foil.
“My measly contribution. Not half as good as what you brought to the table.”
Did I tell him it was from the grocery store deli? Mom had taught me how to cook but I was still trying to find a balance between running the Cut and Curl all day and having enough energy to drag something out of the refrigerator when I got home. Lately, prepackaged was in the lead.
“You worked late tonight, didn’t you?” Jared balanced his sandwich on one knee while he reached down and grabbed a bottled water. Which he handed to me.
A series of little bells went off in my head. Ding, ding, ding. Major points for Jared Ward!
“A little.” More than a little, but it had been worth it to see the spark of life in Amanda’s eyes.
“I spent the day up to my elbows in clay, reconstructing Junebug.” Jared said. “Marissa and I cleaned out a
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