“Do you have his card still?”
“I do.”
“Can you send me a picture of the card in a text?”
“Do you think the developer would have done something like that?”
“I don’t know, but it’s worth looking into. If he gave you an offer on spot, he clearly wants to get his hands on the property. Who knows what lengths he’d go to in order to secure a deal.”
“The card is at my house, and I’m out, but as soon as I can I’ll send it over.”
“No rush, but I appreciate it.”
“And I appreciate you taking this so seriously.”
“It’s my job. If someone is terrorizing someone in my town, damaging property, I take that very seriously. I’ll be in touch.”
The line went dead, and Krissy dropped her phone into her bag. She took a sip of her coffee and headed to her car. She needed to pick up a card and a gift for her uncle since she’d completely forgotten about the party. With everything going on, it had slipped her mind. Hopefully nothing else had slipped her mind. She’d check her calendar when she got home just to make sure.
A few hours later, with a gift in hand, and peace of mind after checking her calendar, she knocked on her aunt and uncle’s door. Aunt Joanie answered the door with a smile. Her dyed blonde hair was styled in a short bob, and her brown eyes warmed when she looked at Krissy. “Sweetie, I’m so happy you could make it!” she exclaimed before kissing her on the cheek and pulling her in for a tight hug. The strong scent of Chanel No. 5 surrounded her. She held back a cough as the scent tickled her throat. It was a beautiful scent, but Aunt Joanie didn’t believe in a small dab. No, she preferred to bathe in the stuff.
“I wouldn’t miss it,” Krissy said.
Aunt Joanie stepped out of the way and waved her into the house. The sound of conversation floated out from the kitchen, and the scent of garlic and spice filled the air.
“Let me take your coat.”
Krissy wiggled out of the coat, and Uncle Gary popped into the foyer.
His rosy cheeks plumped with his smile. “Is that gift for me?”
“Are you the birthday boy?” Krissy joked.
“I am.”
“Then it is.” She handed the wrapped present to him and like a child on Christmas morning he excitedly snatched it then shook it, listening closely as if he could figure out what lie inside. “A new flashlight for when I go fishing at night.”
Krissy managed to keep her face neutral even though he was right. He always was. It was like a superpower of his. “Open it and find out.”
“No, no.” Aunt Joanie snatched it out of his hands. “Presents later. Here.” She handed him Krissy’s coat. “Go hang this with the others.”
“It’s my birthday.” He pouted his bottom lip out as if that would persuade her.
“Stick that lip out any farther, and I’ll tug it right off. Now go.”
Krissy stifled a laugh. Aunt Joanie had always been a take charge, take no nonsense type of woman. Funny, since Uncle Gary was the complete opposite. It was probably why they worked so well. They balanced each other out.
Tony wasn’t exactly her opposite, at least not like Aunt Joanie and Uncle Gary or Cami and Enzo, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t balance each other.
What was she thinking?
There’d be no balancing. They slept together once, and she was firm in her decision to not let it happen again. Though it was hard when he looked at her like she was the center of his universe, that was also why she needed to keep resisting him.
“Krissy!” Victor said, knocking her back into reality. He wrapped her in a hug, completely engulfing her and lifting her off her feet. He swung her back and forth before placing her back down.
“Have I missed anything?” she asked.
He adjusted his baseball cap over dark brown hair and smiled. “Other than your Dad arguing with my dad about the Red Sox and the Yankees, not a thing.”
“Well, I for one, am happy I missed that.”
“It was a riveting conversation.”
“Let me guess. They both made fun of the other team until it escalated, and your mom had to separate them.”
“Pretty much.”
Krissy laughed. It wasn’t a family get together until Dad made fun of Uncle Gary’s love of the Yankees. According to him, any true born New Englander wouldn’t have the audacity to like the Yankees. Uncle Gary did, though, and loved to rub every Yankee win into Dad’s face.
“Any news on Scoops?”
“I have a report in with the police station and they’re looking into it. I had a real estate developer give me an offer on the spot for the building and I turned him down, so they’re going to see if he has anything to do with it.”
“An offer? How much is that place going for?”
“He offered a million and a quarter.”
Victor’s eyes widened so much Krissy was afraid they might fall right out of his head and roll away. “Holy shit that’s a lot of money. You turned him down?”
“Of course I did. Aunt Doris never sold, and I promised her I would never sell. Scoops is not only an iconic establishment in Willow Cove, it’s our family’s history.”
“It is pretty cool that a place so well known begins and ends with our family.”
“Exactly! So to me, the property is priceless. They can offer me five million tomorrow, and I’d still say no.”
“Five million.” He whistled low. “That kind of money can change your life.”
“Why would I want to change my life? I love my life.” Other than the fact that she was lonely and too afraid to open herself up to a man that was proving to be more and more perfect for her.
“There isn’t anything more that you want?”
Tony’s face immediately popped into her mind.
“Think about it. You’d never have to worry about money again, especially if you invest it.”
She shrugged. “I prefer my life simpler than that, I guess. Besides, investing and the stock market, it confuses the hell out of me”
“I could help you. I’ve been learning a lot. Watched a few YouTube videos, and as long as you have to money to work with, it’s pretty easy to double it.”
“I’ll leave all of that to you, then. I’m content living off of my earned wages.”
“It’s kind of admirable.”
“What’s that?”
He tugged at his hat again, eyes darting away. “You don’t need much to be happy. You find joy in the little things and that’s all you need.”
It used to be that way until she fell into bed with Tony Moretti. Now when he wasn’t around, everything seemed to be a little duller.
“That’s not always true, but I try.” She looked at her cousin, searching his face. “Why are you not happy?”
He never indicated that he wasn’t, but he did suffer a career-ending injury. He’d played it off like the champ that he was though, and happily joined his dad’s construction business.
“What are you two doing out here?” Aunt Joanie exclaimed. “The party is inside, not here in the foyer. Krissy, you haven’t even said hello to your parents or eaten any of my spinach artichoke dip. I know how much you love it. And your uncle is going to polish it off if you don’t get your butt in there.”
“We’ve been beckoned,” Victor said. “If we refuse the call, we may die.”
Krissy laughed and playfully shoved Victor’s arm. “Come on. There’s a dip calling my name.”
He gave her a noogie as they walked, and she swatted at his hand until they both broke into laughter.
Chapter 10
Tony yelled the answer to the final Jeopardy clue and smiled when the answer was revealed and he was right. Grandpa turned and looked at him with shock in his brown eyes. “How’d you know that?”
He tapped his head. “Lot of useless information stored up here.”
“It’s not useless if it’s a Jeopardy question.”
Tony pushed up from the couch
and stretched his arms over his head.
“You’re not going to watch Wheel of Fortune with me?”
“We never watch Wheel of Fortune.” Grandpa usually kept it on, but at that point, Tony would go off to do his own thing.
“I thought maybe you’d want to watch tonight.”
“I was going to go to my studio and work for a little bit.”
Grandpa looked at his watch, even though Jeopardy ended at the same time every night. “It’s late.”
“You know my best inspiration hits at night.”
“Does that mean inspiration has hit?”
Tony may have admitted to the old man that he’d been creatively blocked. “It has.” Though, he wasn’t painting his usual style, painting Krissy was its own brand of inspiration. He could see her on the canvas without even having to glance in her direction. He knew every line of her face, every curve of her body, and every shade of color in her eyes. He could paint her from memory, but having her flesh and blood in his studio made him never want to put the paintbrush down.
Her beauty was a masterpiece on its own, and trying to capture it on canvas was a high like he’d never experienced. He didn’t know when he’d find that spark that ignited his passion, but in the meantime, he was enjoying this new kind of spark. It went beyond passion and beyond inspiration. If he could only channel that energy and flow it toward something other than portraits.
Though maybe he didn’t have to. Maybe he could find a way to fuse the two together.
“I won’t hold you then. But promise me you won’t hole yourself up again, and you’ll come out to eat every now and again.”
“Promise.”
“Fine. Leave me alone now. You stink anyways.”
He laughed, and Grandpa swatted him away before flashing him a cheeky grin.
Grandpa was a little rough around the edges, but the old man’s love for his grandkids knew no bounds, and while he didn’t always say it, he was always proud of them.
Tony grabbed a Pop-Tart from the kitchen in case he got hungry later and headed out to his studio. He stepped inside and froze at the sight of Krissy on his couch. Her brown hair was free from her usual ponytail and cascaded over her shoulders in a mess of curls, stopping just above her breasts.
The green shirt she wore dipped low, revealing the plump curves and drawing his eyes right to the soft flesh. The color in her shirt brought out the different shades of green in her eyes, mixing them together into a beautiful shade of emerald.
Tight jeans covered her legs and met a pair of black heeled boots that made him wonder what she’d look like with just those on.
She looked up from her e-reader and smiled.
He swallowed the rising desire to go to her, grab her by the waist, and yank her to him. “Hey,” he said.
She closed the case on her e-reader and placed it in her bag. “I was a little early, so I let myself in. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.” He closed the door behind him and went right to his station, avoiding eye contact, afraid if he looked at her, all control would snap, and he’d drop to his knees and beg for her touch.
He tossed the Pop-Tart on the table and began mixing colors, focusing his attention on the task at hand.
“What movie did you pick out for tonight?” she asked, and his head snapped up, his hand accidentally smacking the cup of brushes and sending them flying. He dropped to the floor, gathering the brushes when Krissy’s small hand appeared in front of him. He froze, looking up and catching her gaze.
She was on her knees with him, helping clean the mess he’d made. She held out a brush to him and he took it, shaking his head as if that would get him to think clearly again. How the hell was he supposed to think clearly when she looked like a goddamn angel?
“So?” she said.
He cleared his throat. “So?”
“Movie.”
“Oh! Right. How do you feel about How to Steal A Million with Audrey Hepburn?”
“Never heard of it.”
Tony smacked a palm to his head. “What am I going to do with you?”
Her teeth slid over her lip, and her green eyes met his. “Paint me.” Her words were a breath of air, and his pants tightened at the sexy lilt. She was going to be the death of him.
“I’ve been looking forward to it all day.”
“Where do you want me?”
Oh, he wanted her in so many places. The couch, his chair, his desk, the floor, up against the wall and in the shower. But he kept all of that to himself. “You can sit how you were the other day, and I’ll set the movie up.”
“Sounds good.” She got up, handing him one last brush, and he took it, ignoring the slight touch of her finger against his. He inhaled deeply, chasing away every urge in his body, and got to work setting up the movie.
Once the projector was in place and the picture appeared on the wall, he smiled at her. “You ready?”
She nodded. “What is this movie about exactly?”
“A woman hires a burglar to steal a sculpture from a museum that her father had forged.”
“Why does she need to steal it?”
“To protect her father’s secret of forgery.”
“Does the woman fall in love with the burglar?”
“You’re going to have to watch to find out.”
“You’re no fun.”
“You and I both know that is not true. Besides, what’s the fun in knowing what’s going to happen in a movie? It loses its luster once you know all the details.”
“I suppose. But I’m sticking with the idea that she falls in love with him.”
“Want to make a bet?”
She tapped a finger against her chin. “I don’t know. You already know the outcome, so what kind of bet could actually be made here?”
“I won’t have any stakes in it, but if you’re convinced, then let’s put a wager on it, and make it a little fun.”
“I already have you repainting my business and helping me package my soap orders. What else is left?”
“I’m sure you can think of something.”
“Fine. If I’m right, and they fall in love, I get to keep that painting of me.”
“You really want it that bad you’re willing to use the bet to get it?”
“I watched you the other night. The intensity in your eyes as you worked. There was something beautiful in it. As if a simple painting of me was the most precious thing you’ve ever worked on. Your passion showed through, and though I haven’t seen it yet, I can only imagine you’ve captured me in a way no one else ever could.”
“That’s because no one sees you the way I do.”
“And how is that?”
“You’re playing with fire here, Kris. Are you sure you want to continue this conversation?” She was the one who had been resisting him, insisting that what happened between them was a mistake, but he wasn’t going to let her blindly steer down this road. She needed to know he wasn’t going to sugarcoat anything. If she wanted an answer, he was going to give her the one that came directly from his soul.
“I know, and a part of me is telling me to stop talking.”
“And the other part?”
“It wants to know.”
He moved to the couch and sat beside her. She turned to face him, and he reached up, tucking her hair behind her ear. She gasped at his touch, and he let his hand linger.
“When I look at you, I see perfection—the most beautiful work of art ever created. I’m terrified to paint you because I don’t think I can capture your beauty in the way it deserves. Yet, I’m also afraid if I do, others will see what I see, and I’ll create more competition for myself. See, I’m selfish, and I want you all to myself. I don’t want to share you. I don’t want the world to see you in the way I do because my vision of you is mine and mine alone.”
“Wow.” The word was a mere whisper. “That’s… wow.”
“You wanted to know.”
“I did.”
“And
now?”
“I want to see the painting.”
He kissed her forehead, unable to help himself, and pulled back. Her eyes were wide, and he laughed at how adorable she looked. “When it’s done. Now watch the movie and see if it’ll be yours or not.”
Tony retrieved the canvas from where he had stored it and placed it on his easel. His eyes scanned the work as a whole and then he narrowed in on the little details he’d been working on. The different shades of green in her eyes, the caramel tones in her chocolate brown hair, the delicate curve of her neck and the tiniest freckle at the corner of her mouth.
He tied a bandana around his head and pushed his hair out of his face. Now that he could see the canvas without obstructions, he got to work, grabbing the paint and setting up his palette.
Dipping his brush in the paint, he brought it to the canvas, taking a moment to plan his attack. The color of her eye was perfect, but the shape wasn’t. It was too almond shaped when her eyes were more round. He couldn’t get the color right and be so wrong with the shape. He drew the brush along the canvas, losing himself in the movements, not needing to look at Krissy since the shape of her eyes were permanently imprinted in his mind.
His focus narrowed to the canvas, and everything around him disappeared. All he could see was the work in front of him as he lost himself in the process. Energy flowed through him, sparking to life the creative juices that had dried up not so long ago. Like a dehydrated man in the desert, he savored the juices, letting them fill life back into his veins, and he let his mind and hands go as the ease of passion came back.
A soft touch to the front of his shoulder jolted him to his surroundings. Krissy stared down at him, her hair falling over her shoulders, a slight smile tilting her pretty lips. She stood in front of the canvas, continuing to keep the portrait a surprise.
“I didn’t mean to startle you,” she said. “But the movie has been over for a couple minutes now.”
He glanced up to the wall, and the picture was back to the streaming service selection. He looked at the clock, unable to believe an hour and a half had passed.
“I was in the zone,” he said.
Childhood Dream Page 10
