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Daisy whistled.
I gestured to myself. "You see that I'm fine. And I am. I should be painting right now, not sitting here while you and Sebastian have a pissing contest over who is more protective. And you know what? I can protect myself, damn it."
I stood, sending my chair wobbling, and stormed off to the atrium not giving a shit that I was leaving the guys alone.
I exhaled a shaky breath as I entered my favorite room in the house.
Light streamed in from the windows, and I closed my eyes as I felt its warmth on my skin. With a couple of steadying breaths, I centered myself as much as I could.
With rushed hands, I chose a few paint colors and got to work on something new.
I'd only managed a few brush strokes when the hairs on the back of my neck prickled. My shoulders tensed. "Bro, say what you want to say and then leave me alone."
"Wrong guess."
I smiled. It wasn't my brother after all. "You left them alone together?"
"They'll be fine. Besides, I'm more worried about you."
My phone chimed. It was the gallery. I flipped the phone over, screen down as my anxiety escalated.
"I wish everyone would just leave me alone. This is just overkill."
Daisy pulled out a stool, setting it near mine. "Trust me. I tried to tell your brother that, but it didn't deter him."
I rolled my eyes. "It wouldn't."
"Now he's going to suspect that the danger might be coming from inside the house."
I turned back to my painting; my strokes were rushed and angry and perfect. Just what the canvas called for.
We sat in silence for a few minutes. I ignored Daisy as I felt her study me and then the room.
"Why'd you flip your phone over?" she eventually asked.
"It's Delilah. I'm sure she's reaching out to see how the painting is coming along."
Daisy hovered behind me. "And how is it going?"
"Better now. But I'm still behind. I'll need to work through the night at this rate to keep up. I still have five more paintings to go."
"And how much time do you have until the gallery show?"
I glanced at the countdown I kept on a nearby whiteboard. "Eleven days."
"How are you feeling about that?"
"Like I might throw up."
Daisy's smile faltered. "Is there anything we can do to help?"
"Keep my nosey brother busy and out of my hair until the show?"
Daisy chuckled. "You know better than I do how impossible he is."
I grunted in agreement. "Well, at least he's helping with Dad. That's one thing that I know is taken care of in my absence."
Daisy placed a hand on my shoulder. “Your dad is doing well. The doctor’s are impressed with his progress and you know your aunt is there every day. They even started going to the movies together. Apparently your dad hadn’t seen a movie in a theater for a decade and your aunt had to remedy that immediately.”
