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I blew him a kiss, then left.
I was grinning all the way to our mother’s store. I had been smiling a lot during this trip, despite the macabre reason for returning to Florida. Liam and Mateo were part of that, but there was more to it. Now that she was gone, the taint of Clearwater was gone. I saw it with fresh eyes. The streets, the shops, the bars and restaurants, the beaches… Clearwater was nice. If our mother hadn’t been here, I could have moved back right after college and been happy.
Maybe there’s another universe where I did exactly that, I thought. A universe where I didn’t move to New York.
I wondered if that version of Alyssa was happy.
When I got to the store, I almost spit out my coffee. Jack and Mateo were carrying a huge bolt of cloth out the front door. They loaded it into the back of a white van that said “Francine’s Fabrics” on the side.
“What are you two doing here?” I asked.
“Helping.” Jack closed the back of the van, then patted it twice. The van backed out and drove away. “Your sister asked.”
“Francine wanted to swing over and buy some of our inventory, so I called Jack. He brought one of his fireman colleagues.” She cocked her head innocently. “Have you met Mateo Vega?”
I tried not to glare at my sister. “I know Mateo.” I smiled at him. “I actually have the final shots from your photo shoot ready.”
Mateo returned my smile. “That is excellent news. Thank you.”
“While we waited for Francine to arrive,” Brandi said as we all walked inside, “Mateo took a look at the invoices. Within minutes, he was able to sort which ones were paid and which ones are still outstanding!”
“I have experience from the bar,” Mateo explained. “Compared to my uncle’s bookkeeping, this is a piece of cake. Your mother made a notation on each invoice that was paid in full.” He picked up a sheet of paper and pointed. “Here, near the top.”
“I didn’t even notice that,” I said, squinting. “If she was consistent on all of these documents, it will save us days of work!”
“We have a lot more to go through,” Brandi said, “but so far, the rule is holding true. She was consistent.”
Mateo shrugged awkwardly. “I am just glad to help.” He darted into the office and returned with a silver object in his hand the size of a small paperback book. “I have also retrieved the hard drive from the computer. I may be able to connect it to my device and retrieve the files.”
My eyes widened. “Now that would be really useful!”
“We shall see.” He shrugged again.
“Forget teaching me to surf. You’ve earned your photos already!”
“I would still be happy to teach you, when the conditions are better,” Mateo replied. “Perhaps on Saturday?”
“Saturday works great,” I smiled. “Are you free right now? I can show you the photos.”
“Yes, I believe so.” Mateo glanced at Jack.
Jack cleared his throat. “We have another pickup in ten minutes. I’ll move the cloth outside while you two look at the photos.”
“Are you sure?” Mateo asked.
“Of course. Go ahead.” Jack’s eyes lingered on me a moment, then he hefted a huge bolt of cloth onto his shoulder and carried it outside. Brandi didn’t try to hide the way she admired him as he worked.
I led Mateo into the office and opened my laptop. “I’ll send you digital copies, of course, but here’s what we have so far.”
“I look quite good!” he said, leaning forward. His arm brushed against mine.
“I’ll say,” I grinned.
“No. You make me look my best. The lighting, the angles… you are a master of your craft.”
“Aw, shucks,” I said. I felt my cheeks grow warm from the compliment. “You were an easy client. I snapped photos of an engaged couple this morning, and it was a lot tougher.”
“I am very happy with the results,” Mateo said. “And I am happy… about what happened the other night. At Liam’s.”
