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“James Waymire.”
Louise pulled her gaze away from the case only long enough to cast a gleaming smile at Elena. “Stunning.?
?
“I thought so, too. He brought them in over the weekend and I bought several pieces. You also need to see the new glass sculpture Triana did. I have it back here when you’re ready.”
Louise went over several of the necklaces that Elena pulled out of the case, finally settling on the coral that had caught her eye at first. Then Elena made her some tea and the two of them sat at the back of the shop and admired Triana’s five-foot-wide blue glass sculpture of a jumping dolphin. Elena had set it up on one of the side windows where the light could show it off to its full effect.
“It’s breathtaking,” Louise said. “And if I came home with a piece like that, Leo would kill me.”
“But you won’t be bringing it home. I’ll have someone deliver it to you.” Elena winked, and Louise let out one of her bawdy laughs.
After Louise left, Elena was busy with other clients. The morning passed in a blur of activity, just the way she liked it. When Marco came in to relieve her, she had just enough time to run out and grab a bite to eat. She headed upstairs to her apartment over the store, kicked off her shoes and fixed a sandwich, then stepped outside and ate on the balcony so she could enjoy the beach view.
She’d worked hard to open this store, had gone to school, scrimped and saved every penny she owned working three jobs in order to come up with the money to rent the gallery. And she still hadn’t had enough, until her mother—her mother of all people—had handed her an envelope with the cash to not only rent the property but buy the building outright.
She’d been stunned. Her mother was as flighty and undependable as they came and, as far as Elena knew, rarely held a job for more than a month. Where she got the money, Elena didn’t even want to know. She’d tried to give it back, but her mother had said it was a gift and gifts weren’t to be returned. Elena had hoped her mother hadn’t done a drug deal or robbed a bank.
She’d still like to know where that money had come from. Her mom eschewed money and property, only had enough to get by and often had to mooch off Elena, causing her to dip into her own meager savings.
She took a bite of her sandwich and focused on the calming waters of the ocean, the cloud-free sky, the screams of laughter from children playing in the sand at the water’s edge. Anything but the enigma that was her mother.
She heard the low throaty rumble of a motorcycle as it roared down the street, tearing into her idyllic rest. She followed the sound as it grew louder and pulled to a stop in front of her shop.
Oh, yum. Hot guy on a Harley. Now that was almost as good a sight as her ocean. Baggy jeans, sleeveless muscle shirt, and the muscles to show off in it, he was tall, with black hair and a strong chin she could see from all the way on the second floor. Mirrored sunglasses gave him a bad boy look that should have turned her off—she never went for guys like him. Yet she couldn’t deny wanting a closer look.
He shoved off the kickstand with the heel of his boot and climbed off the bike, slid the keys into his pocket and headed inside her shop.
Huh. She didn’t get too many bikers in her shop. It wasn’t typically their style.
She looked down at her watch. Technically she had a half hour left to her lunch hour.
Then again, she did have inventory coming up at the end of the month, so no sense wasting time when there was so much work to be done. Besides, Marco might be overwhelmed with clients.
Right. And that happy button between her legs hadn’t been touched in far too long, so the sight of testosterone on a Harley just might have gotten her motor running, which surprised the hell out of her. She much preferred men who were more refined—the suit-wearing Wall Street Journal type—not the grease-under-their-fingernails type.
But she had a need to get a closer look. Men who looked like that guy could be considered art, and art was her job, so why not?
She did a quick brushing of her teeth, smoothed her hair and her dress, slid her heels back on and headed back downstairs, through the back door and into the shop.
Mr. Good Looking was in the shop, sunglasses tucked into the neck of his shirt. Marco was currently leaning next to him, showing him the metal sculptures.
Hot and Sexy looked up at her as she walked through the gallery. His lips curved upward in a hint of a smile that made her fully aware of herself as a woman. She hadn’t felt that kind of draw toward a man in a very long time.
Marco could handle this customer, but since the place was currently empty, no reason not to be polite, especially since he’d smiled at her and all. She headed over.
“Marco.”
Marco’s head shot up. “Oh, Elena, hi. I was just showing Jed here some of our welded art pieces. Jed, this is Elena Madison. She owns Eclectic Designs.”
Elena held out her hand.
“Nice to meet you, Elena. Jed Templeton.”
His hand was calloused. And really big, but gentle in hers. Sometimes big guys liked to prove their masculinity by nearly crushing her hand. Good to know he could power it down.
“Welcome to my shop, Jed. Are you here for the bike rally?”
