Izzy looked over and smiled, the sunlight hitting her face until she practically glowed. “You’re welcome. Noah was a big help.”
“I’ll bet,” April muttered and Em shot her a look as Izzy reached into her purse and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
“Here. I found some examples of Conti’s work online. I’m no expert, but it looks familiar.”
April unfolded the paper and saw several photographs of Conti’s designs, dating back to early iterations from 1820.
“Oh,” she whispered, drinking in the details. The flower store could sit perfectly among these examples. “How can we verify this, though? I mean, the style looks right but I don’t think the mayor will take my word for it.”
Izzy’s face fell. “I’m not sure.”
Emma clapped her hands, making two birds in the trees above them flap their wings in shock. “What about Ethan? Maybe he knows someone?”
Ethan.“That … might actually be a very good idea.”
“I thought he was an interior designer,” Izzy said, raising her brows as she looked between them.
“He is,” April agreed. “But he also does building design and he studied architecture at college.” She barely had time to process the opportunity—their deadline was looming and they needed answers, fast. “Actually, hedidsay something about the ceiling when he came to check out the bar …”
“Call him,” Emma said, practically bouncing as they left the cover of the trees and the sunlight hit them once more. “If you want to follow up on this lead, I can continue with the painting.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that—”
Emma squeezed April’s arm gently. “What are friends for?”
They reached the store and April hugged Izzy goodbye before reaching for her phone and dialing Ethan’s number.
“Hey, April! What’s up?”
“Hey, Ethan. Listen, I need a favor.”
Movement from across the street caught her eye and she beamed as she spotted Ethan waving at her with his phone pressed to his ear.
“I’m in the area.” He chuckled and then hung up as he crossed the street to her.
April unlocked the door and ushered Emma inside, Ethan trailing behind them. April smoothed out the plastic wrap on the floor and pried open a can of paint to give it a stir.
“OK, here and here,” she said to Emma, pointing to sections of the wall, “you can see I’ve sketched out the small flower designs—can you fill in the petals and just add a bit of texture? You always had an eye for this kind of stuff in art class, so you’ll probably do a better job than me anyway! And then the shelves need these metal holders unwrapped and slotted in. See what you have time for, and I’ll be in to help soon too.”
“Aye aye, captain.” Emma saluted and April smiled as she rolled her eyes before turning to Ethan.
“What do you know about verifying heritage sites?”
An hour or so later, Noah arrived at the store, cheeks pink from the slight breeze that had kicked up outside.
“Hey, Bug, I thought I’d pop by to see if there’sanything I can help with? My site manager’s given me a long lunch.” He walked over to April, giving her a one-armed hug as he glanced around, noticing Emma finishing off her painting. “Em, those flowers are so good! How do you get them to look so realistic?”
Emma smiled, blushing slightly at the compliment. “Oh, you know, small brushstrokes and a lot of patience.”
“Well, they look sick.” He turned to April, who was holding up the papers Izzy had given her with examples of Conti’s work to the ceiling. “I see Izzy filled you in on the Conti stuff. What do you think—reckon it might be enough?”
“I honestly can’t tell. From some angles the design looks almost identical, but I can’t tell if it’s just wishful thinking …”
“I reckon it’s more than that,” said Ethan, emerging from the back office where he’d been making some calls. Noticing Noah, he smiled, “Oh hey, man, how’s it going?”
“Ethan, I didn’t realize you were back there! Has April got you roped into this too?” Noah grinned at his friend, and April shoved him, mock annoyed at his words.
“I’m happy to help, honestly. I hate seeing these gorgeous old buildings flattened for soulless apartment blocks, so it’s nice to think I could help save them. April, do you want to head over to the restaurant totalk things through? Pen says she’s fine for us to grab a bite there.”
