“So, Crotch Face, huh?” she asked as shelooped her arm through Julian’s and leaned against his side.
“They were an imaginative group ofstudents.”
Aida laughed as she rested her head againsthis arm. As they walked, she felt like they were all alone in theworld, even as people flowed around them. They arrived at thegallery far too soon; she pulled her keys from her purse as herphone started ringing. Digging into her purse, she found her phoneand pulled it out to reveal her sister’s name on the screen.
“It’s Mollie,” she said to Julian. “I have totake this.”
He kissed her. “Have a good day.”
“You too. I love you.”
He squeezed her hand and released her. “Ilove you too.”
CHAPTER 33
Aida unlocked the door as she answered the phone.“Hello.”
“Happy birthday!” Mollie exclaimed.
Aida smiled as she used her heel to nudge thedoor shut behind her. “Thank you.”
The click of her heels echoed over the emptybuilding as she walked into the storage room and set her purse onan empty crate near her small locker. Over the past two days,workers had come in to remove all of Owen’s paintings from thewalls. They’d all been crated and delivered to the new owners, butthe crates of the latest works of art now littered the backroom.
She spun through the dial on the locker andopened it to reveal the marvelous sneakers tucked inside. Shetugged off her heels and exchanged them for the sneaker beforetucking her purse inside and closing the door.
“How’s everything going? Any plans for yourbig day?” Mollie asked.
She should tell Mollie about Julian; she toldher about everything. She didn’t think Cassidy and Kyle had toldtheir parents yet, but it was only a matter of time before Juliandid. Mollie couldn’t learn about this from someone else.
However, the words froze on the tip of hertongue. Their relationship was still so new, and she worried shemight jinx it by revealing how happy she was. Mollie had to knowJulian was in the city. Sera and Liam knew their son was here; theywould have told Mike, wouldn’t they? But then, it might not havecome up in conversation.
“I’m working, and then I’ll join Kyle andCassidy at the bar,” Aida said.
“Sounds like fun.”
“Anything new and exciting with you?”
“Mike and I are going to Canada next week tocheck on the new property.”
After what happened on the island, theByrnes, Mike, Jack, and David bought land in Canada in case theyhad to escape. She’d never been to the property, but she’d seenpictures of the endless acres stretching across open land. Workersstarted building houses around the massive lake in the center ofthe property three years ago, and they’d established atwenty-foot-tall wall around the perimeter.
“Is the construction work almost done?” Aidaasked.
“It is done,” Mollie said.
Aida’s hand clenched around the phone. “Doyou plan to leave Maine?”
She didn’t see Mollie anywhere near as oftenas she would have liked, and she hated the idea of having hersister livingfurtheraway.
“Not anytime soon,” Mollie said. “We’re goingto make sure everything is the way it’s supposed to be. Plus, itwill be nice to get away for a week or two.”
“I bet it will,” Aida said as she returned tothe main room and stopped to survey the walls.
The bare walls signaled a lot of work aheadof her, and she grinned as her creative juices already started toflow. She hit speaker on her phone as she walked around thegallery, examining the new batch of paintings and photographsleaning against the walls.
From years of working here, she knewNicolette had only ordered the artwork unpacked; there was no rhymeor reason to it yet. That was for them to figure out today, and shecouldn’t wait to dive in as this setup would be a challenge.
This upcoming exhibition was an eclectic mixof upcoming artists who each had their own styles. In her mind, shefigured out how each of those styles could be used to emphasize thetalent of the others.
