Page 40 of For the Love of Art

“No, but it stops me. It’s weird. I should be truly single, shouldn’t I?”

Lianne looked at me, her eyes narrowed slightly.

“You are truly single.”

“Not legally.”

“Legal schmegal. Don isn’t ‘legally single,’ and he’s off galavanting with some woman,” Lianne said, air quoting the words legally single.

“Nathan is the last person I should start anything with, legally single or not.” I peered over my shoulder. Nathan’s head was thrown back in a laugh, and the blonde sparkled like Edward Cullen next to him.

“Or maybe the person,” Lianne suggested.

I looked at her. “What?”

“Just a little fling. A dick to dust the cobwebs from between your thighs,” Frankie said. “Consider it annual maintenance.”

“Oh my God!”

“He is obviously good at it!” Lianne protested. “Look at the beautiful women he’s with.”

“Or they want his money. Isn’t he worth like ten million or something like that?”

I took a sip of my drink.

“Try ten million times seven hundred,” Frankie said.

I’m surprised beer didn’t spew out of my mouth.

“He’s worth seven billion dollars?”

Frankie held his phone out to me. “And change.”

“Jesus.” I took a long swig.

I couldn’t visualize that much money. It wasn’t like Don, and I were poor. He made good money that allowed us to buy a place in Gramercy. The same place he now lived with his new girlfriend.

I looked at Nathan again, still laughing and smiling with his date. The woman reached for his hand, and while still holding a smile, he slowly slipped it away from hers, and for some reason, that made my heart skip a beat.

“It’s crooked,” I told Dori the following Monday. “I think we need to move it slightly to the right.”

Dori did as I instructed, shifting the painting ever so slightly until I told her to stop. I wrinkled my face. Something was still off. I looked at the painting we had placed next to it. I couldn’t decide if the colors contrasted the way I was hoping.

I hummed.

“The other painting looked better,” Dori said, pointing to the canvas we had taken down.

“Maybe.” I ran my fingers through my hair.

Dori backed up to where I was standing, and we both looked between the paintings before deciding to give the other another chance. We quickly swapped the two art pieces out and then stood back again.

“You’re right, Dori. This is better,” I complimented her.

Dori smiled proudly.

“I agree,” Nathan’s voice echoed through the space.

Before I had a chance to respond, he was beside me. The sleeve of his shirt gently brushed my bare arm. My knees gave a little, and Nathan grabbed my arm, steadying me.