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Jameson answered his question. “She’s fine. Why don’t you guys head on out. Her and I are going to be here a while.”
Liam, Rory and Max exchanged a look, but rose from their chairs.
“Yeah, sure. We were just leaving, weren’t we, guys?” Max replied.
“You bet,” Rory added.
After his three brothers shuffled out, Jameson herded her toward the front and into a chair at his station. Then he grabbed up a binder and slapped it on the padded arm rest.
“Pick something, Ace.”
She looked from him to the book, and then smiled and flipped it open. Jameson pulled over a rolling stool and sat. He watched as she turned the pages, studying the designs. She felt his eyes move from the designs to her face, and she lifted her gaze to him.
“You sure you want to do this tonight?” he asked softly. “I didn’t mean to push you into doing anything you’re not ready to do.”
She smiled at him, touched by his concern and touched by the fact that he hadn’t pressured her for any details or tried to drag the story out of her. Maybe he could tell she wasn’t quite ready to talk. “I’m sure. I have to admit, I’ve thought about it ever since the first time I walked in these doors.”
He grinned. “If you’re sure.” Then he slid a piece of paper out from the back of the book and laid it on top. He tapped his finger on the design sketched on it. “I like that one.”
She looked down at it. It was a beautiful design of intricate flowers with a filigree pattern behind it forming the cuff. It really was stunning. She met his eyes and smiled. “It’s perfect.”
“I sketched this out last week.”
Her eyes took in the beautiful design. He was an amazing artist. Truly gifted. “It’s stunning.” Then her eyes lifted to his. “Who did you do this for?”
“For you,” he admitted softly.
“For me?” Her eyes returned to the design, glittering with tears. “You did know, didn’t you?”
He lifted one shoulder in a slight shrug. “I suspected, that’s all, Crystal. I didn’t know for sure. I still don’t know much, do I?”
She met his eyes and gave a slight shake of her head, her throat closing.
“You don’t want to talk, that’s fine. But if you ever do, I’m here.”
“Okay,” she replied softly.
A small grin pulled at his mouth as he repeated the word back to her just as softly. “Okay.”
That got a grin out of her.
“Let’s get to work then.” He winked at her and stood up, moving to set up his equipment.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Cole and Crash were at Marty’s having a beer.
“Wolf working his shit out finally?” Cole asked.
Crash looked over at him and shrugged. “He’s doing better. It’s just gonna take some time.”
Cole nodded. A moment later, his attention was caught by the TV above the bar as they interrupted programing for breaking news. The news anchor was saying, “We go live now to our reporter on the scene.”
The screen showed a woman standing in front of what looked like a sketchy apartment building.
“I’m reporting live from the east side of town, where three women were found dead this morning. The victims shared an apartment in this building behind me, and all had apparently died in similar fashion. Details suggest these deaths were especially gruesome. Police are saying very little, but our sources are reporting the victims all had their throats slashed. The victims also had another thing in common. Our sources confirm that all three women were employees of a local strip club called Sonny’s. We’ll continue to follow this story as more details emerge. Reporting live, Samantha Edwards, Channel Ten News.”
