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“Working?”
“My classes.” She blushes, and she looks so pretty, so sweet. No wonder Leo loves her. “I’m finishing my last semester of classes for college.”
“That’s right.” Haley isn’t far behind me. “Are you excited?”
“Yes. It’ll be just in time.”
“For what?”
“Oh, for—for everything.” She glances down at her plate, which is still half-filled with food. “I’m going to be happy to have my degree.”
“What will you do afterward?”
“I was thinking I would write. Or edit. Or—I don’t know. I always thought I’d have to get an unpaid internship at a publishing house and work my way up.”
“Leo’s way too rich for that.”
She laughs, and I laugh, too.
Haley won’t have to work a day in her life unless she wants to.
“I thought I’d tell stories,” she says finally. “I’ve been studying other people’s work for a long time. It might be nice to make some of my own.”
“I’d read it.”
“Would you?” Her blue eyes brighten. “I don’t know if I’d ever show it to anyone. It would be cool to have a book with my name on it, though. Don’t you think?”
“I do.”
“We need a painting, by the way. Something for the house.”
“What, the wall in the guest room wasn’t enough?” I painted it while I was living here before. Bothered Leo about it endlessly.
“I want something where everybody can see it. I did say I’d buy one of your paintings.”
“And then I said—”
“To steal Leo’s credit card.” Haley laughs again. “I didn’t steal it. It’s mine now, too.” I don’t tell her that I’m beginning to suspect I might not paint again. “Oh, God. My class starts in five minutes.”
“I’ll come with you. I can drink my tea in the den.”
We head down the hall. A fire burns in the grate, keeping the den the perfect temperature. Haley settles on the couch with a blanket over her lap and opens her laptop. I get my sketchbook from the shelf and sit across from her. Huge, fluffy snowflakes fall in the courtyard outside.
Where is he?
Did he find somewhere new to surf? Or did he crash from being away from home too long?
“Daphne,” Haley whispers.
I snap back to the den. “Yeah?”
“I left my notebook in the little library upstairs.” Haley’s leaning out of view of her laptop camera. It’s a live class, then. “Can you get it for me? If you can’t, I’ll just—”
I drop the sketchbook. “What color is it?”
“Blue. The table by the—” She shifts back in front of the screen. “No, I did have some thoughts about that reading.”
I’m gone before I can hear what she thought about the reading, heading upstairs.
