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“I agree,” Audrey said.
“Really?” Nikki questioned. “You never agree with me.”
“As long as it’s good enough to fool Moore and his guests while it’s on the tree, that’s all we need. An obvious imperfection will never pass authentication.”
“I don’t know,” London said.
“Slap some fake diamonds on that puppy and we’re good.” Nikki settled the topper back in the box.
London shot her friends a skeptical look.
“Audrey already found that the insurance company is going to authenticate after the party, so we’re still on for stealing it. How fast can you make this work?”
“I’ll have it ready. I have nothing to occupy myself, so I’ll make sure it’s done. The Taggert painting is halfway done too, so plan that one.”
Nikki smiled. “I guess a little heartbreak is good motivation for work, huh?”
“You would know,” Audrey said.
“This isn’t the same,” London replied. “Me and Ezra...” She lifted a shoulder.
Audrey touched her arm. “I’m no expert on people—”
Nikki snorted.
With a roll of her eyes, Audrey continued, “This thing with Ezra might not’ve been love, but you shouldn’t treat it like it’s nothing, either.”
“Tomorrow, glue and fake diamonds. Tonight, all the wine,” Nikki said and refilled their mugs.
London suddenly realized that she kept telling herself she was an outsider in this group, but she’d been wrong. These women had become family.
ChapterFourteen
London woke with blurry eyes and a fuzzy mouth. She stumbled off her couch and saw a note from Audrey sitting on the table.
Take the pills. Drink the water. Let us know if you need help with your project.
Project. The damn diamonds on the tree topper. She swallowed the ibuprofen sitting on a plate and took a swig of water. She started a pot of coffee and went to take a shower while it brewed. Today was a new day. Ezra Fisher would not be taking up space in her brain.
As the hot water beat down on her thumping head, she developed her game plan. She would just pretend that her fling with Ezra came to its natural end. A casual thing had an expiration date. She just had to ignore the memory of the pain on his face when he’d called her a liar.
After her shower and a full cup of coffee, she was ready to get to work. She set the broken topper on her work table and pulled out the zirconia that Jared procured. She glued the tip back on the topper and let it set. While it dried, she reviewed the sketch she made of how to apply the diamonds. They swirled on an angle so she needed to line out where to go.
With a white marker, she laid out some lines and prayed the lines would be hidden by the gems. She started with a short line of glue and pressed a gem onto it with a pair of tweezers. Then she went on to the next and the next.
As tedious as she thought glassblowing was, this was worse. She turned the glass in her hand to decide the best path to take. The act of turning the topper made her think of Ezra.
His big hands covering hers to guide the glass and tubing. Cracking jokes with him about applying pressure. The feel of his hands on her skin.
She jolted with the memory. No. She had to stop. Audrey and Nikki needed her to focus. She laid out the next line of glue and pressed more gems into place. She forced other topics into her head. Mia had told her to reach out to some galleries to see about creating her own show. What if she did an entire show of forgeries? That would certainly be a commentary on the value of originality in society.
The ridiculous thought had her smiling. If Ezra wasn’t so pissed at her, he probably would’ve laughed since everything he made was unique.
More memories of Ezra swamped her. In only a few short days, she’d become accustomed to his grumpy nature and had even grown kind of fond of it. His grumpiness hadn’t been mean or angry. He was a bit of a perfectionist and having people mess with his routine or space didn’t sit well with him.
She could relate to that. Laying the gems on the topper started to go a little faster as she got a rhythm going. She worked all day and into the evening—despite the nagging hangover—until her eyes were bleary and her fingers cramped.
While she’d taken breaks to stretch and jump around, she’d begun to feel a little hunchbacked. Coffee was no longer working to keep her focused.
