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“I need to go see my boyfriend.”
“That’s not a good idea.” I shake my head vigorously. “If your brother finds out that you met that guy, he’ll lose his mind.”
“But I really need to explain things to him. I don’t want him to think that I just ghosted him. But it’s probably best if I just let this go and concentrate on my studies.”
“Yes.”
“So I need to explain it. It would be rude not to.”
I sigh. “Fine. But have him come here and you can meet in public.”
She nods her head. “That’s probably better. He won’t throw a fit in public.”
I don’t think this guy is gonna throw a fit. But Harrison might so I just nod my head.
Heather goes to make a phone call to her boyfriend to come here to meet her and I finish setting up for wine and painting just as some of my favorite customers start showing up.
“Hello, guys! Great to see you. Let’s all find a place and get set up! Wait until you taste the pinot noir that I’ve got for us today. And the abstract painting that we’re going to do.”
“Ugh, abstract,” Mrs. Gino says. I laugh as Mrs. Dewinters claps her hands.
“Hallelujah! You know I love me some abstract!”
We all settle into a place and start painting and drinking. It’s so early that the sun has barely come up over the mountain still and I’m yawning but my paintbrush dances over the canvas as I let my imagination and eye soar.
This is what I love. Being with people with like minds. Teaching them and enjoying the way they see things differently than I do. It’s an amazing feeling.
One I don’t think my family will ever understand. They’re still harassing me over the decision not to join the accounting firm and get my degree in accounting.
Ugh! Not a chance. Numbers and I don’t love each other at all! I’ve always loved to paint and that led to a love of all different mediums. None of which my family understood. They’re still giving me the cold shoulder and acting like I’m some plague-ridden idiot every time I go home to see them.
Which is why I don’t go to see them.
The bell rings and my head comes up, relaxing when I realize it’s just Heather’s boyfriend.
The two of them move over to an empty corner of the room and begin to talk. At first, it looks amicable, the two of them just chatting. Then it seems to go downhill fast. He glares at her and grabs her arm. I’m standing on my feet before I know it, moving to interrupt the unpleasant exchange when my front door bursts open, the bell swinging wildly.
“What the hell, Heather! I told you to stay the hell away from this guy! Why is he here?”
All eyes swing towards him and every woman in the place gasps and immediately they fluff and pat their hair.
I roll my eyes. Seriously?
“Get your hands off my sister,” he growls, stalking across the room like a panther ready to slice open its prey.
The teenage boy pales and bounces away from Heather. “I wasn’t. I mean, I wasn’t doing anything.”
Harrison rolls his eyes. “Umm. Yeah. It’s a room full of people. I know you weren’t gonna touch her right now. But I also know that you’re not right for her and you need to move on.”
“All of which I was going to tell him before you showed up, Harrison! Jeez! Can’t you just trust me for a few minutes?”
“You weren’t in your bedroom. I needed to talk to him. And Daffy talked me into doing it here.”
“Ah, Daffy! Couldn’t stop yourself from getting in the middle of this one?”
“I’m not in the middle of it. I’m just making sure that she’s not alone with the kid. How is that a bad thing?”
“Surprisingly, it’s not.”
