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I waited and tried to listen, and thenbang.
“I thought she was at an auction, not a trial?” Bennett grumbled.
“Sold!” I heard faintly. “Jamie Gaines,Sunflower Stars,sold for twenty-nine thousand…”
“Twenty . . . nine . . .” Jamie opened her eyes and her jaw dropped.
“Twenty-nine thousand dollars!? Jamie!” I shot up from my sand, placing my hand on the top of my head in an attempt to stop myself from jumping in the air, which, let’s face it, I totally would have done. “Jamie . . .”
“Elliot . . .” She looked at the camera, tears welling up in her eyes. “I need to go talk to the person who just spent twenty-nine thousand dollars, we need to figure out payment and, Elliot . . . twenty-nine thousand!”
“Jamie . . .”
I wanted to shout it at the top of my lungs. I wanted—needed—her to know that she had my whole heart, my whole world . . . she was the center of it.
“I’ll talk to you tonight, okay? I have to go.”
“Okay, bye . . .” I said instead. She waved at the screen and then a finalwhoopbrought my home screen back to view.
I dropped my phone and looked back at the horizon. The sun had gone completely down now, the soft twilight cascading over the waters.
“So . . .” Bennett came up next to me, dusting the sand from his pants. “If you love her, why didn’t you tell her?”
I scoffed and shook my head. “She asked me not to.”
“Seriously?”
I nodded. “I tried to tell her this morning, right before we got on the plane, and she told me that it was too soon and that I could tell her if I felt the same when she picked us up in Portland.”
Bennett hummed, squinting his eyes to look off into the horizon. “She does know that when you set your mind to something you don’t give it up . . . doesn’t she?” he asked. “You would think she would get that after five months of ghosting you and you are still thinking about her.”
I chuckled and turned to look at my friend. “She’s aware. I told her I would still tell her. I bet you fifty bucks that when I see her next that’s the first thing I say to her.”
Bennett let out a loud belly laugh. “Yeah, no, I will not be taking that bet because you will most definitely win.” He slapped my shoulder, turning his body toward the street. “Come on, we need to get back to the hotel. We have a label to meet with tomorrow, so . . . sleep.”
“And by sleep, you mean pacing the room trying to figure out the best songs to play?” I laughed, following him. Chase and Jameson were already up by the car, leaning on the hood. Jameson had his arms crossed and Chase just looked tired.
“Exactly,” Bennett responded.
Chapter Forty-Two
-Jamie-
Iwas frozen as I stood next to the woman who bought my painting. I had met her on the first day of the festival, but I couldn’t remember her name to save my life. I was still in awe that someone had bid so much on a silly painting that was simply brush strokes on a canvas. One of my biggest goals was just to have a painting in a festival . . . I never imagined standing next to a woman who had spent over twenty thousand dollars on something I created.
The woman shook my hand and told me a story about how her husband always gave her sunflowers before he passed, so she knew she had to have the painting, and then left.
“We’d love to have you back this spring, Miss. Gaines, and again next winter, if you’re able,” the gallery owner said to me oncethe financial end of things was complete. I wasn’t walking away with the total auction money, there were the fees and the gallery claimed some, but I was walking away with more money than I had ever seen before.
I looked at the owner of the gallery.
“What do you say, Miss Gaines? Would you be able to join us again next year? I’d even love to keep something of yours on my walls year-round. You were quite the rage here this year.”
I’m sorry . . . what did he say?
“I’m sorry, you want to hang my work year-round?” I stuttered.
He nodded. “Yes, I’d love to. I’ll commission you for two to four paintings a year, and then one at the spring arts fest, and one at the winter fest. This festival did better than they thought it would, I guarantee you they will bring it back next year.”
