the furniture he destroyed.” I smiled shyly, a little ashamed to admit how excited I was at the opportunity.
“You’ve been doing that your whole life. What makes this time any different?” Mattie teased her in her own way.
“I get paid for it. That’s new.” Leaning back in my chair for a second, I thought about everything happening before my phone chimed and I dug it out of my sweater pocket to check it.
Sebastian: Any chance you can run an invoice over in the next half an hour? The insurance adjuster would like to see it.
Staring at the phone for a moment, I considered the time to create it, print it off the computer, and finally hand deliver it. Then I responded.
me: Could be closer to forty minutes. Will that work?
Sebastian: K
I giggled as I hunched over my phone and responded.
me: And potassium to you too. See you soon.
His response was swift and shocking, even though I’d already grown accustomed to his way.
Sebastian: You’re adorable. Are you sure you don’t want to marry me?
me: Almost positive.
His next reply had me nearly howling in laughter.
Sebastian: So you’re saying I have a chance? I can work with that.
I didn’t even respond. Sure, he had as much chance as any guy. I was in no rush to marry. After growing up with my father, it would take a lot for me to ever give myself over to the institution. It had killed my mother. I wouldn’t go down without a fight.
“Who’s that?” Mattie stood to pull the whistling teakettle off the burner. “Anyone who can put a smile on your face and make you laugh out loud is someone I ought to know about.”
“Just the gallery owner. He pays me to laugh at his jokes.” I stood and tucked the phone in my pocket before hugging her. “I have to go back with an invoice for the work. I’ll see you later.”
“Okay. Just remember I’m making pork chops. You love my chops.” She wagged her finger at me.
“I do. And I’ll be home. Promise.” I turned and jogged down the stairs to my makeshift office.
After calculating and printing the invoice, I left the building once more. By now, I probably could’ve walked to the gallery with my eyes closed. Of course, if I had, I would’ve missed seeing a gorgeous woman in business attire fawning all over Sebastian while Sylvie looked on with daggers shooting from her pretty blue eyes. Taking an extra deep breath, I ducked through the opening in the door.
Sebastian spotted me first. “I should warn you, the glass should be replaced by Monday. If you try that then, you’ll knock yourself on your pretty little ass.” He chuckled. He stepped away from the women and greeted me with a smile and an extended hand.
Eyeing him, I offered mine in return and watched as he lifted it to his lips and gave it a quick kiss on the knuckles. The other two women were watching and I felt self-conscious. The last thing I wanted to do was encourage him. His behavior had all my defense mechanisms kicking in. Time to create some distance. “I bet you charm all the girls this way.” I frowned. “Here’s the invoice.” Pulling my hand away, I passed him the paperwork for inspection. “If that meets your approval, sign and accept the terms. I take cash or PayPal.”
His mouth twitched. “Okay. Give me a minute to look it over.” He turned his back to me and wandered over to the counter where Sylvie and the insurance adjuster waited. Uncertain with how to behave, I rocked on my shoes, then tried to casually move about the room as though I was interested in the artwork. In truth, I couldn’t concentrate at the moment. Everything had me unnerved, from the chicks vying for Sebastian’s attention to his ways with me.
Luckily, a group of people burst into the gallery and offered a welcome distraction. “Are you okay?” A tall blonde man with a goatee was first to speak. He held a hand out to Sebastian while a really attractive woman with honey brown hair stood back a
“You’ve been doing that your whole life. What makes this time any different?” Mattie teased her in her own way.
“I get paid for it. That’s new.” Leaning back in my chair for a second, I thought about everything happening before my phone chimed and I dug it out of my sweater pocket to check it.
Sebastian: Any chance you can run an invoice over in the next half an hour? The insurance adjuster would like to see it.
Staring at the phone for a moment, I considered the time to create it, print it off the computer, and finally hand deliver it. Then I responded.
me: Could be closer to forty minutes. Will that work?
Sebastian: K
I giggled as I hunched over my phone and responded.
me: And potassium to you too. See you soon.
His response was swift and shocking, even though I’d already grown accustomed to his way.
Sebastian: You’re adorable. Are you sure you don’t want to marry me?
me: Almost positive.
His next reply had me nearly howling in laughter.
Sebastian: So you’re saying I have a chance? I can work with that.
I didn’t even respond. Sure, he had as much chance as any guy. I was in no rush to marry. After growing up with my father, it would take a lot for me to ever give myself over to the institution. It had killed my mother. I wouldn’t go down without a fight.
“Who’s that?” Mattie stood to pull the whistling teakettle off the burner. “Anyone who can put a smile on your face and make you laugh out loud is someone I ought to know about.”
“Just the gallery owner. He pays me to laugh at his jokes.” I stood and tucked the phone in my pocket before hugging her. “I have to go back with an invoice for the work. I’ll see you later.”
“Okay. Just remember I’m making pork chops. You love my chops.” She wagged her finger at me.
“I do. And I’ll be home. Promise.” I turned and jogged down the stairs to my makeshift office.
After calculating and printing the invoice, I left the building once more. By now, I probably could’ve walked to the gallery with my eyes closed. Of course, if I had, I would’ve missed seeing a gorgeous woman in business attire fawning all over Sebastian while Sylvie looked on with daggers shooting from her pretty blue eyes. Taking an extra deep breath, I ducked through the opening in the door.
Sebastian spotted me first. “I should warn you, the glass should be replaced by Monday. If you try that then, you’ll knock yourself on your pretty little ass.” He chuckled. He stepped away from the women and greeted me with a smile and an extended hand.
Eyeing him, I offered mine in return and watched as he lifted it to his lips and gave it a quick kiss on the knuckles. The other two women were watching and I felt self-conscious. The last thing I wanted to do was encourage him. His behavior had all my defense mechanisms kicking in. Time to create some distance. “I bet you charm all the girls this way.” I frowned. “Here’s the invoice.” Pulling my hand away, I passed him the paperwork for inspection. “If that meets your approval, sign and accept the terms. I take cash or PayPal.”
His mouth twitched. “Okay. Give me a minute to look it over.” He turned his back to me and wandered over to the counter where Sylvie and the insurance adjuster waited. Uncertain with how to behave, I rocked on my shoes, then tried to casually move about the room as though I was interested in the artwork. In truth, I couldn’t concentrate at the moment. Everything had me unnerved, from the chicks vying for Sebastian’s attention to his ways with me.
Luckily, a group of people burst into the gallery and offered a welcome distraction. “Are you okay?” A tall blonde man with a goatee was first to speak. He held a hand out to Sebastian while a really attractive woman with honey brown hair stood back a
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