Frostbite

That’s a bad look for me, but I’ll fall back on my usual excuse of needing to work.

“Use that time to chat up a few people with deep pockets.” I grab my phone from a table next to one of the windows in my studio.

“Why?” He chuckles. “You’ve got orders for at least a dozen commissioned pieces that you haven’t even started yet.”

That pressure is what fuels me. If I know I have a long list of clients waiting for one of my sculptures, it keeps me focused.

“I’ll give you a ten percent cut of anything you book tonight, Bauer.”

His brown eyes light up. “You’re fucking with me.”

Shaking my head, I grin. “I’m not. If you secure anything with a deposit, the ten percent is yours upon completion and delivery.”

“Damn.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “It looks like I’m working tonight.”

“That’s the spirit. Let’s get this over with. I intend to be back here by nine at the latest.”

“Dreamers can dream,” he says as I walk past him toward the door. “Mark my words, Calder. You’ll still be there when the clock strikes midnight.”

“No fucking way.” I glance at him over my shoulder. “When midnight strikes, I turn into an asshole, so I need to be gone by then.”

Bauer lets out a full laugh. “You’re an asshole twenty-four seven, so that argument won’t work.”

I smile as we exit the studio to make an appearance at the last place I want to be tonight.Chapter 5RaelynI’ve been to enough charity art auctions to know that at least a few artists in this room have a hidden agenda. When I worked for Eleni Melo in Brazil, she’d donate one of her glass sculptures to every charity auction that asked.

Many considered her to be one of the most generous people they’d ever met. I couldn’t disagree with that, but I knew a secret that none of them did. Eleni was well aware that if her piece garnered one of the night’s highest bids, the people in attendance would want to know more about the artist.

That’s why Eleni would look to her inner circle to lend a hand. She’d recruit an ex-boyfriend, a cousin, or in one case, her best friend to attend an auction. When Eleni’s sculpture hit the block, her self-appointed bidder would get to work. They’d shut down any competition by calling out an exorbitant amount. They didn’t care since ultimately it was Eleni who supplied the funds to purchase the piece. It all looked above board since the signature on the receipt was always someone other than Eleni.

I didn’t discover her ruse until I stumbled on a shed on her sprawling property. Inside were dozens of glass sculptures that she had supposedly sold at auction.

I confronted her, and she laughed it off, telling me I’d never make it as a professional artist unless I learned to bend the rules. She wasn’t the only one scooping up their own work for more than its value.

That was one of the reasons my heart didn’t break when she told me that she was moving to Australia with her soon-to-be-husband. I smiled as soon as her back was turned as a shot of relief surged through me.

“That’s disappointing.” Dexie huffs out an exaggerated sigh.

I turn to look at her. She’s dolled up in a black dress that hugs her belly. She’s wearing three-inch heels. I held her hand as we descended the concrete steps of her townhouse since some of the snow that blanketed the city yesterday is still clinging to the ground.

I shoveled the steps clean as soon as I got back from the craft store this morning, but the wind picked up, blowing snow around to settle in our path again.

“What’s disappointing?” I poke her side with a gentle touch of my elbow. “They don’t have a pickle and ice cream bar set up?”

She laughs. It’s one of those carefree laughs that I’ve come to love. It’s been more frequent since she met Rocco.

“Calder Frost is auctioning that piece tonight.”

I glance in the direction one of her blood-red fingernails is pointing. Those are courtesy of me. My time spent working part-time as a manicurist in high school paid off. “What piece?”

Her finger jerks in the air in frustration. “That breathtaking sculpture, Rae. That’s a Calder Frost. I was hoping he would include a larger piece in the auction.”

I stare at the sculpture. It’s a piece of silver metal curved into a trio of waves. It sits atop a square black box that looks like it’s also crafted from metal.

When I approach it, Dexie does too.

It’s on a rectangular table that is draped in a red linen cloth. Next to the sculpture is a white card. I read what’s written on it in gold ink.

Fly Away

Sculpture in Metal

Artist: Calder Frost

“Fly away,” Dexie whispers. “What a perfect name.”