“I already know a few things about you, Raelyn.”
What? That I had crooked bangs for years that are forever documented in my high school graduation photos online. Or maybe he’s referring to my brief time spent as a paid spokesperson for a watch company. My name will always be associated with the low budget commercials they produced. Those are just two of the treasures that pop up on the first page in any online search of my name.
“You have patience,” he says, leaning closer to me.
“Because I haven’t brought up the night you ran into me yet?” I question, holding back a smile.
“No.” He shakes his head. “You didn’t come looking for me even though I was gone for an hour.”
“It was forty-five minutes,” I correct him.
“Patience is something I value.”
I value my personal space, and he’s slowly invading it by sliding his muscular forearms across the table.
I stop staring at his arms and pin my eyes to his face.
It does little good because I’d be lying if I said I’ve met a man more handsome than him.
“You love your sister.”
I nod. “Very much.”
“You put aside your needs for her.” He exhales heavily. “Why is that?”
I’m not going to deep dive into my relationship with Dexie with this virtual stranger, so I go for a shallow answer. “You said it. I love her.”
“There’s love, and there’s sacrifice,” he points out. “They are two very different things.”
“Or one and the same,” I counter. “Sometimes, a person loves selflessly. In that case, sacrifice feels like a gift, not a burden.”
He studies my face. “I’ve never felt that.”
I’m not surprised.
Sliding to my feet, I shrug my shoulder. “Maybe one day you will.”
I wait for his response, but one doesn’t come. Instead, he turns his back and approaches one of the tall windows in the studio. “We’re done for the day. I expect you back here tomorrow night at eight, Raelyn. We’ll work through the night.”
I can survive on very little sleep, so I see this as a plus. “I’ll see you then, Calder.”
With his head tilted back in alignment with the rays of sun shining in, he raises his hand to wave in silence.Chapter 11Calder“Who the fuck did that?” Bauer’s voice booms through the studio. “It’s the middle of the afternoon. Are you working?”
I’m tempted to tell him to get lost, but I need him. I’ve spent the past two hours welding the base of the sculpture for Dexie Jones. Bauer is about to help me file down the rough edges.
My sculptures are imperfect in the sense that my clients know that they’re going to receive a work of art that will never be replicated.
“I’m working. You’re about to be working.”
“Since when do you work when there’s daylight?” He shrugs out of his wool coat and drops the gray beanie on his head on the table. “For the first six months I worked with you, I thought you were a fucking vampire.”
I let out a laugh. “Go to hell.”
“If I do that, who is going to help with this?” He scans the room. “Where’s Raelyn? I thought she was supposed to be providing the extra hands on this.”
“I don’t pay you to ask questions.” I stretch both arms over my head.
“I ask those questions out of the goodness of my heart.” He pats his right palm against the center of his chest.
My eye catches on the sleeve of tattoos on his right arm. “You added something new.”
He skims his hand over the inked skin. “When inspiration hits, I take it to the tattoo shop.”
“You could bring some of it here.” I point at the base of the sculpture. “I need to get this done.”
“Why the hell did you take it on?” He drops both hands to his hips. “We both know you don’t have time for this right now.”
“Maybe I’m a nice guy.”
He drops his hands to his stomach, bends over, and laughs. “Christ, you’re a riot today. Did you get drunk at the auction last night?”
I wait until he’s upright before I answer. “Dexie Jones is a potential long-term client. I can see her wanting another sculpture in the future. Maybe more. Why would I not make room in the schedule for her?”
“Is that how we’re playing this?” Bauer perks a brow.
“That’s how it is.”
“You’re telling me this has nothing to do with her sister?” He leans a hand on the table. “You’re not doing this to get time with Raelyn? And before you answer, Calder, I saw the way you looked at her last night.”
“She’s beautiful,” I spit out before my common sense can stop me.
Bauer’s hands shoot in the air as if he’s surrendering. “You’re not going to get an argument from me on that. I’ve never seen you push work aside for a woman. That’s all I’m saying.”
“I need your help.” I fall back on the issue at hand. “Now that I know Dexie’s vision, this sculpture needs to get done as quick as humanly possible.”