She chuckled. “Diet Coke?”
“I was thinking fruit juice. It’s too late for Coke.”
Inside my apartment, I heaved the bag off my shoulder and dropped it next to the door. Then I kicked off my shoes.
“Sorry if I smell of sweat,” I said. “No amount of deodorant works well enough on a job like this one.”
Lily waved me off. “Go and have a shower, relax a bit. I’m happy to wait. I might actually watch some TV.”
My eyes widened in shock. “Watch TV like an ordinary person? I knew you were going to need one sooner or later.”
Lily wandered off to inspect the fridge, while I padded to the bathroom. I switched on the water, took off my dusty clothes, and then stepped under the hot jet. I turned my face up, letting the warm water wash away the grime of the day.
As tired as I was, I was happy Lily was here. She never made me feel overwhelmed. I loved all of my friends equally, but I had a special bond with Lily. She understood me and she was a lot like me. We could sit together in silence for hours, not needing to fill the quiet with chatter. She was the sister I’d never had.
I scrubbed thoroughly and shampooed, then toweled off and let my hair dry on its own. When I came out of the bathroom, I felt invigorated. I found Lily on the couch, watchingFriends.She’d brought out two bottles of apple juice and had poured them into glasses.
“Ooh, juice in wine glasses. Fancy.” I plopped down on the couch next to her.
She turned her hazel eyes on me. “You look much better. How do you feel?”
“Better. I’ll be fresh by tomorrow. So, what have you been up to?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary. My patients keep me busy.”
“You never talk about them. I’ll bet you have some really interesting stories.” I reached for the apple juice and downed half the glass in a couple of gulps. It was cold, fragrant, and went straight to my soul.
“I’m not supposed to talk about them,” Lily said. “How would you feel if you confided in someone, and they blabbed your secrets?”
“I don’t have any secrets.”
“Everybody has secrets.” Lily smiled enigmatically. “How’s Sebastian?”
I huffed out a breath. If anyone could lend me an unbiased, non-judgmental ear, it was Lily. She was the perfect sounding board, and she never offered unsolicited advice. Sometimes she didn’t even offer it when I asked for it, preferring to guide me to the answers. It was maddening.
I leaned back against the couch and propped my feet on the battered oak coffee table. “Okay, so here’s what happened.”
I told her the whole story.
She kept her expression neutral, sipping her juice from time to time.
“So what do you think?” I asked after I finished. “Am I a moron? Did I overreact?”
“It isn’t about what I think. Doyouthink you overreacted?”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t go all shrinky on me, okay? Just… just give me your honest opinion. Be a friend right now, not a psychologist. I’m not asking you to take sides or trash Sebastian. I’m only asking what you think of this whole business.”
She shifted to face me. “There’s no easy answer. Sebastian kept this from you, which is a lie by omission. But most people lie to gain something. Most lies are selfish, not selfless. I don’t see a selfish angle here. You and Sebastian hadn’t started dating yet, so you can’t say he did this hoping to get into your pants. If he wanted something from you, he would have told you about his gesture. It sounds to me like he genuinely wanted to help, and I think he did it in a way that wouldn’t diminish your professional value in the least. He simply brought your work to the attention of the gallery’s curator.”
“Who would never had known about me otherwise,” I pointed out.
“That’s true, but how does that affect the value of your art? Malcom or Sebastian did not force anyone to buy your work, yet as of yesterday, your exhibit was nearly sold out. That was on your merit and talent alone.”
“I know, but—”
“Jesse, you’re a great artist. Word-of-mouth is the best way to get noticed. Even this man, Benjamin the Third, hired you on the recommendation of your client, the guy who flips houses. Do you blame that guy for giving you a referral?”
“Of course not.”
