“Okay, the good news is we sold your first painting.”
Nate looks at me, eyes wide in excitement as he lets out a thrilled cheer, and I high-five him. “Yes! Good going, bro. I knew you could do it!”
“Wait. What’s the bad news?” Nate asks, suddenly frowning.
Alex grins wider, bending down slightly for emphasis, and opens her eyes wide like she’s about to tell a huge secret. “We soldallthe paintings in the gallery, Nate.” She lets out a small squeal at the end as she jumps in the air. Nate almost falls off his seat, reaching out to the wall to steady himself.
“Fuck… what? Sorry, what?”
“The collection sold out,” Alex replies.
“That’s good, right?” I ask, a little confused as to why that would be bad news.
Alex laughs. “It’s great. Amazing even. But now, he needs to paint a whole new collection.”
Now it makes sense as to why it’s bad—more work for Nate.
“Who bought them all?” Nate asks, and I instantly think Zaria must have had a hand in this.
“A heap of people. They’ve been streaming non-stop,” Alex replies.
Maybe not Zaria then?
“Fuck! What if I can’t keep up? I only have a couple of dozen finished paintings back here.”
In an attempt to calm his nerves, I decide to butt in. “Well, the band doesn’t have anything happening at the moment. So be here, paint, put your love of art and the misery of missing Ria onto the canvas, and get your business up and running. Alex is obviously too good at her job,so you need to get ahead before we need to take off again. Be here… paint, Nate. I’ll keep tabs on the Recoil side of things while you get lost in acrylic or whatever you paint with,” I tell him, not wanting Nate to get overwhelmed with all of this. He can get bogged down so easily and not relish in the good.
He nods. “Thanks, Matt, this means a lot.”
“I know it does. That’s why I’m supporting you. I will always support you, Nate.”
“We need to celebrate,” Alex announces.
“Yes! We do,” I reply.
Nate groans and slumps further into his chair. “No, I have to get to work.”
Alex scoffs. “Work schmerk, you can start tomorrow, boss. Tonight, we gotta celebrate. You, your hunk of a brother, andme. The three amigos, the three musketeers, the dueling banjos plus… another… banjo. Fuck, I don’t know. Don’t make me keep making up stupid puns. Just fucking get your mopey ass out of that chair and walk down the street to Finlay’s.”
“Finlay’s?” I ask.
“The Irish pub down at the end of the street,” Alex clarifies.
“Yes! I’m so down for that. Alex, you might just be an angel,” I state.
She laughs. “I’ve been called far worse. I’ve been called far better, too. So you have a ways to go there, sexy twin,” she sings, and I chuckle.
“Better? Than an angel?” I ask.
“It was something like, God… oh God… yes, yes, God… you get my drift?” she states, raising her brows with a smirk and then a wink.
Nate rolls his eyes as I clear my throat while images of Alex in all sorts of sexual positions suddenly spring to mind. I clench my eyes tight, quickly trying to rid the thoughts, and she giggles, slapping my arm. A jolt shoots through my flesh where she hits me, then she turns and heads toward the door. Shaking my head as I watch her leave, Nate looks at me and furrows his brows.
“What the fuck is going on in that head of yours right now, bro?”
I exhale. “I have no fucking clue.”
Chapter Three
