He greeted her with a warm smile. “Hey, how was the drill?”
Eden smiled back, feeling the tension of the day disappear. “It was... challenging, but good. It brought back some tough memories, but I was okay.”
Steve’s expression softened. “I’m glad it went okay. I was thinking about you all afternoon.”
Eden’s heart melted. He was the most genuine person she’d ever met. Apart from not telling her about his successful career, there was nothing he’d said or done to make her think he was anything less than perfect.
After she’d said hello to Rex, she held Steve’s hand. “Thank you for being here.”
His fingers tightened around hers. “I had to come. It’s not easy confronting the things that keep you awake at night.”
Eden sighed. “Do you know what the worst thing is?”
Steve shook his head.
She looked into his eyes and gathered her thoughts. “The worst thing is realizing the memories you have of the day are worse than the reality. My brain has added layers of emotion to the little boy’s actions that were never there. He was angry with a classmate, so he shot them. He didn’t over-analyze his emotions and he didn’t second-guess what he was about to do. His brain simply said shoot, and he did. I was the one who tried to rationalize what had happened. I told myself there was more to the day than what there was, and it hurts even more because of it.”
Steve placed his hand against the side of her face. “It sounds as though you’ve found peace with what happened.”
She leaned into him and sighed. “I’m much better than I was. How about we go to The Starlight Café? I’ll ask Andrea to make us one of her monster ice cream bowls.”
His eyes widened. “Are you sure we can eat a dozen scoops of ice cream?”
“I don’t know.” Eden laughed. “But we can give it a go.” His slow smile made her heart race for a completely different reason.
As they walked toward the café with Rex trotting happily beside them, Steve told her about his day.
After sending two commission pieces to different clients, he’d had lunch with Owen. After a lot of discussion, Owen hadn’t changed Steve’s mind about displaying a few of his smaller pieces at a local art exhibition.
To Eden, it sounded like it could be a lot of fun, but Steve was less enthusiastic. When he told her Natalie Armstrong’s paintings would be in the exhibition, she was astounded.
“Do you know who Natalie is?” she asked Steve as they waited to cross the road.
He looked over her shoulder. “Owen mentioned something about her exhibiting at galleries around the world.”
“She’s super famous,” Eden told him excitedly. “I met her at Shelley’s baby shower. Her paintings are stunning and she’s incredible. You have to exhibit your work with her.”
Steve kept hold of her hand as they crossed the road. “Are you the same person who told me fame and fortune don’t matter?”
“You won’t make thousands of dollars from a local exhibition,” Eden said with a grin. “But Natalie’s a lot like you. She values her privacy, but she’s also very humble. She deliberately keeps a low profile because she doesn’t want what she does to change how people see her.”
“You think I’m humble?” Steve asked.
Eden laughed. “And super-talented, adorable, and a general, all-round nice guy.”
“You’d better stop before my ego explodes.”
“It’s great you’ve found a career you love, Steve. When it earns you enough money to have a comfortable life, it’s even better. A lot of people would love to be in your shoes.”
He sighed. “And would those same people like to see me exhibit my work alongside Natalie’s?”
Eden’s breath caught. “Yes, yes, and triple yes!”
“In that case,” Steve said with a smile. “It looks as though I’m going to be part of Owen’s exhibition.”
And with the anticipation of seeing some incredible art in Sapphire Bay, Eden opened the door to The Starlight Café. There wouldn’t be a drop of ice cream left in the bowl now.
Chapter17
