His sister was talented, truly talented.
“So this is it, huh?” Niko looked around the studio.
“Oh, you haven’t seen it?”
“No.”
“Yep, this is it.”
“This is why Liam bought the house.”
She nodded.
Her now husband had bought the house, sight unseen, because of the studio they were standing in. Because growing up, Frankie said she wanted to have an art studio with these exact specifications. He never knew Liam was a romantic. He’d always been so quiet.
“Have you seen AJ?” she asked out of the blue.
“He came by the Airbnb to grab the rest of his things, and I’ve seen him in passing when he’s with Poppy picking up or dropping off Tabitha next door.” Poppy was Tabitha’s nanny.
“I think I’m gonna start doing Sunday dinners.”
“Have you talked to Yaya about that?”
Yaya used to do Sunday dinners whenever the twins and Frankie were in Hope Falls visiting. She’d invite whatever neighbors wanted to come by. Yaya could be very territorial about traditions, but if there was anyone who she’d feelcomfortable passing the torch to, it would be Frankie, since Yaya made no secret she was her favorite grandchild. AJ and Niko were runners-up, but they were a distant second.
“She can’t do them at the cottage, it’s too small. She can come over and cook with me. Would you come?”
“Of course!” Niko got excited just thinking about it. That was exactly what he needed in his life. “Are you and Liam coming to the fundraiser?”
Jessie was doing all the work for the fundraiser, all he had to do was show up on the night and chair it. There would be a silent auction.
“We bought a table.”
“Where is he? Liam.”
“At work.”
“So, how is married life?”
The smile on his little sister’s face gave him his answer before any words came out of her mouth. “Good. Really good.”
He’d never seen Frankie as happy as she was since she’d been with Liam. He never had to worry about her now that she was with him, and vice versa. He loved Liam, and now that he was with Frankie, he knew that he would always be taken care of because his baby sister was like a pit bull when it came to loyalty, protection, and love. He’s not sure she would appreciate him describing her as a dog, but as her big brother, he felt that was a card he was allowed to play.
“I’m glad I got a chance to talk to you, alone.” Frankie dipped her paintbrush into the blue and ran it down the canvas. “Have you seen G or talked to her?”
“She and Brock were at yoga this morning and at the Quiz Night at JT’s.”
“I mean, have you talked to her when shewasn’taround Brock?”
“I overheard her on the phone with her sister at the tree lighting ceremony, it didn’t sound good. Then I tried to talk to her, but she wasn’t having it.”
Frankie sighed. “I was at The Beauty Spot today, and she came in to get a mani/pedi, and she seemed…off.”
Shewasoff, but Niko wanted to hear why Frankie thought so without any input from him. “You two were never the best of friends.”
Frankie never particularly warmed to G. It wasn’t just that she was protective of her brothers and didn’t like any girls they dated, she got along with all the women she met that he’d been casually seeing.
“No, yeah, I know it’s just…she really didn’t seem like herself. She seemed withdrawn and…I don’t know, sad maybe. Two girls came in, they weren’t locals, they came to see Karina perform, and when they saw G, they recognized her from her social media and asked to take selfies, and she got all shy…no not shy. I don’t know. She took the photos, but she was weird about it. I was worried about her.”
