“If you’re not in love with the patron pictures, that’s fine—” she started to say, but he couldn’t let herfinish.
“I lovethem.”
“What?”
Anthony nodded, walked wordlessly toward the display, shaking his head in wonder. “You really do have your granddad’s gift, Kira.” He felt proud of her in that moment. He was beginning to really care for her. Wanted her to succeed. Not just selfishly, so she’d stay in Cobble Creek, though that was part of it. More than that, Anthony wanted the spectacular woman to know just how talented shewas.
He heard a sniff before Kira cleared her throat. “You really thinkso?”
Anthony was surprised to see tears welling in Kira’s brown eyes. “Of course,” he said, extending his arms to either side. “Come here.” He wrapped his arms around her as she stepped intohim.
“I guess it just feels good to hear,” she said. “From someone other than my family, I mean. Whenever they compliment me, I feel like they’re just trying to get me to settle onsomething, so they just encourage whateverthingit is I’m pursuing at thetime.”
Anthony tipped his head to the side. “Have you talked to them since movinghere?”
She nodded. “A fewtimes.”
“But theydoencourage you?” He’d been under the impression, by the way she’d spoken about her family, that they weren’tencouraging atall.
Kira stepped back and ran a hand over her face. “It’s not that they don’t have nice things to say. They do. But I can tell—no matter how it comes out—that they expect me to drop out, give up, or outrightfail.”
Anthony had the strong urge to challenge her perception, but how could he? He simply didn’t know enough yet. But there was one thing hedidknow. “It’s possible they’re not thinking that at all,” he said. “But either way, you don’t have to prove anything to them or anyone else. If you stay here and run the studio, you should do it because you’re happy here. Don’t youthink?”
Kira nodded. “Yes.”
“Good,” he said. “Now let’s see the rest of these pictures. I love what you’ve done sofar.”
