No shit. It was anexpensiveneighborhood. “I can’t let you pay for this.”
“Then consider me an investor.” He walked over to me and looked down at my unfinished work. “I think your work is incredible, Katie. And I think it should be seen.” He turned to look at me, in all seriousness. “I thinkyoushould be seen. I’ve always felt that way.” He ran his knuckle lightly along my jaw and I fought the urge to melt into a puddle right at his feet.
“Jesse…”
“You can finally have that art show you wanted to have. With your newfound infamy,” he added with a little grin, “you’re sure to get a crowd. And Brody is connected up the ass, babe. He can bring in real art buyers with money. We can even get someone handling PR. Your work can be famous, but every little detail of your private life doesn’t have to be.”
“Why? Why are you doing this?”
“Because I believe in you. And I believe in your talent.” He glanced around the room. “It’s a good space. And I know you like the neighborhood.”
“Which is how I know how much this costs.”
He ignored that. “It’s close to Nudge, and Devi’s office is three blocks away. You can go for coffee.”
“I noticed.”
He walked over to the painting I’d started the day Devi told me I’d been chosen to be in his music video. The day my life took a sharp turn. I’d gone to Becca’s basement to paint and think it over, and clear my head. But I hadn’t been able to clear it. Not of him. Not of the man who’d made an unforgettable impression on me from the first moment I saw his face.
“When did you paint this?” he asked.
It was a painting of Jesse, of how I’d first seen him when we met. Beautiful and abstract, something ungettable, unknowable. Or so I thought.
I swallowed hard. “The day I met you,” I whispered. I couldn’t find my voice. I felt like I was floating away, like this was all some incredible dream.
“You said you didn’t know who I was when we met.”
“I didn’t.”
He stared at me, those unreadable molasses eyes sliding over my face. I trembled, though it wasn’t cold in the studio, and hugged myself.
“Katie…” he said.
We were interrupted by a knock. He went to the door and let my sister in, and Devi was right behind her. Becca smiled at me, and Jesse headed up to the loft.
What the hell was going on?
I hugged my sister and held on tight. “Katie,” she whispered, “it’s okay.”
“I don’t know, I don’t know…” I just kept saying it, over and over, while she held me.
When we drew apart, she held my face in her hands, like it was small and precious to her, the way she had when we were young.
“Take the studio,” she said. “There’s no guilt in quitting the coffee bar. We’ll survive without you, I promise.”
“What about what happened? The paparazzi? It can get a lot worse than that.”
“We’ll be alright, Katie.”
“But what are you going to do if they get harassed at school? It’s hard on kids, being the center of attention, having people talk about them, say things that aren’t even true.”
“Well, their father’s always threatening to homeschool them anyway. Or move us all to Costa Rica.”
“You aren’t seriously going to leave Nudge.”
“I’ll do whatever’s right for my family. And that includes you.” She put her hands on my arms and squeezed. “We’ll be alright, Katie. Do this for yourself.” She pulled me in for another hug. “From what I can see, he really cares about you. This is a real opportunity. Do it for your art.” She glanced off toward the stairwell, where Jesse had vanished. “And for your heart.”
My sister smoothed my hair off my cheek, and I loved her so much in that moment.
