Page 23 of For the Love of Art

“You are not a layover.”

“I know I’m not a layover. The shop is. The shop should be. Owning a business was my dream, not yours.” She shrugged. “I know you’re not investing in it the way I am.”

I bit my bottom lip as I considered her words.

Lianne linked arms with me and led us down the street.

“Will you at least consider going and talking to him?”

“I’ll consider the considering,” I offered.

“I’ll accept that answer for tonight.”

We both giggled. I rested my head on Lianne’s shoulder as we continued down the block.

“So, tell me about Andrew. Feel free to leave out whatever he invented if you couldn’t tell my very Catholic abuela.”

Lianne laughed, then started into excited chatter about the man she met.

I did my best to listen, but my mind kept wandering to Nathan’s offer and why I rejected it so quickly. Was it really that I didn’t believe in my abilities, or was it that I could barely function around him? I looked up at the crescent moon, listening to my best friend, trying to rid my brain of the many questions that swirled and danced around it.