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Nia
It’s been two days since Jared kissed me senseless, and two days since he started avoiding me. I have no idea how to bridge the gap that is growing between us, but I hate that it is. Simone came down to help me get the store cleaned up, which meant I was able to reopen pretty fast, but I find I’m missing Jared. Crazy, considering I barely know the man, but when you’ve been kissed like that, it’s hard to put him out of your mind.
I’m sitting at the counter in the store doing some inventory when my phone rings. I see Harry’s name flash on the screen and swipe to answer it.
“Harry! I wasn’t expecting to hear from you for a while.”
“I think your portrait might be something worth digging deeper into, Nia.” He sounds as serious as I’ve ever heard him, which captures my attention immediately.
I blink, his words taking me by surprise. “You do? How can a dusty old portrait of a creepy old guy be worth digging into?”
“I found some details when I removed the picture from the frame, details that suggest the provenance of the piece might be more interesting than we first thought.”
I can’t stop my brows from climbing up my forehead, even though he can’t see me. I believe him, I really do. If there is one thing Harry is, it’s good at his job.
“Really? I found the thing stuffed in the back of a storage unit among a lot of other junk. It didn’t seem like it was worth anything.”
“I want to send it to another valuer I know, but I wanted to check that would be okay with you before I did. I’m afraid this goes beyond my expertise.”
“Of course. You have me interested now to know its history.”
“It might come back as nothing, but I have a hunch there’s more to it than meets the eye.”
“Well, I trust your hunches,” I tell him.
“How are things at the store?”
I consider not telling him, but I would hate for him to find out elsewhere. “I got broken into.”
“What?”
“I know. This neighborhood is supposed to be safe, but I’m not sure how true that is now.”
“Was any damage done?”
“A lot of stock was destroyed, but I managed to recover some.”
“Shit, I’m sorry, Nee.”
The bell over the door goes and I glance up from where I’m standing to see Jared in the doorway. I blink, sure he’ll disappear like an apparition, but he doesn’t. He rubs absently at his neck, his expression a little wary. I don’t blame him. The last time I saw him was a few days ago and he was telling me the kiss we shared was a mistake.
He also told me he was responsible for his wife’s death, which has been playing on my mind in a loop. How could he be responsible for that? What I know of the man is he’s a good guy. No way did he cause someone else’s death. I want to ask, but I don’t want to poke at any old wounds.
Without taking my eyes off Jared, I speak into the phone. “Harry, I’ve got to go. Let me know how you get on with the portrait.”
“Will do, Nee. Bye.”
I hang up, muttering a bye, but my attention is already firmly locked on Jared.
“What are you doing here?” I demand, but my voice is not as firm as I would like. There’s a slight tremble in my words.
“I uh… I’m sorry.”
This surprises me. I didn’t expect an apology.
“Apology accepted,” I declare, feeling magnanimous in this moment, although the dejected look on his face has me rethinking this.
“I reacted badly the other day. I shouldn’t have called what we did a mistake.”
