Page 136 of The Flirt

"Darling, you sound very exhausted."

"I am," I admitted.

"So, I found the painting."

"What are you talking about?"

"The one of Jackson Square that you asked me to hunt down?"

I instantly felt alert. "That's fucking great news."

"Riiight. I wasn't expecting such an exuberant reply. Is everything all right?"

Usually, I would've just brushed it off by saying, "Fine," but the exhaustion got the better of me.

"No. I kind of screwed things up with Scarlett last night."

There was a pause, and then Mom said, "I honestly don't see how that's possible. You two were adorable."

I ran a hand through my hair. "She got an offer for a job as a chef at her previous restaurant in Seattle."

She gasped. "Oh my goodness. And she wants to take it?"

"No, actually. She insists that she doesn't."

"Then I don't see the problem."

"The problem is that I kind of pushed her by repeatedly saying that she should consider it before saying no."

"That is a trait of LeBlanc men, unfortunately. Thinking you know better than anyone else."

I scoffed. "That was not it."

"Well, it doesn't really matter now, does it?"

"How soon can I pick up the painting?" I asked, finally getting an idea and a plan. Fuck yes, I had a plan.

"Give me an hour or so."

"Perfect. Thank you, Mom." I felt euphoric.

After hanging up, I got another brilliant idea. I was on a damn roll, finally.

Showing, not telling, was my strong suit.

Even though I'd made a massive blunder, I was going to fix it.

I wasn’t going to pick up the painting myself or have it delivered. I had something more important to do. It was a good thing my brothers were in town today because this was going to be a group effort.

I called Beckett, knowing full well that he was going to roast my ass for calling him at 8:00 a.m. on a Saturday. He'd gone with Julian to the bar last night after our family dinner.

"Someone better be dying for you to call me at this hour," he said by way of greeting.

"You're not far off," I said. "It's an emergency."

"Fuck. What happened?"

"Nothing."

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