Page 23 of Melody

Dammit. When Kyle used to let his facial hair grow out just a little, people didn’t ask that question. Scarlett said, “I tend bar at Tequilaville.”

“Do youwantto see our IDs?”

The woman looked a little uneasy for just a moment, so Kyle reached into his back pocket for his wallet. She was going to be shocked when she saw that he was 25. As he pulled out his license, he realized Scarlett wasn’t getting hers out. The woman held his license for a long time, apparently inexperienced in that department, but was finally satisfied, handing it back to Kyle. Therehadbeen a time long ago when he and Hayley were kids that they’d had fake IDs—but he couldn’t remember if they’d actually used them.

Finally, the woman said to Scarlett, “Can I see yours as well?”

“I don’t plan to drink.”

But the woman hadn’t lost the uncomfortable expression on her face. Kyle wasn’t about to tell Scarlett what to do, but he wondered why she wasn’t just handing her license over. After all, as she’d just mentioned, she had to card people at her job on a regular basis.

Scarlett finally gave the woman a curt nod and reached into her small purse. Pulling out the thin plastic license, she handed it over and allowed the woman to take it. Again, she scrutinized the ID as if her life depended on it. Then she looked up at Scarlett again. “You changed your hair color.”

Scarlett’s smile seemed forced. “Yep.”

Kyle wanted to see the photo now, wondering what color her hair had been when she’d gotten it. Blonde? Black? Red? Purple? He couldn’t quite imagine her any way other than how she looked now with her shiny brown hair. But when the womanhanded Scarlett back her license, she quickly shoved it back inside her purse.

“Don’tIget to see it, Tink?”

“Maybe later.” Her cheeks almost pink, she shook her head and smiled. “It’s an awful picture.”

Suddenly, it seemed like she wasn’t having much fun now—and Kyle couldn’t understand why. Before they’d walked inside, he’d felt like things were on the right track. Now, not so much—so he didn’t want to push it. “Everybody’s driver’s license picture is awful.” He winked at her and then turned back to the woman. “So how does this work again?”

Finally, her face was again relaxed. “As I was saying, help yourself to the refreshments. The hors d’oeuvres are fromUne Touche de France.” Kyle tried not to laugh, because the woman really got into the French accent as she said the name of the only French restaurant in Silver City. “The tarts and cheesecake bites are from Sweet Things Bakery, and the wine is from the Silver Dollar Vineyard and Winery.”

He nodded, not knowing if he should say anything, but realized this was all very serious to her.

She continued. “You’ll also find some guides on the table—some information about tonight’s artist and more. If you find a piece marked for sale that you’d like to purchase and there’s nothing on the label noting it’s already been sold, just find me or one of my assistants and we’ll help you out. My assistants will be wearing a nameplate like mine.” The woman touched the tag pinned to the upper left side of her jacket. “If youdobuy one of the pieces in the showcase, you will have to pick it up later this week. But feel free to mingle, chat with all the guests, enjoy the art—and chat with the artist too if you like.”

“Thanks.” Kyle shifted his gaze to Scarlett. “Are you ready?”

She simply nodded, her mood quite definitely dampened. What exactly had happened—and would he be able to recoverthe evening? Or would this so far disastrous date ruin any chances he had to get to know her better?

CHAPTER 10

Although Scarlett had relaxed somewhat as they’d made their way through the gallery—and particularly the showcase area—she still seemed uncomfortable. Kyle began to experience the same sensation as they moved through the area but not because of her. He didn’t know much about Scarlett, something he was trying to remedy this evening, buthewas uneasy around people of this caliber. Just the way they looked at him communicated that they didn’t understand how someone of his class thought he could invade their hoity-toity party.

These werenothis people.

He’d only ever felt this way once before. He’d been maybe twenty and, still on his mother’s insurance, he’d continued going to the dentist regularly. But his old dentist in Charlotte retired, so he started seeing someone else in Silver City, and the guy seemed to be friendly. A week after a checkup, Kyle and Hayley had gone to Safeway for some reason. It was later in the evening, and Kyle spotted his dentist walking away from the meat department. “Oh, hey!” he’d said. “You’re my dentist. Hi!”

But he hadn’t had an enthusiastic response. The few times he’d seen his old dentist in the wild, they’d had a pleasant,though brief and professional, exchange. The new dentist, though…in Safeway, he’d acted like Kyle was the scum of the earth, a person with a contagious disease. He hadn’t actuallysaidanything, had just kind of nodded his head, glanced at Hayley, and then kept walking.

Kyle didn’t bother going to his next appointment.

Tonight, that same feeling of shame simply for being who he was settled over him like a coat as they walked around the gallery. Coming here had turned out to be a shitty idea. Finally, as they looked at the last painting in the showcase, Kyle said, “You wanna get out of here?”

“In just a minute.” She was transfixed by the painting, an impressionistic view of a mountain scene in fall and when Kyle read the title “Maroon Bells in Autumn,” he knew it was somewhere in Colorado. He’d heard of the Maroon Bells but had never seen them himself. Looking at the painting again, he understood why Scarlett was lost in it— in the background, the majestic treeless peaks that rose above timberline dusted in snow, the foreground a lake reflecting trees of green and yellow, painted in a dreamy vibe. Underneath the title, Kyle spotted the price—just under a thousand dollars. His portion of the rent and utilities at the house he shared with Adrian and Pedro wasn’t even that much. If it hadn’t been so expensive, he might have bought it for Scarlett.

But that, too, probably would make her uncomfortable.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she asked.

At least their last moment in this stuffy environment wasn’t so bad.

“Yeah.”

“I love it. I love it more than her other paintings—but she’s good.”

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