Page 59 of If Tomorrow Never Comes

“Me too.” She sounded almost breathless. “It feels like every time I look at them, I notice something new. A different blend of color or a texture I didn’t see before.”

“Where’d you find them?”

“I went to Dundee, like you suggested.” She pointed to the one in the middle. “That was the only one on display, but I met the artist and asked if she had more like it.”

“That’s awesome.” He regarded them for another moment, then stood and checked out the rest of the room. His eye caught on a bouquet of aging flowers in the middle of the coffee table, and an ugly sensation settled low in his belly. Jealousy wasn’t an emotion he was familiar with, and certainly wasn’t welcome when it came to Elliott.

She’s not yours.

But ... where had they come from? A man? A friend? Had she picked them up for herself, just because?

He’d go with the last one, because if he spent too long considering another man vying for her attention, he’d be tempted to create his own bouquet for her, all with fresh blooms from the nursery. He’d arrange something a hell of a lot better than that one.

She caught him eyeing the vase, and her lips twitched. “I couldn’t find peonies anywhere.”

God, was he that obvious? He kept his face carefully neutral and cleared his throat, hoping to move on before he did something idiotic like offer to bring her some. “So what’s the plan? Have you measured and marked where you want them?”

She chewed on the inside of her cheek. “No. I just know where I want them.”

“They don’t look too heavy. Do they have wires in the back?” He reached to the side to tip one piece forward.

“I don’t know.”

“Got a level?”

“No.”

He dropped his chin to his chest. “Elliott.”

“What?”

He lifted his eyes to hers, trying not to smile. “Were you just going to hammer nails in the wall and hope it worked out?”

“Maybe?”

He released a dramatic sigh. “Okay. First, I need to go back to my apartment and get more stuff. The paintings are already wired, but we need a tape measure, level, and picture hangers. Then we need to measure the spot and mark it—”

“Jamie?”

He stopped.

“Can you stop mansplaining and just do it?”

Laughing, he went for the door. “Yeah. I can do that.”

“Hank can stay with me.”

Jamie noted where his dog had already made himself at home on her couch. “He seems good with that.”

He went back to his place, gathered the supplies in his toolbox, and returned. She told him where she wanted them and he got to work, determining where the nails should go, marking the spot with a pencil.

“So is this all the art you wanted?”

“It’s all I’m going to buy. I like photography, and thought maybe one weekend I’d find some cool places to take pictures around town. If I get any good shots, I can print them and hang them in my room.”

“I’m not sure what subjects you’re looking for, but there are some cool old barns outside the city. Some are close enough to the road youcould get shots from just off the highway. They’d look great in black and white.”

“You have an idea for everything, don’t you?” she said.

---