Page 24 of Blame It on the Bikini
Seeing Josie's gaze move in his direction, he knew Ava was right. "Thanks for the heads-up. I'll see you later."
He jogged up the stairs and into his apartment. As he shut the door, he felt relief at the quiet coolness of the interior, but as he sat down at his computer, his mind kept drifting not just to the party below, but also to the people who had gathered to make one little girl feel like the most special person on the planet. The tenants did seem to go out of their way for each other.
He told himself it didn't matter. Even if he didn't sell, it wouldn't always be this way, this same group of people. It was an apartment building. Serena and Brad were having a kid. They might decide they need a house one day. Same with Madison and Gabe, and Ava and Liam. People would come and go. The community would change. He was just going to force it to change a little sooner.
As he flipped through the files on his computer, he came across Ava's report and thought about reading through it, but what was the point? He wasn't going to change his mind. The value of the building was in the land, not the people. And he was a businessman. It was his job to make money for the company, for the employees they supported, and for their investors.
With that reminder, he skipped over the report and moved on to the business he could actually close in the next few days, a sale that didn't involve anyone he knew, which certainly made things a lot easier.
Chapter Seven
Wednesday morning, Lexie walked into town, relieved to have some time for herself. She'd spent the first two days of the week at a series of family and engagement photo shoots, as well as taking several meetings with prospective brides. She'd also spent several hours yesterday trying to get the perfect shot of Maeve Rian’s poodle—an exhausting test of patience that only reinforced her doubts about the new career path she had created for herself.
She'd never wanted a career shooting brides, families, and pets, but those photo shoots were taking up most of her time, and she had little left to pursue her real goals. Maybe Grayson had been somewhat right when he'd suggested she'd traded one form of servitude for another, and one that also paid less.
It was time to start changing her priorities. She'd left her law job more than two years ago, and she hadn't replaced one photo on her dining room wall. She had to do better, and the first step was talking to the gallery owner to see if she could still set up a show. Having a deadline might force her to get her act together.
A few minutes later, she stopped in front of an art gallery on Fourth Avenue. Taking a breath to strengthen her resolve, she opened the door, a small brass bell emitting a soft, cheerful chime as she stepped inside, the cool air a welcome break from the rising heat outside.
The Art Nest was quiet at mid-morning, sunlight pouring through tall front windows and spilling across polished hardwood floors. Framed photographs and paintings covered the walls—seascapes, abstracts, portraits—the best of local talent curated with Sienna Dunne's impeccable eye. Sienna, a dark-eyed brunette in her early thirties, gave her a smile as she moved from behind the front counter to greet her.
"Lexie. It's good to see you. I hope you're here to tell me you want to take me up on my offer."
"I do." She still felt uncertain about that decision, but the words had already left her mouth. "If you're still interested."
"Of course. I would love to have you show during the art walk on the Fourth of July weekend."
That was almost three months away, which gave her the time she needed. "That would be perfect because I want to work on getting more shots before then."
"Great. Let's put you on the calendar for July first through the end of the month. If things go well, we'll do another show in the fall."
"I hope it goes well. I'm nervous about it."
Sienna gave her a warm smile. "Every artist says exactly the same thing to me, and I understand, but I also know talent when I see it. And I've seen it in some of the photos you showed me a few weeks ago. I'm glad you decided to move forward."
"You're handing me a great opportunity. I don't know why I even hesitated. Thank you, Sienna. I hope I won't let you down."
"You won't." As another customer entered the gallery, she said goodbye and headed outside, feeling both exhilarated and terrified. She’d taken the first step, but there was still a long way to go before she’d be ready for a show. And she needed coffee to think about what to do next.
She’d only gone half a block when she saw Grayson standing in front of the hardware store, phone in hand, his brow furrowed like the screen had personally insulted him. Wearing dark jeans, a white shirt with sleeves rolled to the elbows, and expensive sunglasses, he looked handsome and sophisticated, and a tingle ran down her spine. When she hadn't been thinking about her business goals, she'd been thinking about him, wondering what he'd been doing, because she hadn't seen him at all. If she hadn't seen his car in the lot, she might have thought he'd decided to bail on his month at Ocean Shores. But apparently not…
"Grayson?" she said. "Are you lost?"
His head whipped up, a frown crossing his lips. "I'm looking for a print shop. It's supposed to be nearby, but my GPS sent me here."
"I know where the shop is. It's tucked on a side street around the corner, and GPS often doesn't find shops on that street. You're close. I can show you if you want."
"Thanks. What are you up to?" he asked as they walked down the block.
"I just stopped in at the gallery that's interested in giving me a show."
He gave her a questioning look. "And…"
"I told her I'd like to do it. Thankfully, the owner wants to schedule my show for early July, so I have time to get more photos, which I definitely need to do."
"How do you feel?"
"Excited. Scared out of my mind. Afraid I won't be able to come up with work that I'm really proud of. Which is probably more than you wanted to know."
