Page 36 of Sweet Escape at Bayside
Chloe giggled and whispered something to Emery.
“His body isnoton the menu,” Violet snapped, and then she turned a softer tone to Andre and said, “I’ve got to take off. Are you sure you’re going to be okay with the vultures?”
“He’s fine,” Dean assured her.
“Seriously?” Serena asked. “You’re going off on one of yourmysteriousoutings? You guys closed the innandthe gallery. Where could you possibly go?”
“My world is bigger than this inn,” Violet said, and Andre squeezed her hand.
Emery made atsksound. “I can’t believe you’re taking off when there’s a hot guy here for you. I need to give you relationship lessons, and that really says something about you, because before Dean, I sucked at them.”
“I have things to take care of today,” Andre said. “Besides, I think I can handle being without Violet for a few hours. She doesn’t need a leash.”
“Says the guy who took relationship advice fromBrindle Montgomery, the queen of the on-again-off-again relationship.” Emery shook her head. “You and Vi really are perfect for each other.”
“Whatever.” Violet turned an apologetic gaze to Andre and said, “Catch ya later?”
“Absolutely.” He gave her a long, passionate kiss, earning a few loud sighs and severalget-a-rooms.
A little while later Violet was greeted by the competing sounds of loud music and the whining grind of Justin’s saw as he cut through a block of stone in his studio. She tossed her keys on the table, grabbed a big metal bowl, and headed for the sink. As she filled the bowl with water, she thought about glazing the sculpture of the torso.
She gathered her tools, and as she wet a piece of sandpaper she realized how rote the steps of sculpting had become and took comfort in them. Before she’d settled down at the Cape, nothing in her life had ever had structure, and she’d taken comfort in that, too. Was it possible to gain comfort from such totally different ways of life—one where she had every modern convenience at her fingertips and another where she often had no idea where she might end up next?
She began gently sanding the neck of the sculpture and worked her way over the shoulders and down the back, pausing only to rewet the sandpaper. She sanded around the rough scar on the left side of the lower back, leaving the palm-sized area jagged and marred. She paused, a chill running through her as she recalled the story he’d told her about saving a little boy and her mother from a burning hut.
“Hey, babe. You okay?” Justin asked.
Violet blinked several times, realizing she’d zoned out. “Yeah. Fine.” She should be used to the vivid memories by now. She saw it every time she sculpted a torso. “Is Dixie up at the house?”
“Nah. She took off a few days ago.”
“Will she be back for the suicide-awareness rally?”
“No. She’s got stuff going on. I didn’t think you’d be in for a while since your guy’s in town.” He crossed his arms, and his expression turned serious. “You sure you’re okay? You look a little pale.”
“Yes, and stop looking at me like you’re trying to analyze me.”
He flashed a cocky grin. “Just making sure you didn’t get your steel heart broken.”
“I didn’t.” If anything, being with Andre was putting the pieces of her shattered heart back together. “I’m sorry about everything that went down the other morning.”
“That was kind of weird, huh? Are we still cool? I’m sorry I came over, but—”
“No. We’re good. Don’t be sorry.”
He uncrossed his arms and then crossed them again, and she knew something was bugging him.
“Spit it out, Jus.”
“It’s nothing, really. I just hadn’t realized I had never been to see you during the day. Do Chloe and all those people come over for breakfast all the time?”
“Crazy, right?” she said with a smile. “Yeah, they do. After Des and Rick hooked up, we met everyone else, and then Emery came up from Oak Falls, fell in love with Dean…”
“Yeah, I know.” He cocked a grin. “Six-pack Jack?”
They both laughed.
“Thatwas a fun morning,” Violet said sarcastically, although she was grateful for the night Justin had stayed with her.
