Page 61 of Why Cheese?
Cam catches my eye, his look writing a thousand pages on how wrong Cheddy is, but he doesn’t say a word. Instead, he curls his arm around my waist and pulls me to his chest. “You should slip inside before you catch your death.”
“But, what if…?”
“Should our veiny villain emerge from his lair, I will chase him off,” Cam assures me.
It’s silly but I breathe a sigh of relief at the idea. Still, I let both men walk in first, even if they keep trying to hold the door for me. There’s no reason for me to go back in there. I could go to my motel…except I already checked out.Find another motel. Get on a plane. Go home. Just turn my back on all of this.
Cam darts his gaze to my less soaked chest, then my eyes, before he boldly bites his lip. My brain, numb from too many orgasms, sends me stumbling inside after him.
“You’re back!”
I flinch at the loud voice but realize it’s not Roq just as I turn. Brie, his cheeks and fingers stained yellow and orange, clings to a square canvas. It’s turned to hide the front, and he keeps bouncing on his feet. “Did you have fun?” he asks.
“I’d like to think so.” Cam slips behind the counter, leaving me standing alone by the door. “I’ll give you the full tale later.”
“We had sex on a bench!” Cheddy shouts, then he whirrs a drill in his hand and screws a plank of wood to the wall.
“Or he can sum it up for you.”
“That’s good.” Brie’s smile doesn’t falter, but he nervously scratches behind his ear. With his news done, Cam wanders off to inspect the refrigerated counter while I linger beside Brie.
“What about you?” I ask and point to the canvas. “Did you have any luck?”
“Oh? Um…” He starts to scoot back. “It’s not very good. I haven’t done it in years. I’ll just…”
“Are all of these yours?” Cam’s voice cries out. He stands up with two paintings in his hands. One is a sunset or sunrise between two rocky cliffs with golden light streaming into the sea. The second is of a sunny sky in a meadow where deer nibble on wildflowers.
“Yeah, yes, maybe?” Brie dips his head.
I’m in awe. “They’re beautiful.”
“Really?”
“I never expected you to…” I take the one of the sea, blown away by the burst of color contrasted by deepest shadow. It’s so bright I’d swear there’s actual light coming from the painting. “It’s amazing. You’re amazing.”
Brie’s entire face blushes and he tries to hide behind the hidden canvas. “It’s just something I’ve been thinking about, a lot. If I ever got my hands on more paint.”
“What about that one?” I ask, pointing to the last hidden painting. “Is it a sunset?”
“No.” He shakes his head, then he stuffs the canvas under a tarp. “It’s not finished. But I’m glad you like the others. I fear I went a tad feral with the yellow and white.”
“No kidding.” Cam slides around the counter and I follow. Behind it is a makeshift easel from scraps of wood. Brie used one of the old charcuterie boards for his palette. There’s white and yellow paint everywhere from the slate board to the counter and up the walls. “Looks like you had a bit of fun yourself.”
“Oh, did I cause that?” Brie picks up a cloth and tries to wipe away the paint, smearing it across the walls. “Um…?”
“It gives the place character,” I say.
Cam drapes his arm over my shoulder and twists his head to stare at Brie’s accidental paint splotch. “Is that my mother?”
“Everyone leave.”
The jolly mood shatters. Air sucks from my lungs. Roq rises the last few rungs up the ladder and stops before the empty drop with arms crossed. “I need to speak with Miss Reely alone.”
No one moves.
“Now,” Roq thunders. Cheddy leaps in the air and dives for the ladder. Brie carefully lays down his paints and brushes then slips on by.
“Thank you,” he whispers to me before ducking under Roq’s nose.
