Page 19 of Sawyer
“That assures me,” Jean Luc murmured.
He fumbled with the cloth napkin in his lap. “She couldalso talk theater and quote Shakespeare. Not common passages likeORomeo,Romeo!wherefore art thou Romeo?orA Rose, by any other name, would Smell as Sweet.She quoted an obscureKing Johnplay.”
He went silent, embarrassment making his throat tight. He sounded like a lovesick schoolboy with a crush.
“Go on, Doc,” Dean encouraged.
“Well…I liked the philosophy behind the quote she chose.” He scratched the back of his head, feeling tension at the base of his neck. “Look, I know the way she approached me is weird. I did a double take too at first. Except we did some research on her and her gallery, and things appeared on the up-and-up. Yes, this is the first gallery she’s run, but she interned at Doray.”
“Okay, that gallery I know,” Brooke said with one of her dragon breaths. “It’s tony. Everything from the artwork on the walls to the antique parquet floor is the crème of the crop.”
“Plus, her father is River Kennison,” Axel noted.
“He is?”Sawyer almost rose out of his chair.
Brooke gasped. “Point in her favor for not mentioningthat.”
Sawyer was still stunned as he fell back onto his chair. “Man, that dude is…the shit. Words fail to do his work justice.”
River Kennison painted on large canvases that needed ladders and scaffoldings, his work conveying the distorted lens through which humans view life and how it limits their perspective. He was downright philosophical about his work in interviews. No wonder Phoebe quoted like she had. But no, she hadn’t name-dropped her famous parent to impress him…
“I’ve met River—he’s as sound of mind as her mother, Ivy.” Axel reached for a piece of bread. “But again, none ofthis matters. Only how Sawyer feels. After all, he is not going out with her parents.”
God, sometimes Axel’s sense of humor cut through the complexities in his mind. He was right. Sawyer reached for his water glass and took a drink. These revelations were drying up all the moisture in his mouth. “I guess it comes down to something pretty simple…I liked her. From the first moment I saw her.”
“Then you must follow your heart, Fourth Course,” Nanine said with a pointed glance at the rest of their friends. “As must we all. However, we are here to listen to your stories, and if there are any red flags, we will uncover them together. Does that appease everyone?”
“Nanine, the peacemaker in the house,” Dean commented, lifting his wineglass in her direction. “How long has it been since you crafted a plan to make everyone feel okay about something troubling us?”
“Not long enough,” she said with a rueful chuckle, picking up her wine as well. “I seem to recall recent concerns about other romantic choices made by the people at this table.”
She was referring to Dean and Jacqueline, since Jacqueline’s family had been selling the wine cave he and his roommates wanted to procure for the restaurant. Later, they’d also been concerned about Axel and Brooke dating while working together.
“And look how all that worked out!” Thea exclaimed in her usual chipper manner.
“So Doc will be vigilant and do all thatlisten to your heartmumbo jumbo,” Madison summed up, a scary smile on her face, “and if Phoebe Anderson is some opportunist or excessive art stalker, we’ll take care of her.”
She and Brooke exchanged a look.
He gulped. “Really, there’s no need for talk of violence.”
Kyle chuckled. “It’s Madison’s love language, Doc.”
“My what?” she erupted. “Take that back, Kyle.”
He only grinned. “No. Bottom line, Doc, we take care of our own. Speaking of… With tomorrow being Monday, would you like me to start setting up meetings for you with the agents we shortlisted?”
“I can get back to the galleries—Phoebe included—and tell them you’re in the process of securing an agent,” Brooke added, “who will be in touch forthwith.”
He stared at his friends. They had big-time jobs, and here they were working as his executive assistants. All because he wasn’t supposed to speak to anyone directly. God, had his life changed.
“Is this part of the Operation Sawyer Thea mentioned?”
“We’re just getting started,” Dean assured him with a wink.
A Voltaire quote came to mind:It is the first law of friendship that it has to be cultivated.This help and concern was their way of cultivating him, like he was the grapes for the next vintage. “Then yes, thank you for the help. Have I mentioned you guys are the best?”
“You don’t need to say it, Sawyer,” Thea told him with a sweet smile. “We know how you feel.”
