I smiled as I turned.
"You already own two of my pieces," he said, shaking my hand with both of his.
"I do," I agreed. "And I love them. I would probably own more if your stuff was in a gallery in Charleston."
He looked me over. He was the opposite of AJ, but still handsome. He was thin with dark hair and sharp features. He wore stylish dark clothes, and he had a short beard with shaggy hair and glasses. He and AJ were completely different. AJ would win in a fight, but Garrett had rockstar appeal.
Garrett checked me out before his eyes roamed to AJ. "I'm Garrett Coleman," he said putting his hand out to shake AJ's. The gentlemen shook hands.
I didn't wish to compare them. There was no point. I was rarely smitten, and now two men in a row had managed to make me feel something, and they were both standing in front of me. It was surreal.
"Are you Allie's boyfriend, husband?" Garrett was the one who asked a question. I was shocked by how bold he was being with AJ.
"AJ is my security," I clarified so that AJ wouldn’t have to answer such a question.
Garrett looked relieved. He smiled and reached out for my hand, taking me to the back of the room and completely ignoring AJ. "These are my most recent pieces," he said, weaving my arm in his and holding onto me. He assumed AJ would follow behind us, and he did.
For the next little while, Garrett brought me around, showing me art and introducing me to people. I was pleasantly surprised that he only mentioned my last name to about two groups out of ten. It was refreshing that the majority of the time he simply introduced me as Allie and didn't mention Summer.
His pieces were all priced between two and five thousand. I knew I would be out more money to have it framed and shipped to the house, but they were beautiful, and I never dreamed that Garrett would pay so much attention to me. There was no way I could leave there without buying a painting.
One of the people Garrett introduced me to was the owner of a local restaurant, and they invited me to share a meal there the following evening. I knew I would be spending the next day transformed into my sister and having a migraine in bed.
Instead, I made plans with them for the following Sunday for brunch. Garrett said he would be there as well. He mentioned casually that I should invite my sister, but he didn't say it in front of the restaurant owners, and I was thankful he didn't because that would have put me on the spot. I liked Garrett, and he was much nicer than I imagined he would be, considering his level of success in the art world.
I was happy things went so well at the art gallery. I held it in my mind to talk to my sister and Brooks and make sure our schedule allowed for me to go to brunch on Sunday.
It felt nice to meet people and make connections that had nothing to do with my sister. I didn't resent the fact that most of my connections in life came from Summer, but it was also refreshing to meet people and make plans on my own. It was all really glamorous and artsy. I liked Garrett, and he seemed to have influential, cool friends. It was still the beginning of my trip to Miami, and already I was loving it.
I exchanged numbers with Garrett and he agreed to text me to set up a time for Sunday. I left the art gallery an hour and a half after I arrived, and by that time, I had met several people, made plans with Garrett, and bought a piece of art. It was a 24x24 piece—one of his smaller ones.
I wrote him a check, and the next thing I knew, I was back on the road with AJ. He took me shopping. I had researched a few boutique stores that I wanted to visit, and AJ took me around before we went back to the hotel.
I had more fun getting to know AJ than I did getting to know Garrett or shopping. AJ was a ladies' man, and I asked him candid questions about going out in Miami. We laughed about Garrett, and he told me that Garrett was definitely interested in me, and that he also didn't like him or trust him. It wasn't jealousy that made AJ not like Garrett, though. AJ was too much of a player to be jealous of me. It was more that he was doing a good job of being a bodyguard.
AJ walked me upstairs to the suite later that afternoon when we were finished. Summer and the others weren't there. There was a note from her on the counter that said they were at the pool.
"Thank you," I said to AJ.
"Do you have a piece of paper?" he asked.
"I'm sure Brooks has some on the desk, but I also have a notebook in my room. How much do you need?"
"I’m leaving you my number," he said. "Not for a job. I mean, I would work a job. But Brooks has my number for that. You can call me for a job, too, but I want to leave my number for you. I want you to have someone you can call, personally, if you need anything while you're here in Miami. I'll be here the whole time you and your sister are visiting."
I took my phone out of my pocket. We stood right next to each other in the living room area of the suite. It was light and airy with beautiful furniture. Everything was white, grey, and silver. AJ was only a foot or two from me, and the whole exchanging of numbers thing made this day feel like it was a date. Did I want it to feel like it was a date? It was crazy that I basically set a date with Garrett when I left the gallery. I regretted that. I nervously handed AJ my phone. Stopping to unlock it for him first.
"You can just put your number in there," I said. "It's really nice of you to give me your number in case I need anything. At first I thought you were just trying to give me your number for other reasons." I laughed awkwardly because I hadn't meant for the comment to come out of my mouth.
He turned to look at me. "I am giving you my number for any reason you want." He was serious and his gaze was scorching. Those blue eyes melted me, and I smiled nervously.
"Thank you," I said, taking my phone back.
Chapter 6
Summer Stockton
I had no work on the movie set that Friday, and I had already let my sister know that I would be pretending to have a headache so that we could switch places and I could get out of the suite. I was looking forward to getting out and enjoying some time in Miami without having people want to take pictures or follow me around.