“He mentioned it.” I felt like this conversation was akin to pulling teeth. Painful and slow.
“Um, okay, so the thing is we’ve been having a hard time finding an artist. We had a guy out of Pittsburg lined up, but he pulled out at the last minute due to work conflicts. Very unprofessional if you ask me.” Adam frowned in a way that I recognized all too well as him being annoyed.
“Agreed. Very unprofessional.”
Hurry up and get to the point.
“So I don’t know what your plans are for work now that you’re home—”
“I’m not home. I’m here to help Mom sell the house and get settled. That’s it,” I found myself explaining in frustration.
Adam was smirking again as if my reaction tickled him.
Dick.
“Okay, well, while you’re here helping your mom out, I was wondering whether you’d be interested in doing the mural.”
That wasn’t what I expected him to say at all.
“I uh...well, I—” I stuttered and stammered like an idiot.
“It’s a paid gig. Good money too. We’ve been fundraising for this for the past two years. You’d be given a flat commission of 30,000 dollars.”
I almost swallowed my tongue.
“Thirty thousand dollars?” I croaked.
Adam nodded. “It’s a big project. You’d be painting the side of my office building and the entire wall along Minister’s Walk. We expect it to take at least six weeks. You’d have to draft up a sketch, and the committee would need to approve it, of course.”
“Of course,” I rasped.
He started talking quickly, and I could barely take it all in. Something about color schemes and thematic elements.
Huh?
I was stuck on the money. Thirty thousand dollars. I had never made that much money for my artwork before. The publicity it could provide would be a huge boost to my art career. It would be a major feature in my portfolio.
And it would help Mom out in a huge way.
I held up my hand, and he stopped speaking. “Why me?” I wondered whether Mom had spoken to Marion and Tom about her situation. Even though she was prideful, there wasn’t much she kept from her best friend. Had she talked to them about my struggles with my artwork?
Was this fucking charity?
I felt myself stiffen at the thought. I would not have Adam Ducate feeling sorry for me.
“Chill out, Meg. You’re an amazing artist. The best I’ve ever seen—”
“You’re an art connoisseur now?” I snapped, feeling testy.
Adam laughed. “Not by a country mile, but I know talent when I see it. I have a very discerning eye, and you’re the perfect artist for this project. Not only because your work speaks for itself, but because you’re from here. You know the town. It’s history. You’ll have an emotional investment that some random artist won’t have.”
I tried not to let on at how excited I was at the prospect. Not only because of the money but to have the chance to paint on such a large scale was more than I could dream of.
“So what do you think?” Adam’s eyes bore into mine, and I couldn’t look away. He always could pull me in, no matter how hard I resisted. Our breathing was in tandem. The air crackled between us. I licked my dry lips, and I noticed him staring at my mouth.
What the—?
The memory of his soft lips on mine came to my mind unbidden. His sweet face hovering above me. Our prepubescent bodies were so attuned to one another. My stomach flipped and rolled.
And then I thought of those same lips kissing Chelsea, and my guts soured, and I felt like throwing something.
Preferably at his head.
Skylar appeared by our table, two coffees in hand.“I guess they let any old asshole in here these days.”
“Skylar.” Adam spoke her name with such warmth it made me tense up. It couldn’t be jealousy I felt...no way. It was vexation. Yes, that was it. I was vexed.
“Hey, stranger. Long time no see.” Skylar handed me my coffee before putting hers down. Then without any qualms, she threw her arms around my former best friend’s neck and hugged him tightly.
Okay, that bugged me. Since when were they still friends? I thought Skylar was staunchly on Team Meg? We used to joke about making T-shirts. But I must have missed something because it was very clear Adam and Skylar were buddies.
I clenched my teeth and worked on that biting my tongue thing again.
I was becoming a master.
“I was planning to swing by your place next month when I’m in the city for a trial. I was thinking we could go to that Thai place you took me to last time,” Adam said, grinning at Skylar with all the easy familiarity one reserves for close friends.
So they went out to eat? Adam visited Sky in Pittsburgh? I couldn’t help glaring at Skylar, who noticed my less than pleased expression. She returned my look blandly.
“I’m not sure what I’ll be doing next month. I’ve got some stuff going on, and things are up in the air,” Skylar told him honestly.
Adam gave her a sympathetic squeeze. “Everything okay, Sky?”
Skylar’s body wilted a little. “Mac and I split up.”
Adam put down his coffee and gave her another hug. This one lasted longer. I felt like I was the third wheel.
Adam kissed her forehead. “You’re better off. I was never a fan of that guy.”
Adam had met Mac? It seemed Skylar had kept some secrets.
Skylar shot a look my way, this one less bland and more worried.
“Thanks, Adam.”
They both went quiet, and I figured it was because of me. They both looked my way, and then Adam made his excuses.
“I need to get to work. It was good seeing you, Sky. Kyle had mentioned getting everyone together for a cookout now that Meg is back. Would you be down?”
Ugh, Kyle was as bad as my mother when it came to pushing Adam and me into the same proximity.
Skylar inclined her head in agreement. “Why not? Could be a hoot. Right, Meg?” She eyeballed me intensely. I detested close scrutiny.
“Yep, a hoot,” I parroted.
Adam turned to me as I spoke. I felt like I was in the spotlight when his eyes were on me as if he could see everything. Even the stuff I tried to hide. That was the problem when you hated the person you used to be closest to. They still knew you inside and out, whether you wanted them to or not.
“Think about the mural. I have to decide by the end of the week, so you don’t have much time, but I hope you do it.”
“I will. I’ll let you know,” I assured him.
Adam smiled that smile that used to unleash the butterflies inside me—and still did if I was being honest—and with a final goodbye, he left.
Skylar took a drink of her coffee. “What’s this mural thing?”
I sat back in the chair and regarded my best friend with a stern look. “And what’s with you and Adam eating Thai together?”
Skylar rolled her eyes. “Point three seconds.”
“Huh?”
She shook her head. “That’s how long it took you to bring up Adam and me still talking.” She dumped a packet of sugar into the drink. “You may hate Adam, but that doesn’t mean I have to hate Adam.”
“But it does! It’s the girl code!” I exclaimed.