Page 63 of Love Deep

I chuckle. “But you like it?”

I shrug. “I guess. I had it at a wedding once.”

Our lives are so different. But I wasn’t always living it large in New York. My family wasn’t poor, but we weren’t living-in-a-penthouse-in-Manhattan wealthy, either. It’s not like we don’t have things in common.

“How are you feeling about today?” I take the foil off the bottle and untwist the wire holding the cork in place.

“Grace is lovely,” she says.

“Very nice. And she loved your work.”

Juniper nods. “Yeah. That was good to hear. You think she was just being kind?”

I pour out the champagne into the two wineglasses. “I know for a fact she wasn’t. After you’d left the Club, she and I had lunch with Byron and Rosey. It was a shame you couldn’t join.”

“Yeah, thanks for inviting me. I’m sorry, I had to get back for Riley.”

“It’s fine.” I hand her the glass and raise mine. “To you and all that awaits you.”

She smiles, but it’s more reserved than I’m used to fromher. “Thank you, Fisher. You’ve been so kind to introduce me to Grace and to bring her here and… I know you’re busy and have a thousand other things to think about. I don’t want you to think I don’t appreciate it.”

“It’s fine. I enjoy introducing people who are going to work well with them. And finding talent and helping it soar is my passion. There is nothing to thank me for. I’m getting a kick out of all this.” Fact is, helping Juniper is more fulfilling to me than breaking any musical artist before her. There’s no pretense with her. No ego. I’m really rooting for her.

She glances down into her lap. “It’s just that… the stuff she was saying about my work. It’s so flattering. I didn’t go to art school, and other than a passionate high school art teacher, I’m self-taught. I just don’t know how I’d ever fit into a world where I have to network with important collectors and gallery owners.”

“You don’t need to fit in with them. You just need to be you.”

She presses her lips together in a way that tells me she doesn’t believe a word I’m saying.

“I’m serious. That’s what agents are for. They can help you find your way, attract the right attention. This is going to be good for you.”

She shakes her head and I get a twinge in my gut, like she’s hurting and that hurts me.

“What?”

“Fisher, I have a job and a daughter and responsibilities. I can’t fit in a pedicure, let alone more time in the studio working on more canvases.”

“I get it. But this could be a job, too.”

She lets out a half laugh. “Yeah, but it’s not paying me amonthly salary like the one I get at the school, and I don’t have a ton to fall back on. Or really anything other than what I got from the Colorado Club, which I’m saving most of for Riley’s college.”

She’s such a good mom. She could take this opportunity for herself, but she wants to keep it for her kid instead.

“I get it. It’s a tough decision. You’re either willing to bet on yourself or you’re not.”

“From the guy who came into town on a helicopter.”

“I didn’t always have money, Juniper. But I knew what I wanted and I went for it.”

“Yeah, and you didn’t have a kid at the time. Or a mortgage payment.”

I can’t argue with what she’s saying. I don’t know what it’s like to be responsible for another human being. Priorities must shift. And maybe it makes you less willing to gamble.

“I have a proposition for you,” I say. “I’m going to have to go back to New York for a couple of days. I need to have a couple of conversations with people face-to-face. Why don’t you come with me? Bring Riley. We can go to the Met and the MoMA. And you can meet up with Grace and maybe have a few meetings with agents.”

She starts to shake her head, but I can’t let her give up.

“You’ll just gather information. Then you can make a more informed decision. There might be answers to your concerns that you’re not even aware of.”