Page 29 of The Bad Boy’s Homecoming (The Southern Hart Brothers #2)
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Missy
Green with Envy
I f an artist wore their heart on their sleeve, then Missy’s was full of lust and jealousy.
Each new piece was more intense than the last, with vibrant strokes and emotion that nearly jumped from the canvas.
At least that was how her newest work felt.
So much so that she finally had to just focus on cleaning her brushes to take a break from all her feelings, which was a tedious process with one hand.
“Well now, it’s nice to see this fiery side to your work,” Mrs. Hart said, as she waltzed into the sunroom that doubled as Missy’s art studio with her bag of yarn and a tall glass of iced tea. “I was wondering if you only did landscapes.”
After setting her things in her usual chair, Mrs. Hart walked closer to the gallery wall. It was full now with four more new pieces, and she was behind in making frames. Each piece she posted was snatched up by the gallery, so she hadn’t posted the last three. They were the most intense she’d done.
“Missy honey, you know you can talk to me about anything, but I don’t think I’m the audience you’ll want to spill your guts to on this one.” Mrs. Hart pointed to the one of a man’s forearm and a woman’s torso, she’d painted the day before after she and Levi spent the afternoon together.
“I think my muse decided she was tired of the beach,” Missy said.
“I guess so. Maybe your muse needs a ladies’ night out.”
Before Missy could answer there was a knock at the door, and she took the excuse to change the subject about her art. Brooke was there at the back door with a big smile.
“Hey, how is the hand doing?”
“It doesn’t hurt so much as it’s just annoying now. It took me twice as long to clean my brushes.”
She let Brooke in and they walked into the kitchen where all the cleaning supplies were being stored near the sink.
“You know what I think you need?”
“No, but I know you’re going to tell me.”
“You need a night out. I mean when was the last time you went out for drinks with your girlfriends?” Brooke said, then turned on the warm water.
Missy scoffed. What girlfriends she had were back in Atlanta studying for the bar and looking for their first jobs as lawyers.
Most of the girls she’d gone to high school with in Sandy Point had moved away to college and stayed gone.
Brooke’s younger sister, May, was still in town but she was busy with her own business.
In truth, she didn’t have a lot of real friends.
She’d worked for several lawyers as a paralegal while she got her bachelor’s and during the first two years of law school.
Then she spent her free time studying, until she met Peter, the handsome golden boy.
He was in her class, and for some reason in their second year he’d turned his attention on her after an assignment where they were arguing opposite sides of a case.
She’d argued him into a corner, and from then on he’d focused all his attention on her.
“There we go, all done. So I’ll text May and see if she can meet us out for one drink?”
When Missy looked down Brooke had finished washing her burn and redressing it. With an added wrap.
“Okay, why not. You’re right. I’m overdue.”
“Great, I’ll just pop home to check on the boys and change, then pick you up and we can go to Gentry’s.”
“Sure,” Missy said, then showed Brooke out. Levi’s car was still gone, and she wondered if he planned to stay away for good now.
“Mrs. Hart, I’m going to go out with Brooke and May, unless you need me this evening?” she said, popping her head into the sunroom again.
“Wonderful. You don’t worry about me. I’m just going to finish this scarf and probably go to bed early tonight.”
She had the sneaking suspicion that Mrs. Hart had encouraged Brooke to get Missy out of the house. But she couldn’t be mad, because she didn’t want to be home when Levi returned.
After struggling to figure out what to wear, she settled on a pair of fitted jeans with wide legs, a white half shirt that showed just a little peek of her midriff, and a dark green jacket in case it got chilly.
She found her favorite large hoops and let her curly hair fall just below her shoulders.
It was a little wild, but it was too hard to try to do anything with her injured hand.
When Brooke texted, she made her way downstairs to check on Mrs. Hart one more time and was surprised to find Mr. Greer in the kitchen with her.
“Oh, did I forget to mention I invited Clark over for a light dinner? I thought with you and Levi out tonight…” She trailed off.
“That sounds nice. Brooke brought a few of May’s tea cakes over when she stopped by.”
“Missy, I hope your injury isn’t too painful or stopping you from painting,” Mr. Greer said.
“Funny enough, I think it’s inspiring me to paint more than ever.”
Mr. Greer laughed. “That makes perfect sense. We always want what we can’t have, or in an artist’s case, we always want more of what we can’t catch.”
“Can’t catch?” Missy said.
“The muse.”
“Oh, I’ve never heard it talked about before. I guess I should have taken more art history in school instead of law.”
“Why don’t you come by the shop this week and we can talk more about art. You don’t need a degree in it, when you have a gift like yours.”
Missy still felt a little odd talking about her art with people, especially another artist. Because she didn’t really know what she was doing—up until six months ago she didn’t even believe she created the type of art that someone would pay money for.
“Okay, I think I’d like that. Have a good evening.”
Brooke’s car was waiting just down the steps of Hart House, and as comforting as she found this home, it felt like she was stepping into her own as she walked onto the shell driveway and got into Brooke’s car.
“That sigh tells me this drink was long overdue,” Brooke said.
“I think you’re right.”
“Then maybe we better plan on having a few. Don’t worry, we can always get a ride home. And I better warn you, May said she plans to dance on the bar tonight, so…”
Missy couldn’t help but laugh. If anyone would deliver on that promise it would be May.
“I’ve never danced on a bar, but I’m not ruling it out.”
Brooke looked over at her. “Okay, let’s get this girl a drink.”
An hour later they were on their second round of magic margaritas and all three of them were dancing at their table in the local bar. The bar was one big U shape, with half facing the inside where the band played and an outdoor section with beach views.
“I love this song. Come on, Missy.” May grabbed her good hand and pulled her out to the crowded dance floor.
“I’ll stay with our bags,” Brooked called.
On the dance floor there were mostly out-of-towners on vacation in Sandy Point.
The band was playing a classic beach bar song and everyone was singing along.
May swung Missy around and they danced and laughed.
She actually forgot all about her worries until they headed back to the bar and found Brooke talking with a tall, well-built man.
When they got closer she could tell it was Miles Banks.
“No boys allowed here,” May said, giving Miles’s hip a bump as she reached past him for their drinks and then handed Missy hers.
“Good evening, May Garcia, Missy,” Miles said. His deep voice was soothing, but his eyes didn’t leave May. The way he looked at her it was clear where his interest lay.
“Miles was just saying he was supposed to meet his date here, but it looks like she stood him up,” Brooke said.
“Well that is sad, but he can’t join our party. It’s girls’ night, remember?” May said and finished her drink.
“Don’t worry, I’m not much of a dancer. I think I’ll go chat with the sheriff and sip some warm milk. But if you ladies need a ride home later, I’d be happy to assist.” Miles let his hand rest on May’s back for a brief second, and in the crowd, it could have been an accident.
Missy sipped her drink and studied May’s reaction, which seemed to be aggravated.
“Is there something wrong?” Missy asked.
“No, no, Miles is just one of those men who thinks all women are going to fall all over him because he’s a Banks,” May said.
“I never thought of Miles that way, but I’m biased because he’s such a great uncle to Max. Even if Max’s dad sucks.” Brooke said over the band that was starting another upbeat song.
“Let’s not worry about him. We’re here to have fun,” May said, climbing to stand on the chair and then on the bar.
Before they could stop her, she was dancing and hyping up the crowd so much several other women joined her.
“Well, she did warn us,” Brooke said.
Missy laughed but when she looked across the bar to where Miles sat next to Wesley, he was grimacing. Then her eyes found the man next to them. Levi was there too, and he just stared at Missy.
She gulped like she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t, even though she didn’t owe him anything.
But when another man stepped close to her and asked her if he could buy her a drink, she said no.
She spent the rest of the night avoiding looking at Levi and wishing he would come over to say hi.
But he wasn’t hers and he never would be.