Page 31 of The Bad Boy’s Homecoming (The Southern Hart Brothers #2)
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Missy
Playing the Fool
“C an you believe how talented Clark is? That studio was impressive.” Mrs. Hart was going on and on about the career Clark had before he’d settled in Sandy Point and opened a pottery and art supply shop.
But all Missy could think about was what Levi was doing at home with the beautiful woman he’d already slept with.
The fact that she even thought of his childhood home as her home was a whole other problem.
“It was very impressive,” Missy agreed as she navigated the winding road back to Hart House.
Part of her wanted Levi to be gone and the other part hoped he was there when she walked through the door.
She was definitely relieved when she saw his black sports car was the only car parked in the driveway.
“Oh good, that little harpy is gone,” Mrs. Hart said.
Missy just smiled and parked. “You go ahead and I’ll bring in my supplies.”
“Why don’t you leave that and let Levi get it for you,” Mrs. Hart said.
Even with her bum hand she didn’t want to ask for any help from Levi, so instead she picked up the bag of new paints and put it over her injured hand and around her wrist. Then she picked up two of the new canvases with her other hand.
But when she got to the screen door, she realized her stubborn dilemma.
Levi appeared and opened the door, then took the canvas from her hand while holding the door open for her.
She was forced to walk close to him to pass inside, and she could smell his manly spiced and sweet scent.
As she walked into the always comforting kitchen she spotted his luggage and her heart sank.
“I don’t mind you leaving for a few days if it’s to end all this gossip about a baby. But I guarantee it’s not yours,” Mrs. Hart was saying.
“I think you’re right, but this is the best option. Declan had her served with the paternity test court order, so we should know in a week or less.”
“My cousin is representing you?” Missy said, surprised she didn’t realize it before.
Levi glanced at her with an apologetic look. “I was already working with him on the contracts and since he handles family law I needed someone I could trust.”
Missy shook her head. She didn’t know why it bothered her, but it felt like a betrayal by both of them. Even though she had no claim on Levi, and Declan wouldn’t know she wanted to.
“I just didn’t realize he handled cases out of town,” Missy said recovering.
Mrs. Hart stepped in front of Levi and placed her hands on his cheeks. “You keep your calm and I’m sure this will all get fixed. But stay away from that woman. She’s trouble and I’d bet she doesn’t know who the father is.”
Levi hugged his grandmother and then Mrs. Hart left them alone in the kitchen. But Missy was already headed to her art studio with the bag of paint. Levi followed her with the canvases and let them rest against the gallery wall where she kept her blank ones.
“I’m sorry,” Levi said, to her back.
“No need.”
She could feel him move closer, but he didn’t touch her. She wondered if he didn’t want to or felt like he shouldn’t.
“I’m sorry my past is getting in the way, but once this is settled, I hope you’ll give me a real chance.”
“A real chance at what? Your life is up in the air, and I don’t think you’ll give me much thought once you’re gone. This was just one of those…” She trailed off.
“No, it’s more.” Then his hand was on her back, and he was turning her to face him, while his other hand swooped up to her neck to cradle her head.
She was immune to stop him. She wanted his touch so badly it didn’t matter if he was leaving and would probably not be back for another year. It didn’t matter he was leaving to find out if he was the father of another woman’s child.
“I know you feel this thing between us, and it scares you, that my reputation probably scares you. But I promise I’m not bad.
I want to be with you, and I think we can make this work.
” His mouth was on hers and she stretched up on her tiptoes to meet his kiss.
It was the kind of slow, sweet kiss that made her want to believe him.
His thumb traced away a tear she didn’t realize she’d let slide down her cheek.
And his lips followed the trail before returning to her mouth.
“Just don’t give up on me. I’ll be back. ”
With a sigh she stepped away and released her hand from gripping his forearm. There was so much between them, so much she wanted to say and explore, but he wasn’t really available for her. Levi Hart was worse than his Bad Boy reputation, he was a heartbreaker.
“Good luck in Atlanta. I hope you get what you want.”
“I’ll be back in two days, and we’re going to finish this conversation.”
She turned away to focus on her paints, even if she couldn’t see them through her blurry tears.
His hand was on her back, rubbing it in comfort, before his mouth placed one last kiss on her neck. And then he was gone.
Missy stayed in her studio the rest of the day and used all her blank canvases. She posted all but one, dark blue and black, a couple embracing in the rain. She would keep this one to remind her how much it hurt to let someone go that you never even had.
*
The next day Missy woke with a start from an odd dream.
She’d been walking through a crowded gallery full of her paintings, and everyone was toasting her.
It had felt so real she wondered if it was more of a vision than a dream.
Logging into her email she saw she had several more requests from the art gallery in Atlanta to do an exhibit of her work.
She finally replied and said she would like to discuss the size and style of an exhibit.
The gallery curator replied quickly and they set a time to talk.
Why shouldn’t she at least see about an exhibit? The gallery claimed they could sell her pieces even if they just carried them in the gallery, but an exhibit would help establish her portfolio and reputation faster in the art world.
By the afternoon she’d run into town to get more canvases, because if she was going to have an art exhibit she needed more pieces.
And if it went as well as the gallery claimed it could, she could not only drive sales on her virtual gallery but potentially tap into the type of success traditional artists enjoyed.
With art exhibits and high-priced sales that would set her up financially for a very lucrative career.
On the second day after Levi left, Missy was still in her art studio, but this time she was trying to figure out which pieces she would want to potentially ship to the gallery in Atlanta.
“What if I send all these pieces, have an exhibit and nothing sells? Is my art career dead then?” Missy said to Mr. Greer who had been stopping by every day to visit with Mrs. Hart.
“I can’t answer that, because it’s based on an illogical scenario,” Mr. Greer said.
“Do I ship them in a big crate, or drive them up in my dinged-up sedan? That doesn’t seem very professional.”
“I’d be happy to help you with that, you know the shop gets large shipments all the time. I have two services I use. I’ll get quotes from each.”
“Wouldn’t the gallery be inclined to use their own service and make sure the pieces are insured?” Mrs. Hart asked.
“This is so strange, to be talking about having my little artworks shipped to a big-time gallery in Atlanta. Do you know they have more galleries in New York, London, and Milan?” Missy said.
“Yes, dear, I think you did mention that,” Mrs. Hart said with a smile, but then her phone dinged in succession.
“Oh I missed a call from Levi. He says he’s going to be delayed on his return. He has a meeting with two new teams.” Mrs. Hart looked up at Missy.
“That’s good news. I’m sure one of them or both will want to sign him.”
“Yes, but if he doesn’t play for Atlanta, we won’t get to see him as often.”
“I’m sure he’ll still find time to come home, at least after baseball season, in the fall,” Mr. Greer said.
Missy’s stomach twisted in knots. The end of the baseball season was months away.
He would definitely forget all about her once he was in a new city, with new women to fawn all over him.
They hadn’t even exchanged numbers. He hadn’t asked for hers, so she probably really was just a distraction while he was home.