Page 60 of The Maverick (WaterFyre Rising #7)

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

VANESSA

A man wearing jeans, a white shirt, a casual jacket, and a red cap came into the gallery asking if I had a bleeding-heart painting.

He’d been here before asking for the same thing, and when I told him I didn’t have any, he inquired about a custom piece.

I’d declined his offer and had expected him to find another artist.

“Sorry, I don’t have any paintings that depict bleeding hearts.”

“Why not?” he asked. “You have lotuses, waterlilies, roses, calla lilies, and other flowers. Why no bleeding hearts?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “That flower has never crossed my mind.”

“It’s a beautiful flower. You should paint it.”

“Maybe I will. Is the painting for you or the special lady in your life?”

His eyes gleamed. “The special lady.”

“She must be very lucky to have a thoughtful partner like you.”

The man seemed happy with my comment. He was the last customer before I had to close early for my gathering with the girls.

After a moment, he walked up to me. “I’d like to get A Petal for Your Thoughts rose painting. The one with the thorns.”

“Excellent choice,” I said.

“This one’s for me.” He handed me his credit card, and I glanced at his name. Dan Wilson.

“We all need to gift ourselves sometimes, right, Dan?” I swiped his card for five thousand dollars.

A Petal for Your Thoughts was a stunning artwork that was more affordable than other masterpieces in my gallery.

I tried to offer various price ranges for my customers, but I gave each painting its worth.

While I retrieved the Certificate of Authenticity from the drawer, Willow wrapped up his painting. He exited the gallery with a smile.

I closed the gallery early and gave Willow the rest of the day off. She was thrilled to hang out with her new boyfriend, Andy.They’d been dating for a month, and Andy seemed to be the perfect guy for her.

Each of the girls brought snacks for the gathering. Vivian brought some wine. I had juice and water in the fridge for my pregnant friends.

Kiera sat down and rubbed her belly. “I can’t believe you eloped, got married, and had your honeymoon all in three days.” Her tummy had grown bigger since the last time I’d seen her.

“It was efficient for sure.” Vivian smiled. “No delays. No distractions. Glad you did it.”

Audri scooped some fruit into the bowl. “Maybe Remi and I could do this.”

“You surprised us all,” Michelle said. “We knew it wasn’t real, but you guys did things fast.”

“Did you try to make babies in Maui?” Natalie asked.

Everyone burst out laughing, and my face burned as I remembered what we’d done.

“Her pink face says it all.” Kiera pointed at me.

“How is he in bed?” Vivian asked.

“Fabulous. Unforgettable. Incomparable.”I grinned. “Amazingly thick.”

Audri choked on her wine, laughing. “I guess he’s a keeper.”

“We like them thick, don’t we, girls?” Elena rubbed her belly.

“We sure do.” Natalie grabbed a cucumber slice and dipped it in the ranch dish.

“Eloping could be the new trend. Do you mind if I write an article about it?” Elena asked. “I think the readers of Musepaper will find this new trend innovative for working women and men.”

“People want to save money these days,” said Vanessa. “Weddings are expensive. If you can squeeze everything into three days, why not?”

“Was it your idea?” Kiera asked.

“No. He planned it all. I was completely surprised but also glad I didn’t have to do anything.”

“How’s your SSG mission going?” Elena asked.

I looked around the table at these women who had become my friends—my family. “I have something to tell you guys.”

When I was done, they gawked at me.

“For Your Heart Only mission is complete!” Vivian clinked glasses with us.

“I can’t believe you both exchanged those precious words already.” Elena smiled warmly. “I mean, I can. The attraction between the two of you is off the charts. I feel uncomfortable standing near you.”

“Stop it. It’s not that strong.”

“It’s strong, honey,” Kiera said. “And that’s coming from a preggo woman who has unstable hormones.”

I opened my mouth to comment about unstable hormones creating irrational thoughts, but I didn’t want to start a war of words with a pregnant woman. So I asked, “Do you think we’re moving too fast?”

Audri held up a grape between her fingers.

“That’s a hard question. Each relationship is unique.

You just started dating, but he’s known you for a while.

Plus, he’s been obsessed with your art for years.

” She popped the grape into her mouth and chewed.

“I think you’re moving at a pace that’s perfect for both of you. ”

“Audri’s right.” Vivian sipped her wine. “We’re all different. Some people experience love at first sight, and that works for them.”

“I can tell he loves you,” Elena said.

“Based on how he’s prioritized you, he’s in deep.” Kiera wiggled her eyebrows.

We all shook our heads.

“What?” She reached for a crab rangoon and bit into it. “Since I’m carrying two babies, my hormones have been all over the place. I’ve been horny as hell.”

Laughing, Vivian placed more appetizers on Kiera’s plate. “I’ll tell Arrow to let Forrest know his wife needs him.”

“I have something else I need to tell you,” I said.

“But before I share anything, I want to let you know I sincerely appreciate your friendship. Thank you for accepting me into your circle. I’ve never had a lot of friends because I didn’t want to answer questions about my past. But you’ve proven that I can trust you. ”

“Did you burn someone’s house down? Did you kill someone?” Michelle asked. “You can trust us with anything because we trust you.”

“I’ve never burned down any house. But . . .”

Audri leaned into the table. “You killed somebody?”

I nodded and described the incident that had led to my mom serving a life sentence in prison.

“That’s self-defense,” Natalie said.

“I’d kill him too,” the other girls said in unison.

I cried at their empathy for my situation. “Attikus is helping me get my mom out of prison.”

“That’s wonderful. Your mom is gonna be okay.” Vivian reached across the table for my hand.

Audri placed both hands on the table. “Since we’re on this topic of danger, let’s discuss ways we can help the boys.”

Elena looked at me. “We can research individuals associated with The Trogyn.”

“The boys are already doing that, but there are a lot of angles to look at. Maybe we’ll see something they haven’t.”

“We could start with Harris Pharmaceuticals,” I suggested. “They’re connected to The Trogyn somehow.”

“I swear there’s a scam with health insurance and the pharmaceutical companies,” Kiera said in frustration. “They wanted my mom to pay an obscene amount of money for something that wasn’t even necessary. The doctor made false claims so he could get kickbacks.”

“Ugh. I can’t stand people like that,” Natalie said. “They’re taking advantage of the vulnerable.”

“I’m sure the boys have plenty of info on The Trogyn.” Michelle grabbed a green baby carrot and dipped it in the sour cream. “We can focus on Harris Pharmaceuticals.”

“The boys are doing everything they can to protect us. But we’re not useless. We’re not going to sit around and do nothing.” Kiera smirked. “We’re smartasses. We can think of ways to help.”

Natalie’s face brightened as she looked at me. “Do you have a piece of paper and a pen I can borrow? I’ve got an idea.”

I walked over to the sales desk, grabbed paper and a pen, and returned to the table. “What are you thinking?”

“I’ve been thinking of creating a new label inspired by us girls.

” Natalie wrote. “Smart A.S.S.—the initials are for Achieve, Strive, and Succeed. We can have a collection of clothing and accessories to promote independent women.” She glanced around at all of us.

“We all get to design it together. It’ll be our girl’s thing. What do you think?”

“We can use the proceeds to fund a women’s organization to help people,” Audri added.

I nodded. “Love that idea.”

“Don’t mess with the Smart A.S.S. Enterprise.” Kiera laughed.

“Let’s do it!” Vivian cheered.

“Sometimes, we have to go outside of the law to get things done properly,” I said. “The Smart A.S.S. is like the boy’s V.A.T.V.—Vigilantes Against the Villains.”

“We should make a themed T-shirt for each,” Michelle said. “Have two labels and see which one does better.”

“A menswear and a womenswear label.” Elena nibbled on a cookie.

“I’ll have my legal team start the paperwork to have those labels copyrighted and registered next week.” Natalie beamed. “We’ll all be owners of the labels.”

I didn’t expect to become part of new clothing labels tonight, but I loved that we’d come up with something to help people in the long run.

After that idea was settled, we returned to discussing Harris Pharmaceuticals.

“The boys can know about the new labels but not about us trying to help them,” Audri said.

“Yeah,” Vivian agreed. “They’ll get overprotective.”

“You know the little tracker you gave me recently?” I looked at Vivian. “I used it already.”

The girls gasped, knowing what I was referring to. Vivian had given each of us a device.

“Details, please,” Elena said.

“Brody Harris, the man who was in the alley that day. He bought a painting from me.”

“Does he have anything to do with Harris Pharmaceuticals?” Elena asked.

“He’s one of the heirs.”