Page 50 of Just One More Temptation

She left the hospital and took an Uber to the gallery, unlocking the door and letting herself in. Since she wasn’t ready for customers, she locked the door, flipped on the lights, and walked through the gallery, pleased with the changes. Clara had obviously taken the opportunity to have the entire gallery side painted and new sconces put in over where the artwork would hang. For someone who’d been laid up in bed, she sure had been working behind the scenes or her decorator friend had. Either way, Fallon was in love with the new look.

Tomorrow she’d get started on checking in with their usual artists but today, she had some painting of her own to do. She set up at her favorite easel, turned music on loud on her cell phone, and settled in to paint for the girls.

As usual when she worked, she got lost in the color mixes, choices, and strokes. By the time she looked up and glanced at the clock on her phone, hours had passed and she had messages from Brooke, her brother, Remy, who she hadn’t spoken to in too long, and Dex’s wife, Samantha, who wanted to make lunch plans and catch up.

She spent a few minutes rinsing the brushes off in the back and setting them out to dry before walking back into the room. Something smelled off and she sniffed, then sniffed again.

She smelled smoke.

A glance at the door to the gallery, a door she knew she’d left open, was now shut and she rushed over and turned the knob. To her relief, it hadn’t self-locked and she flung it open only to see the room filling with smoke.

Slamming the door closed because the paints and removers inthisroom were flammable, she grabbed her bag and jacket and ran to the front door. She unlocked it and tried to push but it wouldn’t budge. Using her body weight, she flung her shoulder against the door to no avail.

She wasn’t panicked… yet. The smoke had begun to seep under the small door to the gallery but she was still safe in here. She looked outside and had trouble seeing why the exit was jammed but it felt like something heavy was blocking the door and preventing it from moving. And the emergency exit in the back was on the gallery side.

One thing she knew: she had to get out of here.

Grabbing her phone, she dialed 911 and reported the fire, and the fact that she was locked inside the gallery. Then she called Noah because his apartment was close by. He answered on the first ring and she quickly explained her situation.

The fire alarm went off at a deafening level while she continued to do everything she could to move the door but it was jammed tight. Soon, her shoulder couldn’t take the pain of hitting against the glass. Giving up, she grabbed a towel and wrapped it over her nose and mouth, then lowered herself to the floor near the entrance and settled in to wait for help, praying it got here before the fire broke through the wall.

***

“Let’s go, girls!Katy’s mom is going to be here any minute to pick you up,” Noah called out. He’d been waiting for them for ten minutes, knowing to start early. God help him when they became teenagers.

A little while later, he’d had them put their jackets on and took them downstairs where their friend and her mom waited to take the girls to the movies. They’d asked if they could have their friend over and when he’d called, Jan, Katy’s mom, asked if she could bring them to the theater. He’d planned to spend the day in the office while the girls hung out with their friend but he was happy to hand them off for a few hours.

He returned upstairs to get himself together and then he planned on going to the hospital where Fallon said she’d be visiting with Clara. He’d felt guilty leaving her yesterday, the only thing making him feel better had been the fact that Clara was stable. At least he hadn’t left Fallon distraught and worried.

Once upstairs he took a quick shower and dressed, then grabbed his car keys just as his phone alerted him to a call and he saw Charlie’s photo on the screen.

He answered her FaceTime call, hoping he could get her off quickly since the girls weren’t here. He was eager to see Fallon.

He swiped to accept the call. “Charlie, hey!”

“Hi, Noah. How are you?”

“Everything’s good. You just missed the girls, though. They went to the movies with Katy and her mom.”

“What did they go see?” she asked, obviously eager for even the smallest detail about her girls.

He told her and she sighed. “I really wanted to take them to see it next time I’m home.”

“I’m sure you can catch it on streaming with them. You know they love to watch the same thing over and over.”

She nodded, tucking her dark brown hair behind her ear. “How is… Fallon’s her name, right? The twins said she watched them last week and the new nanny is starting tomorrow.”

At Fallon’s name, he stiffened but nodded. “Listen, she’s good with them. Took them to educational fun things every day. I trust her and if I trust her, then you should too.” He hoped that would stave off any argument over last week’s babysitting arrangement.

“Relax, I’m not going to give you a hard time. Of course I trust your judgment. I just wanted to say I’m happy for you. Even a little jealous of the time she’s spending with the kids.” Charlie let out a nervous laugh at the admission.

“There’s nothing wrong with you following your dreams. And I understand how much you miss the girls. I would too. But I can promise you, Fallon is not trying to replace you in their eyes. She just genuinely likes spending time with them. They’re fun to be around… when they’re behaving.” He chuckled.

“Actually, that’s part of why I’m calling. I’m coming home for a long weekend. I really miss the kids.” Tears shimmered in her eyes and he nodded in understanding.

“Just email me the dates and I’ll clear our schedules so you have all the time you want with them,” he promised.

“Thank you. Can they come sleep at the hotel with me?”

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