Page 43 of Finding Romance
“Just some club soda for me, tonight,” she says as she begins drawing.
He pours her some while Hutch tells about his latest attempt at trying to catch the Guardian of Hearts Lane Park.
“I was thinking about getting a drone,” he says.
“It’s heavily wooded back there. You won’t see anything,” I point out as Al hands me Piper’s drink. I turn to give it to her and stop as I set it down. Her drawing of Ava is…amazing.
“Wow,” I manage.
She holds up the drawing next to Ava. “Not bad,” she says with a smile.
“Let me see,” Ava says as she grabs the paper. “It looks just like me!” she squeals and shows Carly.
“You’re really good,” Carly agrees.
“Thanks,” Piper responds.
“I think you should draw all of us,” Hutch says as he looks at the sketch and then looks down at Ava’s drawing. “What did you draw, Ava?”
Oh fuck.
“Mr. Kasen and Miss Piper,” she says without looking up from her next drawing.
“Oh? Here?” Hutch asks.
“Yeah, over there,” Ava says, keeping her head down as she draws, but raising a single finger to point to the hot tub.
“Huh, interesting,” Hutch states as he looks from me to Piper. I give him a pointed look and he smirks.
I flip him off and go back to watching Piper.
“You should do that professionally,” Carly interjects as she leans over the table.
“I’d love to, someday,” Piper says as she finishes a sketch of Al serving Hutch and Bray. “I’ve always wanted to illustrate kids’ books.”
“I can see that. You have an eye for detail,” Carly says.
“I guess so. My mom always says that I was an observant child, that I saw things most adults overlook,” Piper says as she continues to draw without looking up at anyone.
I glance down and see she’s drawing me. But unlike the other drawings where she kept looking up at the people, she doesn’t look at me. She’s drawing me completely from memory as if she’s memorized every line of my body. Has she been watching me as much as I’ve been watching her?
“There,” she says as she finishes, pushing the paper toward me. I look…good. Even the scar above my eye looks…well, like a distinguished mark of a gentleman. Is this how she sees me? My gaze finds hers. “It’s how I see you,” she confirms quietly for my ears only.
And for the first time in a long time…I feel seen.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Piper
“You’re so talented,” Kasen says as he looks at the portrait I drew of him. It’s on his fridge with a single magnet that he stole from Margie’s collection. He said he wanted to keep my drawing and I told him it was fridge art. He walked into my aunt’s kitchen and grabbed a magnet that says, “I like to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.” Then he grabbed my hand and marched us back to his place, where he unceremoniously stuck my picture on his fridge.
Now, I’m sitting here as we brainstorm for any other places we could look for my aunt’s necklace. She’s basically given up hope that we can find it. And I’m not far behind.
Today, my aunt graduated to being able to walk on her own. She’s asked me to stay for another week or two and I’ve agreed. The man standing in front of me is a big reason that I don’t want to leave. I love our daily talks. I love everything about him. But I know there’s more to him than what he’s shared. He’s a mystery that I need to solve. I’m not sure I can leave until I do.
“Thanks,” I murmur as I watch Kasen make our drinks. It’s become a bit of a routine. Our own private happy hour. He claims this will help me with dating and conversation with men, but mostly we discuss a show we’re both watching or he tells me funny stories about his teenage years in Scotland. He still hasn’t told me much about his parents or his time in the military, but I feel like we’re getting closer to him sharing more. He’s this big, burly man, but I think he’s not so strong on the inside.
“Have you ever offered your artistic services to authors?” he asks, sliding my drink across the counter to me.
