Page 53 of Her Arranged Alpha
She looked at me, shocked. "Why didn't you take him up on that?"
I shrugged. "Because I had just moved here."
"Well, you've been here a month now. You could."
I thought about it for a moment, knowing that once I was done with our yard, I was going to get bored. I would need something to do with my time.
"Maybe," I said simply.
"I think you would be great. You taught Joshua after all."
I blushed. "He told you that?"
She nodded. "Oh yeah, and he does great work, which means you must as well."
I couldn't deny that I did decent work. I put my heart into what I was doing, and it showed. Maybe I would need to ask Maddox to take him up on the job.
We continued to chat until we got into Frank's pack. Justiny put her computer away as we parked and headed inside to the art gallery. It was busy with a steady flow of traffic. Ava hooked my arm, pulling me and Justiny to the left. "Let's start back here."
There were watercolor paintings and acrylic artwork hung up. There was some string art and pottery the deeper we went. There were so many colors, and each piece told a story. We read the little details that went with them, talking about what we liked and what we didn't.
We approached a side where sculptures and metalwork were displayed. I paused as I took in the difference in the metal. It's pulled into different shapes, and suddenly, an idea formed.
"You ready?" Ava asked. Justiny and she were standing near the door.
"Yeah, I'll meet you guys outside. I just have to ask a quick question."
I left the girls to go outside and looked around for any extra details about the metalwork. I then spotted a stack of cards. The worker's name was written down, along with a website.
"Are you finding everything okay?"
I turned to see a staff worker offering me a smile. I waved the card. "This artist, do they take orders?"
She nodded. "They do."
I smiled. "Great, thank you." I stuffed the card into my purse, planning to show it to Maddox. The artwork would look great in the town, and with all the new businesses going up, they could order something that would fit with the theme of their shops.
I headed for the door and stepped outside. I scanned the space, looking for Ava and Justiny, but did not see them. I knew they couldn't have gone far. I was only inside for an extra minute or two.
I headed down the sidewalk and scanned the space for them. The downtown area was packed with people coming and going. Seems the art show wasn't the only thing that they had going on.
I paused as I spotted them across the street near the ice cream shop. I smiled and headed over, but paused when I noticed they were talking with two guys. The guys were smiling at them, but Ava and Justiny weren't. If anything, they looked frozen.
I walked closer when I heard it. "You guys are trash and should head back to your trashy town."
My entire body tensed up as Ava stepped closer towards Justiny. "Just let us go inside, guys. We aren't here to cause trouble."
Ava tried to push past them, but the guys grabbed her arm, and I was moving faster. "Hey! Let go of her."
The guys looked away from them towards me. I stood next to them, now anger fueling me. "Move out of their way. There is no need to be an ass."
The guys smirked at me like I was a little animal. "Well, if it isn't the little murderer herself? What are you doing backin town? Did Maddox get sick of you already? Wouldn't surprise us."
"Shut up," I growled, curling my hands into fists.
"Let's just go," Ava said, pulling at my arm.
But the guys moved, not letting us pass. Ava and Justiny moved closer to me. "You guys aren't going anywhere. We don't need a murderer on the loose."
