Page 123 of Hard Wired

Chapter Forty

“Quit watching the door.” Luis grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing tray and shoved it in Nic’s hand. “She and Ethan are stuck in traffic. Now come on, I have so many people for you to meet.”

They were at an art gallery owned by Luis’s friend. Dominic glanced at the black-and-white photos on the walls as they walked through the space, weaving in between guests. These images were now as familiar to him as the ones that used to be in his bedroom back in West Oaks. Pride swelled in his chest, then diminished as he thought again of Sylvie. Why wasn’t she here yet?

What if she didn’t come at all?

Luis pulled him into a circle of people. “Everyone, this is Nic. He’s who we have to thank for tonight.”

He put on a smile, shook hands, and tried to remember all the new names.

Dominic was starting to suspect he was an introvert because this was exhausting. He’d never liked big groups much, but he’d always faked his way through without thinking much about it. He was learning all kinds of new things about himself these days.

When nobody was looking, he snuck away to a quiet corner, looking at a photo of the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around. Sylvie stood there, smiling hesitantly. “Hi, I was hoping you’d be here. We didn’t mean to be so late.”

She was wearing a pair of simple black pants and a silky top with thin straps that showed off her ink.

“You look incredible.”

“You don’t look so bad yourself.” She pointed at his black suit, which he’d worn with a white shirt and no tie. It was one of his old suits, but there was no way he could afford a new one this nice, so he’d decided to go ahead and wear it. He didn’t have to get rid of everything about Dominic Crane. The guy had known how to dress.

Across the room, Luis was talking animatedly to a group of people that now included Ethan. Nic liked that about his new roommate. Luis usually took care of the conversations.

He decided to escape before Luis noticed them and introduced him to anyone else. He grabbed Sylvie’s hand and walked her through the crowd to a back room, which was less busy.

“I tried to call last night,” she said.

“I know, I’m sorry I missed it. I was working late, and I’ve been busy here all day. I wanted to surprise you.” He held out his arms, gesturing at the framed photos around them.

“They’re beautiful. But what’s the surprise?”

“Luis’s friend owns this gallery. She’s been wanting to have a show of his work, the artistic stuff he does on the side in between ad campaigns. But Luis never had time to put it together. So I offered to do it. He had a ton of raw shots just dumped on his hard drive. I went through them and came up with the themes for this show.”

He led her around the space, showing her each photograph and explaining why he’d picked it. Luis had a great eye for a light, shadow, and composition. Most of these were shots from downtown Los Angeles. Luis had managed to find beauty amid the gritty buildings and concrete, as well as the dark edges to the fancier architecture.

“This is amazing. Why didn’t you tell me you were working on this?”

“Because I was afraid Luis and his friend wouldn’t like it. But the woman who owns the gallery—” He looked around and spotted her, a silver-haired woman in her sixties. “She loved what I came up with. And she offered me a job. You’re looking at her new photography curator.”

Sylvie gasped. “Nic. Oh my god. Congratulations.” She hugged him around the neck.

His arms closed around her. “It doesn’t pay that much, but I love it. It feels like…me.” He was still consulting with law enforcement, too, but just volunteering his time.

“I’m so happy for you.”

He’d been amazed how many hours he could spend pouring over photos and thinking about how they could all come together into one exhibition. He’d never been so engaged in something that he could call “work” before.

And he was proud he could show this to Sylvie. Her opinion mattered more to him than anyone else’s. Her approval lit a warm glow in his center.

“But what was it you wanted to talk about last night? When you called?”

“Oh. I spoke to my sister and brother back in Texas. Something I should’ve done a long time ago, but I didn’t get up the nerve to do it until recently. It was a really great conversation. But we can talk about that later. This is your moment. It’s a very big deal.”

He wanted it to be her moment, too. Without her, none of this would’ve been possible.

“Can I tell you something I’ve never told anyone else?”

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