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He returned and continued his gentle swaying down the corridor to his room.

“Felix is going to hear us,” she said again in a hushed whisper.

Antonio held up one of Felix’s fine linen dinner napkins. “This is the best I could come up with, but I think this will do the trick,” he said with a wicked grin on his face.

Suddenly she felt like she was trapped in the lair of the big bad wolf.

Chapter Six

Lucy bid Paul Morgan farewell as he left the shop with his partner, Emanuel. They picked up the mosaic mirror she designed for them. Word was spreading about the mirrors, and that was the fifth one she’d done in three weeks. With Felix’s urging, she came up with a price that she even balked at, but everyone agreed to pay it without batting an eye.

“Luce, you’re in a town where everyone has money and wants to flaunt it in a civilized way. Your artwork is beautiful. People should pay a steep price for your artistic genius,” he said in a dramatic tone.

Felix had a way of inspiring her to do great things and he’d never failed her. She was comfortable with her life. She did what she loved and was her own boss. She even got to design sets in her free time. Life was sublime.

And then a picture of Antonio De Soto flashed in her mind. She sighed.

How could the most intense, fulfilling moment she’d ever had in her life also be her biggest mistake? The morning after they’d almost made love, she’d gathered what energy she could and slipped out of his bed while he slept. She came to her senses before anything too dastardly had happened and was grateful for it. Antonio had looked like he’d wanted to break a board across his forehead, but the tension eventually subsided and they’d agreed to just get some sleep. She’d even made it out without running into Felix and she was happy about that.

Blake had surprised her last night with an invitation to lunch this afternoon. Her first instinct was to say no but she thought better of it. She liked Blake. He was nice and they had fun. Just because she’d heated up the sheets with Antonio didn’t mean there was anything more than what transpired that night.

The sun was shining on a metallic vase she had in the window. Felix had suggested she move it to the corner to catch the light and when it did, it somehow bounced that light throughout the store. The effect the sun created was magical. She was so entranced by the patterns the sun specks were making on her wall that she didn’t hear the door chime.

“Are you always this lost in thought?” a familiar, husky male voice said.

Lucy blinked. Antonio was standing on the opposite side of her counter. “It’s been a bad habit ever since I was a child, I’m afraid.”

She reached for her throat. Since she was in her store she didn’t have a scarf around her neck. She felt exposed and wanted to casually go in the backroom and put one on. She couldn’t really tell anyone that she felt her throat was the most vulnerable part of her body. She felt silly even thinking it.

“How have you been, Lucia?” He looked up from his camera as he was snapping pictures of the store to look her in the eyes.

“I’ve been OK,” Lucy said quietly. “And you? Does your wrist feel better?”

“Not a hundred percent but it’s getting there.” He smiled. “Have you ever thought about a Web site? I could help you photograph your inventory.”

It was as if a giant magnet was drawing them closer together. Lucy’s feet felt like they were bolted to the floor as Antonio glided toward her. Was it the sun suddenly making her feel so hot? Or was it watching Antonio’s arms flex as he moved the camera around?

“No. Who would buy these eclectic things from a Web site?”

“You have a strong following in this community. There is a world filled with people who want to buy your artistic works. Felix would kill if someone touched his mosaic mirror.” He moved a wisp of her hair from her face. He aimed the lens at her and took her picture.

“I suppose.” She sighed and put her hand in the line of his shot. “Why do you keep taking pictures of me? I hate being photographed. I always look like I have a jar full of cookies in my mouth.”

“You have a lovely round face. Why are you always so critical of yourself?” he said.

“Because people like you judge me all the time,” she huffed.

Antonio ignored her and laid his camera on the counter. “You left very early the other day.”

“I had to open the store.” She moved away from his hemisphere to place fresh-cut flowers in a vase filled with water.

“I wish you would have stayed. I think I missed you when I realized you left,” he said begrudgingly.

“Is that what passes for a compliment from you?” she breathed.

He laughed. “What do you want me to say?”

The moment would have been more serious if Lucy hadn’t been standing there with her hand on her hip and a cluster of glitter leading a trail down into her V-neck shirt. Neither of them heard the doorbell chime because the next thing they knew Blake was standing by the door clearing his throat.

“Hi, Blake. I’ll be ready in a few minutes,” Lucy said pleasantly and walked into the back room.

Antonio looked over and tried to suppress the urge to throw Blake out of the store. There was one thing he learned from his brother: how to get rid of an obstacle efficiently. Blake gave the illusion that all was well and that he was confident, but there was a flicker of panic in his eyes.

“Hey Blake.”

“Hey Antonio,” Blake replied a bit nervously.

“Will you excuse me for a moment?” Antonio said and sauntered to the back room.

Lucy was there putting on her jacket and reaching for her purse at the same time.

“Before you go,” Antonio said as he moved closer to her, “you have a little something on you.”

“What?” Lucy said naively.

Antonio reached with his T-shirt and began to rub the glitter that had settled onto her breasts. Each stroke reminded him of the other night and how she’d responded when he touched her.

Antonio moved a little closer for a kiss, but he thought better of it and stopped. “You had all this glitter on you and I know how much you hate it when a man objectifies you. Now, Blake won’t have to stare at your breasts all through lunch,” he said with a wicked smile and walked out of the storeroom.

* * *

His plan was to have lunch with Lucy but Blake conveniently derailed that idea. Now he was walking around town aimlessly and trying to avoid walking by whichever restaurant Blake had decided to take her.

Although he was pissed off on general principle, he wasn’t worried about Blake. As charming as Blake was with his “I’ll woo a woman the intellectual kind of way,” Antonio knew the man would have to be reborn as Rudolph Valentino himself to compete with him. There was nothing Blake could say to get Antonio out of Lucy’s mind or remove him metaphorically from between her legs. If Blake hadn’t come in and interrupted them, he would actually feel sorry for him.

Antonio found himself a nice park bench to sit down on and enjoy the weather. He leaned back and closed his eyes, channeling his thoughts to Lauren. He wondered how she was doing. He hoped to catch her for a chat when his brother wasn’t around and find out how she was really handling having another baby. He wasn’t surprised by her admission that Alejandro wanted another baby and that she conceded. Just after the twins were born, he’d paid them a visit and she’d said jokingly while making lunch one afternoon that she couldn’t go anywhere with three kids now. He knew she loved his brother and their family, but he also knew she struggled with childhood abandonment issues of her own. She was able to point out his need to be unattached to anything. Both of them felt that commitment was like being tethered to a pole. Her pole was Alejandro. Before, she could find an easy out and have them share custody of Zaria. Now there were three beings that would be affected by any decisions they made, and it scared her. She confided in him that she no longer feared that Alejandro would leave her for another woman. She knew he was happy: he had the family he’d always wanted. But what she couldn’t fathom, throughout all of this, was why she was the woman he chose.

“Lauren De Soto speaking,” she said casually into the phone.

He’d dialed her office number and hadn’t even realized it. “Hey gorgeous.”

“Well, well, well. The prodigal brother-in-law surfaces,” she said affectionately.

“How are you? How is my new niece or nephew doing?”

“Fine. Just fine.”

“Are you eating graham crackers and tuna fish again?” He laughed. That was her main craving when she pregnant with the boys.

“No, this one loves ice cream. Your brother makes me a big bowl of ice cream every night.”

He envisioned them sitting on the couch, Alejandro feeding her. His brother loved feeding his wife. “Been getting enough sleep?”

Lauren sighed. “I’m fine. I’m an old pro at this pregnancy thing. How’s the love life?”

“Well, I had dinner with a slam dunk and bowed out, and ended up on the doorstep of the artist who can’t decide whether or not she likes me. She wasn’t home.”

“And how are you getting her to warm up to you?”

“Well, that night you sent me a text when I was in the emergency room, she took me home to take care of me since I hurt my wrist catching her.”

“That was such bullshit Ant. How much did it end up costing you? Feigning injury to get a little sympathy?” She laughed.

“Well, it worked.” He laughed too.

“I suppose it did. So what happened?”

“Still working on it.”

“You sound a little confused,” she said.

“I went to talk to her today and things didn’t go as planned. She had the nerve to be on her way to a lunch date with some geeky writer who has a crush on her.”

“Yeah, silly her, keeping her options open.”

“Hey!” he protested. “The least she could do is be held up in her store thinking about me.”

“Oh, so you wanted a mirror image of what you are doing now?”

“At least.” He laughed.

“Sounds like she beat you to your own punch.”

“I guess,” he mumbled.

“Can I give a piece of advice to my favorite brother-in-law?”

“Sure.”

“Stop talking with your mouth and speak from your heart.”

“My heart? I’m surprised you think I have a heart,” he quipped.

“You have so much more than you realize, Mr. De Soto. You have compassion, loyalty, and a unique perspective on the world. You love deeply. You just don’t show it. One day you will want to share that love.”

“Your pep talks are getting better.” He chuckled, trying to defuse the moment.

“When my two monsters grow up and have a trail of lovelorn women chasing them, I am going to be prepared. The curse of the De Soto men will stop there.”

“They are pretty good. Better than I was at their age.”

Lauren laughed. “I try to teach my boys how to be respectful of women and you and your brother give them ass-backward chats behind my back. It takes me two weeks every time you visit to deprogram the things you sneak and tell them.”

Antonio knew she wanted them to grow up and be respectful mama’s boys, but the boys had to be educated about the ways of the world. If Lauren knew half the trouble her four-year-olds got into, she would wring both his and Alejandro’s necks.

“I have a meeting in five minutes. Can you call me this evening?”

“Sure. Tell my brother I said hello and that he better be treating you well.”

Lauren laughed. “You know he is.”

“I know. I wouldn’t expect anything less from him.”

* * *

Antonio had in his mouth what was the best mini crab cake he’d ever eaten, but the succulent perfection was lost on him right now. Instead, in the most casual way possible, he was watching as Blake aimlessly wandered around the gallery, wearing that damn professor’s jacket. And right beside him was none other than Lucy. At first he thought he’d seen her come into the gallery alone, but then saw Blake trailing behind her like a puppy that wasn’t house-trained yet.

She had on a nice dress, and a multicolored scarf dangled mercilessly around her neck. She always reminded him of the first brush stroke an artist would lay onto a blank canvas.

He didn’t know where it came from, but the tension was rising in his neck. What was there to be jealous of? He was there with Monica, who was dressed to kill. She had on a sleek little black dress and a pair of four-inch heels that made her, sadly, only come up to his nose. From the moment she opened her apartment door until they arrived at the gallery, he couldn’t keep his eyes or his hands off her. Tonight would be the night he sealed the deal. It had been a while, by his standards, and he needed to release some pent-up tension.

Lucy declined two offers from Felix for another round of dinner with them and she conveniently painted her trees when he wasn’t at the theater. One day he came in and found a nice corner in the balcony to spy on her. She was unaware of him and he reveled in watching her paint while she listened to the radio. She was content being the only one in the universe while she worked on her project.

The longer he watched, the more he realized that she was even quirkier than he thought. She would stick a paintbrush in her hair and then spend five minutes looking for it. She took her left shoe off and massaged her foot but never bothered to put the shoe back on. If a song was really good she’d take a break and dance horribly around the stage until she collapsed in a fit of laughter, then go back to her work.

As baffling and random as her behavior seemed to him, what was even more baffling was how all of this captivated him. He thought of her every night before he drifted off to sleep and wondered if she thought about him too.

“I think Blake owes you,” Felix said thoughtfully as he approached him. Monica was having a discussion with some friends of hers across the room.

“Why would Blake owe me anything?”

“Because if it weren’t for you, Lucy would never have gone out with him.” Felix smiled mischievously.

“You don’t say,” he said in a pretend unexcited tone.