Page 65 of Savage Prince
Because there’s no way Standish did it himself.
It’s with a million contradictory thoughts crashing together in my head that I drive to Noble Art, hoping against hope that after my car debacle, Valentina still wants this sculpture and maybe a few more.
When I’ll have time to create them, I have no idea, but ... if Valentina says they’re marketable and can produce a profit, wouldn’t it be wrong not to do it?
In some small way, don’t I owe it to Gregor Standish to pursue it? After all, my artwork is part of the reason he’s no longer walking this earth, which is ridiculously morbid to consider.
I pull into an open spot across the street from Noble Art and park my car.
I can do this. I will do this.
“Temperance! You got your car back!”
Valentina’s voice comes from across the street. This time, she has a baby strapped to her front, and I can’t help but smile at how she manages to look stylish with a baby as an accessory. Apparently, that’s the fashionable thing these days, at least with this gorgeous couple.
I open the car door and smile genuinely, maybe for the first time all day. “I sure did,and—”
“You got the sculpture?” Valentina looks like she’s holding her breath.
“I did.”
She claps her hands quietly before checking both directions and crossing the street. “Can we see it?”
I gaze down at the dark-haired little guy. “He slept through that? Wow. Of course.”
Valentina laughs. “He could sleep through a nuclear blast. This one is a trouper. Which is why I said we should stop at one, but Rix disagrees. We’re currently having an argument, and by argument, I mean he’s trying to intimidate me into it. I swear, the man doesn’t realize his intimidation just makes me want to climb him.” She taps her cheek. “Maybe that’s his game? I wonder if it’s reverse psychology. Tricky bastard. Anyway, let’s see it.”
I lead her around the back of the Bronco and open the window, lowering the tailgate before pulling the blanket aside.
“It’s much easier to appreciate when it’s upright, but—”
Valentina interrupts me by holding up a hand. “It’s gorgeous. And look at the materials you used for the base—what is that?”
“Part of an empty keg.”
Her eyes light up. “I love it so much. Seriously, upcycling is so chic lately, and I get requests all the time for more industrial pieces, especially from all the people rehabbing warehouses into offices and condos.” She pulls out her phone and taps in a text. “Rix is going to be swinging by in a bit, so I’ll have him bring some help and we’ll get it inside. In the meantime, you need to tell me what else you have.”
I close up the back of the Bronco, and have a hard time keeping my gaze off it as we cross the street and step into Noble Art.
“I don’t have any other completed pieces at the moment available for sale, but it doesn’t take me too long.”
She studies me. “How would you feel about me commissioning some pieces from you? Making some suggestions. Would that mess with your process? If it does, then we don’t have to—”
“No. Actually, I kind of love that idea. I can’t promise it’ll look exactly like what you’re envisioning, but creating something specific is a fun challenge.”
“I was really hoping you’d say that.” Valentina’s smile grows wider. “Because I have a few ideas in my head that I think would be fabulous, and I’d pretty much have them sold before you even finished.”
She reaches for a sketch pad and starts drawing a few items, and my excitement climbs with every line she leaves behind on the paper.
A bridge. A skyscraper. The scales of justice.
“I know it seems like a random collection, but I have a few interior designers always hounding me for pieces like this. They’d snap these pieces up faster than you could haul them into the gallery. Do you think you could do it?”
I tap the edge of the paper and look up at her. “Of course.”
“Then we have the million-dollar question—how much?”
My brain tells me to go salesman and start high before negotiating to something in the middle, but I decide to take a different tactic with her. “Before the auction, I couldn’t imagine that anyone would pay much for one of these, let alone what they did. I know that’s because it was a charitable donation, which definitely affects generosity, but ... I’m totally out of my depth here, Valentina. I need you to give me a starting point so I don’t totally screw this up and have you kicking me out the door before we even get the first one in.”
