Page 9 of Cactus Heart
Avery swallowed a laugh. “Well, good thing we’re not smoking pot, Grace.”
“Well, damn, I don’t want it then,” one of the other women mumbled.
“Okay, okay. Please remember you’re at a community art class. We don’t smoke pot here.Fumageis an art form that involves using smoke to create art. We’ll light our candles, and using the tip of the flame, you’ll hold the paper and create abstract marks with it. You’d be surprised what you can make.”
She dropped all the supplies in front of each of us before soaring back to the front. There was a canvas on an easel with fabric draped over it, and she tugged it away dramatically, revealing the piece underneath.
Everyone gasped and made approving sounds. I leaned forward, far more interested than I expected.
The art was really good. It was a black and white landscape with two longhorns in tall grass. Wisps of gray and black danced around them, abstract but calculated. The longhorns were done in such detail that I couldn’t see how she did that withsmoke.
Then again, I was no artist. Not like that, anyway. Photography was my hobby, but painting? It was impossible. The last time I’d attempted an art project of sorts was when I’d done wax play with an ex-lover.
“Did you do that, Avery?” an elderly man asked.
Her expression lit up. Suddenly, I didn’t care about anyone else in the room.
“I did,” she said. “This piece is for the festival auction in a couple months. However much it goes for will be donated to our library and keeping school lunches free.”
Mateo leaned forward, his gaze locked on Avery with the same interest I felt.Stop looking at him, dumbass.
This was exactly why I’d gotten in trouble in the first place. I couldn’t keep my expression in check most of the time, so I often ended up putting on a grumpy face to keep people from bothering me. My agent called it RLF, orresting Levi face.She’d even proposed we put that on stickers, but I turned that down fast.
God, I just knew Robin was burning a hole in my phone.
“So, let’s give it a try. Y’all each got a candle and a piece of paper. Now, mind you, we are putting paper to flame, so it may catch fire. But if it does, I’ll have buckets of water placed around the room.”
Mateo cleared his throat. “Avery, are you sure about this?”
Avery flashed him a sassy smile. “I’m a professional, Mateo, so don’t you worry your pretty head about it. Trust the process.”
Mateo smirked. “I’m on the clock anyway,Blue.”
She rolled her eyes at him, but I caught the hint of excitement that went beyondfriendly. I raised a brow, invested in whateverthiswas.
See, maybe I had missed this small town. It was easy to sink back into speculating about two people I didn’t know. Even more fun to think about what it’d be like to be with the two of them.
Now I knew I’d really lost my fucking mind. Maybe I needed to go back home and take a cold shower. Ice this damn lust out of my veins.
“Are you two dating?” I whispered to Mateo.
His expression flashed with surprise, and then he immediately shook his head. Shit, I should have kept my mouth shut.
“No. She’s Austin’s sister. She’s off-limits.” His tone was calm and serious, as if he’d rehearsed those words more than a few times.
“Right.”
I distinctly recalled the bastard putting the fear of god into anyone who looked at her when we were kids. But that was before she was a full adult who could make her own decisions.
It had made sense then, but now . . .
The idea of him trying to control her love life didn’t sit right with me. But, what the hell was I even thinking? I didn’t know her. She certainly didn’t like me. None of this was my business.
I looked away from Mateo, ignoring the heat that crawled up my spine. It’d been a long time since I’d felt a stirring in my chest like this. Maybe it was the fresh air or the fact that no one was stalking my every move here, but it felt nice to be interested in someone and not wonder if they had an ulterior motive.
Avery held up a lighter. “I’m going to come around and light all the candles. Don’t do anything until I instruct you. Got it?”
Everyone murmured in agreement as Avery flicked on the lighter. She darted around the room to every wick until all of us had a candle with a flame.
