Chapter 15 - Violet

Nothing about last night's tryst in the garden with Nile had been planned or expected, but this morning it was all I could think about. I woke up in my own room, alone, and wished that I had been waking up with him instead. The sex had been phenomenal but short-lived. I wished I had given myself more time to look into his emerald eyes or feel the powerful muscles of his arms. In the harsh light of day I wasn't sure I would get that chance without feeling embarrassed by my gawking.

I hadn't been with another man since Nile had left me six years ago, and I was shocked that even with the passage of time and the quickness of our meeting, the sex had been even better this time around. Every place he had touched me had made me feel more alive and desirable than I thought humanly possible. Just the thought of it made it hard for me to breathe properly.

But even with the obvious chemistry between us, I felt barely able to face him in the light of day. I waited until I heard Penny go downstairs for breakfast before I followed so that I wouldn't be forced to have a conversation with Nile about last night. At least with Penny awake, we wouldn't have to talk about what passed between us. I wasn't ready to acknowledge to my mate that our connection had grown deeper than I'd intended.

"Good morning," Nile said as I came into the kitchen. "You look hungry. Can I get you some breakfast?"

He was smiling knowingly at me, and I wondered if he was going to say something about last night. Hopefully, not in front of his daughter.

"Maybe just some coffee," I replied.

"Of course. Nothing better than some caffeine after a late night," he said with a wink.

I narrowed my eyes at him as he poured my coffee and added a splash of cream. He passed the cup to me and went back to mixing the pancakes for Penny's breakfast.

"Did you need some help making the bacon?" I asked in a bid to be helpful.

"I would love your help sticking the meat in," Nile said cheekily.

"Nile!" I said, horrified that he was using a double entendre in front of his daughter.

"What?" he said sheepishly. "I just want you to put the bacon in the oven. It makes it easier to clean up than if you cook it in the skillet, and it bakes it evenly."

I rolled my eyes at him but placed the pieces of bacon on a baking sheet and turned the oven on. Soon, the smell of bacon and pancakes wafted through the air.

"Here you go, Penelope," I said, plating some food for the little girl.

"Aren't you guys gonna eat?" she asked, taking a large bite of syrup-covered pancakes.

I shook my head and took another sip of my coffee before beginning to clean up the kitchen. Nile had started loading the dirty dishes into the washer when I realized I needed the dishcloth that was still in the sink behind him.

"Can you pass me the dish rag so I can wipe down the counter?" I asked. "You spilled pancake batter over here."

He ran a clean rag under the faucet and passed it to me. As water dripped down my hand Nile smiled, and he wiped the water droplets away with his fingertips.

"Sorry," he whispered. "I didn't mean to get you so wet."

I blushed as my mind was thrown back to last night. The movement of his fingertips against my wrist sent goosebumps down my spine as I remembered a similar motion against a more sensitive area.

"You're distracting me from cleaning," I said back quietly.

"I prefer it when you're dirty," he said, continuing to stroke my hand.

Our eyes locked, and I could feel my heart starting to beat faster as my stomach tightened and my breathing became strained.

"Daddy, you better hurry!" Penelope said, pulling us out of our thoughts. "I'm going to be late for school."

"Shit," Nile muttered under his breath.

"I'll take her," I offered. "I'm ready to go, anyway. You can finish in here."

"You want me to finish…?" he asked with his eyebrow raised.

I slapped his arm playfully with the towel I had used to dry my hands. "Come on, Pen. Let's get you to school. Say bye to your dad," I said.

"Bye, Dad!" Penelope said, jumping down from her chair and grabbing her backpack.

"Love you, baby," he replied. "Have a good day at school."

I walked her to preschool, waving goodbye as she went inside, and headed off to work.

Even though Walter still had me doing cleaning and restocking, I was enjoying my job. As far as retail went, it was fairly easy, as there wasn't a steady flow of customers. The customers we did have generally knew what they were looking for.

Cleaning the studio was my favorite part of the week because it meant I got to look at the work of the artists on display. Luckily, that was what Walter had in mind for me today.

"We have a new artist bringing in some work the day after tomorrow, so we'll have an uptick in foot traffic," he explained. "I want to make sure we get the floors mopped beforehand, so we don't have to worry about doing it later on when it gets busier."

"You got it, boss," I said.

I took the broom, mop, and bucket through the side door between the shop and studio and began to sweep, making sure to get all the dust out of the corners.

Just as I was setting up the wet floor signs to begin mopping, the bell on the front door jingled.

"Luna, they don't have you mopping floors now, do they?" a voice said.

I turned to look at who had come in and saw two of the older females from the pack—Phyllis and Margaret—who I knew to be close friends with Diana. They had been at the party for a little while last night, and while I had spoken with them briefly, I wasn't entirely sure they had been won over yet. I put on my bravest, kindest face and braced for a possible confrontation as I walked over to speak with them.

"Good morning, ladies," I said. "And yes, I am definitely mopping the floors. Nile and I both believe that leadership works best when we're willing to do even the dirtiest of jobs."

"I couldn't agree more," Margaret said.

"It's refreshing to hear that kind of attitude from young people," Phyllis added. "Gives me hope for future generations."

I smiled at their kindness. It seemed that today was going to be a good day after all.

"Is there anything that brought you in today? Can I help you find anything, or were you just wanting to look at the art?" I asked.

"We were hoping there would be some new art on display, but I see it's the same as last week. Pity," Phyllis said.

"Walter did say that some new art will be installed later this week. Maybe you'd like to come back in a few days and check again?" I offered.

Margaret shrugged. "I suppose we will, but that doesn't help us much today," she said.

"Now, wait a minute," Phyllis interjected, pointing her finger in my direction. "I heard that you're something of an artist yourself, Luna. Is that true?"

"Nothing like what you see here, but I do enjoy it," I said.

"What do you paint, dear?" Margaret asked.

"Well—" I hesitated, unsure if I was overstepping my job by offering what I was about to offer. "I do have some pictures on my phone if you'd like to look at them?"

I pulled out my phone and opened it to my gallery, selecting the album where I had photographed the pieces I had been working on since I came to Pinedale. Margaret took my phone, tilting the screen so that both women could view the pictures. I watched as their faces turned from kind observation to growing interest, finally settling into a look of admiration.

"Luna Violet, these are stunning," Phyllis finally said.

"Thank you," I said.

"You said that you dabbled , Luna," Margaret said. "This is professional work here. You should have these on display. You could make a fortune, especially if you allowed people to commission your work."

The door between the studio and shop opened behind me, and Walter came into the room.

"Good morning, Phyllis, Margaret. Is Violet helping you find everything you need?" he asked.

His eyebrows furrowed as he saw them looking at my phone, and he cocked his head in confusion.

"Now she has," Margaret said. "Walter, have you seen these?"

She passed the phone to him, and his face went through the same transformation that theirs had.

"My goodness, Luna. You've been holding out on me," Walter said, wagging his finger at me in mock admonishment. "Are these acrylic or oil?"

"Acrylic," I replied.

"Excellent. And do you do these from memory, or do you have your subjects sit for their portraits?"

"Just from memory," I said. "That's why they lean toward abstract more than realism."

"In that case, I want to know what you'd charge for something like this, because I need to commission one for the studio," he said. "And that wall in the back will be where you can set up your installation as soon as you can bring your finished works in. I'd say we start with three at a time, and we can rotate any new paintings as you complete them. How does that sound?"

"It sounds… great," I said, surprised at how quickly I had gone from cleaning the studio floors to being asked to decorate its walls.

I was speechless as I listened to him and the two women wax poetic about the beauty they saw in my paintings. I wasn't humble enough to think they were bad, but I had no idea my work would be met with such enthusiasm.

Walter ultimately commissioned two paintings—the first, a small portrait of himself to be showcased as the owner and proprietor of the studio, and the second, a larger scene that showed the view of Pinedale from the clearing in the forest.

"Any preference on which I start first?" I asked.

"The landscape, I think," Walter said after careful consideration. "When that's done, we can feature it at the unveiling of your collection. As much as I like my face, I think the view of the forest will have a wider appeal to your audience. I still can't believe you didn't tell me about your talent, Luna."

I thanked him for his kindness, and he sent me home early so that I could begin my work. I decided to stop at Penelope's school and bring her home as well, texting Nile on the way so that he knew he wouldn't need to grab her after work. He immediately messaged me back.

Thanks, Vi. You OK to make dinner? Working late if that's alright.

"Good news, Pen," I said as I greeted her at the door. "Your dad's working late, so we get a girls' night! You know what that means, right?"

"Pizza, ice cream, and princess movies?" she asked excitedly.

I nodded my head, and we headed to the house. I tossed a few frozen pizzas in the oven and turned on the television in my painting studio so that we could watch movies while I worked on the landscape for Walter. The opening notes to Penelope's favorite movie played as she snuggled onto the couch next to me, peeking around at my canvas.

"What are you painting?" she asked.

"You know the clearing in the woods?" I asked. "I'm painting that, and the city in the distance."

"It's gonna look so good," she said confidently.

As I started the color-blocking process of the painting, I could tell that she wanted to help. I wordlessly offered her the paintbrush, signaling that she should take it.

"Really? I won't mess it up?" she asked nervously.

"Of course you won't," I said. "That's the best thing about art. There is nothing you can do that can't be fixed."

For the rest of the night, Penelope and I alternated between watching movies, eating, and painting. It was one of the best nights I had ever had in my life.

Before I knew it, my painting was complete and Penny was lying on the couch, fast asleep.