Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 56831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
“It will be, and this all looks fantastic. That charcuterie board is a work of art.”
He flashed me a smile. “I’m pretty sure you’re teasing me, but it was fun to make.”
“Nope, no teasing here. I love the way you’ve been discovering a passion for all things culinary, especially because I get to reap the benefits.” I grinned at him as I swiped a piece of cheese from the tray.
The doorbell rang just then, and I raised a brow and said, “Someone’s twenty minutes early.”
“It’s probably Adriano. He got the revised plans back from the architect, and he said he’d come over early to show me.”
“In that case, you get the door, and I’ll open the wine.”
My brother and Marcus had ended up bonding over a pretty amazing project—an art center located in our old neighborhood, just a block from the bar. It turned out Art Giannopoulos was leaving his mark on Vegas after all, but in a way he’d never imagined.
The art center was going to include a permanent exhibit of the paintings and sculptures Art had collected over his lifetime—minus the pieces Marcus had already sold off. The funds he’d gotten from their sale had gone into purchasing an abandoned building, which was about to be rebuilt into an incredible resource for the community. In addition to providing studio space and a place for local artists to exhibit their work, it was going to offer free art classes for both kids and adults, taught by a staff of artists-in-residence.
There’d been a time when Adriano had been passionate about photography. His gorgeous photographs were still on display in the bar—and I was grateful that Pete had promised to keep them up when he bought the place. But aside from that, Adriano’s love of photography had been all but forgotten, until Marcus came up with the idea for a community art center and asked for his help. That had prompted my brother to buy a new camera and start taking pictures again. I loved seeing him rediscover a part of himself that had been lost along the way.
When I finished opening several wine bottles, I returned to the living room and smiled at what I saw there. Adriano and Marcus were seated side-by-side on the sofa, gesturing at the blueprints strewn across the coffee table while carrying on an animated conversation. That project really had been the best thing for them, and the fact that they were bonding made me so happy.
Jack was perched on the arm of the sofa with a hand on his fiancé’s shoulder, and he grinned at me and said, “Look, more blueprints.” These were at least the sixth or seventh version.
Marcus looked up at me with excitement sparkling in his eyes. “You have to see the new plans, baby! The architect took all of our notes, and she totally nailed it.”
I squeezed in beside him, and Marcus and my brother explained the changes in great detail. They were like a couple of kids with a new toy, and their enthusiasm was infectious.
A few minutes later, I got up to answer a knock on the door. I expected Dante and Charlie, but what I found instead was Timothy, framed by two surfboards. “Look what I found today at a yard sale! One for me, one for you,” he said. “I know they told us we wouldn’t need our own boards for our beginner surfing lessons, but these were too cheap to pass up.”
“Wow, thanks! They’re really cool. Come on in.” I carried one of the boards inside, while he brought the other.
After saying hello to everyone in the living room, Timothy turned to me and said, “Sorry, I should have called first. I didn’t realize you had company.”
“No, it’s fine. Do you play poker? If so, you should join us.”
Timothy lit up at the offer. “I’d love to.”
My brother eyed the boards with a look of concern and asked me, “Does that mean you’re going to go through with the surfing lessons?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
The frown line between his brows deepened. “Because the ocean is big, scary, and full of sharks, and you grew up in the desert. It’s not like swimming in a pool, you know. Are you even comfortable around that much water?”
I grinned at him and said, “I’ll be fine.” Adriano had come a long way in terms of treating me like an adult, but he’d always be an overprotective big brother. That was just who he was.
Jack asked, “Does this mean you two have moved on from pole dancing?”
“No, we’re still doing that twice a week,” Timothy said. “Romy was just ready to add a new challenge, and this is what we came up with.”
I’d signed up for a couple of classes through Open University, too. I still had no clue what I’d end up doing in terms of a career. But while I figured it out, I’d been having fun learning new things, challenging myself, and continuing to build my confidence.