The Genius and the Muse by Elizabeth Hunter

Author:Elizabeth Hunter
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: (¯`'•.¸//(*_*)\\¸.•'´¯)
Publisher: E. Hunter
Published: 2012-04-26T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Claremont, California

June 2010

“So… yeah, be pissed at me if you want, but you’re—you’re one of a kind, so just find a guy that gets that, you know… or just ignore me because it’s none of my business anyway. Bye.”

Kate listened to the message left by the surly sculptor for possibly the twentieth time. It hadn’t escaped her notice that he hadn’t called again, but—to be fair—she hadn’t responded to him, either. She was strangely touched by the brusque voice mail. She knew Javi meant well, but she was still confused about what, exactly, he was trying to say.

Added to that, she found herself confused by her own mixed feelings for the man. She tried to brush off her curiosity about him as artistic interest, but her thoughts weren’t lingering on the larger than life steel sculptures he created and displayed, and she couldn’t stop wondering about Susan Rhodes saying she had “charmed” him. Much to her irritation, she found herself getting nervous at the thought of calling him back.

She’d woken in the middle of the night with an idea for a series of self-portraits, excited about the project until she realized the person who would best be able to help her was the sculptor whose message she hadn’t returned for weeks.

“Shit.”

She picked up her phone. He probably wouldn’t even answer. Taking a deep breath and trying to imagine speaking in her most professional voice, Kate dialed the phone number she had programmed in weeks before when he had called her the first time.

She heard his phone ring and ignored the strange flutter of nerves that grabbed her throat for a moment.

It’s a professional call, Kate. It’s just Javi.

Javi. The sculptor. Dee’s friend, who relaxed her and unnerved her at the same time. Javi, the talented artist whose intense scrutiny threw her off balance the few times they’d been in contact. Javi, who seemed to see everything, even things she hadn’t been able to admit to herself. She swallowed quickly as she heard the expected recording pick up, relaxing slightly as she began speaking.

“Hi, Javi. It’s Kate. I, uh… I have this idea—I mean, I don’t know if you’d even be willing to help me or how busy you are right now. I imagine it’s kind of presumptuous, but—”

She heard her phone beep and knew instinctively that it was him returning her call.

Shit, shit, shit!

She had to answer. He’d know from her message that she was the one calling. Taking a deep breath, she clicked over.

“Hello?”

“Katie?” A deep voice, rough from sleep, answered her. She gaped, suddenly unsure of what she wanted to say.

“Javi?”

Of course it’s Javi, you idiot.

Kate heard him take a breath and exhale. “Yeah?”

“Did I—did I wake you up?”

There was a pause. “Yeah, I guess so. I—” He cleared his throat. It worked a little bit, but his voice was still a rough growl that sent a shiver down her spine.

“I’ve been working for a few days.” She heard him release another deep breath. “Hmmm, what time is it?” he murmured.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.