The Artist and the Attorney by Amy Blythe

Author:Amy Blythe
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: short story romance, lesbian romance, lesbian short fiction, lgbtq romance, lesbian suspense, romantic suspense
Publisher: Amy Paulussen
Published: 2021-03-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 4

Lucinda’s legs were shaking, but she managed not to fall over between the kitchen and the gallery. She felt naked. All her buttons were done up before she stepped into view of the street-front windows, but anyone who saw her would surely know exactly what she’d been doing. Her skin hummed—it had to show!

She caught sight of herself in the dark glass door and, somehow, she looked the same as ever. Her hair was barely mussed, her clothes not noticeably askew. So it was just her psyche knocked off kilter.

Shit. Mel was so not what Lucinda was looking for right now.

She scrambled in her purse for pencils, pens, anything that might give her options for the drawing. But the only paper here was the lined pad on the desk.

She might find something in the storage space. Brown wrapping roll would be better than a notepad. The headspace Lucinda was in, a frenzy to draw, she’d take what she could get.

There was only a couple of feet left on the roll. Lucinda looped it free then looked around, just in case a better option lurked in the shadows. Boxes and crates, trestle tables and shelves. All of it gleaned with a coppery tinge from the street light outside, filtering through the high, grimy windows.

She wanted Mel in here, in amongst the art. Behind the scenes where new pieces, delicious discoveries, waited wrapped up and hiding behind paper and board—she could keep her shirt buttoned, her legs sheathed, make the artist and the audience wonder about what waited beneath.

Lucinda moved a stepladder, a chair, and a pile of board and framing supplies, rolls of tape and stickers. The direction of the light wasn’t quite right. She could borrow a lamp from the office, though. And she might find better pens there. Her plans grew with every move she made, every idea and adjustment.

Would Mel even stay? It was possible this was all about the seduction—being drawn was nothing but foreplay, perhaps. Mel might not mean to hang around for long, or at all. She might be packing up her things even now. Lucinda panicked and rushed back to the kitchen.

Empty.

Mel’s jacket was still on the stool. But where was Mel? Lucinda couldn’t be comforted by a jacket. Mel might have taken off, forgotten her coat, flustered, keen to leave without a fuss, an awkward thanks-and-goodnight.

Lucinda looked down the hall. There was no light under the toilet door. No sound of water or movement.

A barely-there susurration. A whispering, almost whistling sound, so soft she thought she was imagining it. But no, it was real. Relief landed somewhere near her stomach, cool and calming. Mel hadn't done a runner.

But the sound wasn’t coming from the toilet.

The office door was open. Barely open, but not quite closed. Lucinda touched it and it swung.

The shushing papers hushed.

“Mel?”

“I, ah,” she cleared her throat, somewhere behind the desk, “I thought I might find you some paper.” The torch light from Mel's phone flashed, blinding Lucinda and glinting away.

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.