Her attention shifted to a silver-framed photo resting in the middle of the dresser. Despite the pigtails and missing front tooth, the young girl in the picture was clearly Dana. A lanky gentleman with sandy blond hair and a neatly trimmed beard stood beside her, beaming proudly for the camera. Her father? Before he could ask Dana, she walked away from the dresser and crossed to the window. Outside, Jace was still stretched on the sleeping bag, unabashed in his nakedness and snoring loud enough they could hear him through the thick glass pane.
“I’ve been involved in a lot of bad relationships,” Dana said softly, reaching for the blind’s cord. “It’s a well-known fact I’ve perfected the art of dysfunction. But apparently I’ve managed to top even myself this time. Two dragons intent on binding me to them forever. You can’t get much more dysfunctional than that.” Cranking the cord with a hard snap, she sealed Jace off from view. She turned suddenly, her expression flat and resigned. “Normalcy. It’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted. And it’s the one thing I’m never going to have.”
Chapter Sixteen
When Thursday morning rolled around Dana was more than ready to reopen Fancies. Three days away from the gallery had her going stir crazy and worrying about the dwindling state of her bank account. On the bright side, dreading over her finances saved her from stressing about the upcoming weekend. She still didn’t know what the hell her decision would be on the contract, and her increasingly out-of-control emotional attachment to Aiden only complicated matters.
Ignoring the headache pounding in her temples, she inserted the key in the lock and swung open the front door. The expensive new alarm system that’d mysteriously appeared late yesterday afternoon chirped a series of warning beeps, and she quickly punched the security code into the keypad. She started to walk into the main room of the gallery, but Aiden stalled her by snagging her elbow.
“Jace and I will do a sweep first.”
She frowned. “Why? If someone was here, the alarm would have gone off.”
“Just humor us.”
Rolling her eyes, she leaned against the wall and waited while her paranoid saviors checked each room. She passed the time inspecting the fresh paint job, pleased how the creamy eggshell finish completely masked the ugly graffiti. Precisely three minutes later Jace called out an all clear. Aiden strode from her office and she shot him an exasperated look. “What, you didn’t find a fourteen-foot dragon crouched beneath my desk?”
His response was a penetrating stare that left her wishing she’d never opened her big, sarcastic mouth. Ever since their conversation in her bedroom, the tension between them had been palpable. Though Aiden hadn’t issued any more declarations of love or brought up the forthcoming situation with the binding ceremony, she’d continuously felt his awareness of her and the heaviness of his thoughts. She’d caught the flash of pain in his eyes when she’d spoken of wanting a normal life. He knew as well as she did that normalcy wasn’t something he could offer. “I’ll, uh, start bringing in the new paintings.” Pivoting on her heel, she booked a speedy exit outside.
Tony pulled up in his station wagon while she propped open the Navigator’s rear door. He hopped out of his car and she gave him a surprised look. “You didn’t have to come in today.”
“Are you kidding? I’ve been bored to death the past few days.” Smoothing a finger beneath the collar of his argyle vest like it was scratching him, he strolled forward.
Her gaze shifted from the perfect crease in Tony’s chinos to the rust bucket behind him. She fought to stifle a grin. The huge discrepancy between his impeccable appearance and his choice of vehicles never ceased to baffle her. Of course, she should talk. Next to POC, the station wagon was a luxurious example of modern engineering.
Tony poked his head inside the Navigator and whistled. “Looks like someone’s been busy. Obviously your gorgeous hunks didn’t do a good enough job distracting you from the siren’s call.”
“Um, I think you mean muse. A siren is one of those chicks that lure sailors to shipwreck on a rocky coast.”
“Oh yeah.” Nodding, Tony balanced a crate of paintings on his hip. “I always get the two confused.”
Chuckling, she grabbed the remaining crate and slammed the door shut. “Maybe you should rethink being an aspiring art student. I’d hate to see you flunk final exams for getting the technical term for muse wrong.”
A squeal of tires and a blaring horn drew her focus to the busy street behind them. She spied a familiar burgundy Lincoln Town Car and groaned.
Shaking a fist at the irate honker riding her bumper, Emmaline executed a very illegal U-turn and swerved into Fancies’ parking lot. Sucking in a calming breath, Dana waited for her aunt to climb out of her car.
“Did you hear that idiot honking at me?” Emmaline stormed around the Town Car, her tightly permed curls bouncing with righteous indignation.
“Could have something to do with the fact that you almost caused a ten-car pileup.”
Paying no attention to Dana’s astute observation, Emmaline waved toward the gallery. “They get everything fixed in there?”
“Yep. As you can see, we’re in the middle of getting things organized. Why don’t you come back—”
“I’m here now, why would I want to come back? It’ll give me a chance to check up on things.”
Oh Lord. She didn’t need to read between the lines to know what things Emmaline was referring to. Her suspicions became confirmed when she followed her aunt inside the gallery. Emmaline didn’t even glance at the walls, instead she bee-lined directly toward Aiden and Jace. The brothers broke off in mid conversation, identical expressions of wary expectation stamped on their handsome faces. Dana almost felt sorry for them. Still, they were deflecting some of the heat off of her, and that certainly had its benefits.
Plunking the crate down, she surveyed the walls. At least the painters had reinstalled the picture hangers. Lining all those babies up had taken her endless measuring and repeated finger smashing courtesy of the hammer. Talk about a major headache if she’d been forced to do it all over again. Tony approached with the other crate and she did a quick inventory, mentally arranging the paintings for highest visual impact. She reached for the closest canvas just as Emmaline skipped to her side.
“Hon, I have to run. Call me later though, all right?” After delivering a quick peck on Dana’s cheek, Emmaline rushed out the door.
Dana gaped after her aunt. Huh, that wasn’t nearly as painful as I thought it’d be. She turned her head at the heavy tread of Aiden and Jace’s advancing footsteps. Taking one look at their bemused countenances, she grimaced. “What did she sucker you guys into doing?”
Jace blinked. “How the hell did you figure that out?”
“I’ve been a frequent victim of my aunt’s wily strong-arming for twenty-seven years. Trust me, I’ve worn the same expression as you a dozen times or two.”
“Apparently we’re escorting you to La Luna’s employee potluck Saturday night,” Aiden said, his tone dry.
“Oh, crapazola.” She slapped her palm against her forehead. “I totally forgot about that. Don’t sweat it. It’s not like we have to go.”
“And risk your aunt kicking my ass?” Jace grunted. “I don’t think so, sweetness.”
Shooting him a look from the corner of her eye, she cackled like a chicken.
“Nice. Cock-a-doodle-doing from the woman who hid behind a crate the entire time her aunt was here,” Jace scoffed.
She tilted her nose in the air. “For your information, I was not hiding. I was strategizing the layout for the new paintings.” Bending, she picked up the dragon and princess canvas and sashayed to the hook near the small, lacquered table. After placing the painting, she stepped back to eyeball the angle.