Neither of the men laugh with me.
“Carson, you didn’t have to do that. Oh my God, some poor person is out of business because ofme? No way. Get them back in here, and I’ll find somewhere else.”
“It’s okay, they were shitty at their jobs and weren’t going to make it much longer anyway,” he says with a shrug as he unlocks the door and we walk inside.
I wander in behind him, with Mateo bringing up the rear, and when the lights flick on, butterflies erupt in my stomach.
“Can I paint and stuff?” I ask him.
“You can do whatever you want, pretty fighter,” he says with a wink.
“Stop flirting with my girl,” Mateo says, but there’s no real heat behind his words, and I smirk as I wander around the space, taking it all in.
WhileIwould work pro bono, I would take on two or three other artists to rent chairs from me and work in here as well. I don’t expect them to work for free, or to only work on women, but I think I only want to invite other women artists to join me here. It would probably make my clients feel better.
As I’m staring at a wall, hands on my hips, trying to decide what color I want to paint it, my phone rings.
Unknown Number.
I immediately answer.
“Hello?”
Nothing. Dead air, just like always.
“Rosie, if this is you, I love you so much, and I’m still looking for you. I haven’t given up, baby girl, I need you to know that. As long as there’s breath in me. God, I love you.”
The line goes dead, and I wipe a tear off my cheek that I didn’t realize I’d let fall. When I turn around, I find Mateo and Carson watching me closely.
“I get calls from an unknown number sometimes.” I swallow hard. “Only a few times a year. No one ever says anything, but something in my gut says that it’s my sister, so I talk until the line goes dead.”
“Ah, baby.” Mateo pulls me in for a hug, and I bury my face in his chest, breathing him in.
Suddenly, I just feel soguilty.
I pull out of Mateo’s arms and pace back and forth.
“I know that this”—I gesture around the shop that’s now mine—“is a big deal, and I’m excited to get started, but my sister is still out there, and I haven’t looked for her evenoncein more than a week. I want to go to the fight tonight.”
Mateo frowns. “You do?”
“Yes.”
“But I have my men looking for her there. They have her photo and they’re on alert. Julian has been running her photo through facial recognition to try to find her in the city, and if that doesn’t work, he’ll expand the search to other areas.”
I’m already shaking my head. “I appreciate all of that more than I can tell you. But, it needs to beme. I’ll go with or without you, but I’mgoing, Mateo.”
“I like her,” Carson says with a smile. “I’ll take you?—”
“The fuck you will,” Mateo interrupts, making Carson bust up laughing. “We’ll go, baby.”
I take a deep breath and another look around the space. “I like it here. The size is perfect, the vibes are right. I can make this something amazing.”
“Good. I’ve hired a construction crew and a decorator to work with you,” Mateo says, surprising me.
“I can paint myself.”
“There’s no need for that.” He kisses the top of my head. “You just tell them what you want, and they’ll make it happen.”