Page 75 of You Found Me
She shook Brick’s hand with what she hoped was a friendly smile. “It’s great to meet you. You’re one of Donovan’s high school buddies, right?”
“Hell, I’m more than his bud. You telling me you ain’t told her about my legendary skills on the field yet?” Brick feigned offense with a hand over his heart. “That hurts, man.”
Ward slapped him on the back. “Didn’t want to steal your thunder. I know how you like an audience.”
“Yes, I do. I really do. First round’s on me.”
“First round’s always on the house for a private party,” Ward said.
“Fantastic,” Brick said with a sly grin. “I can get you something cheaper later when you’re liquored up and won’t notice. Hope you put your name on that pretty present. Mason might not realize it’s from you.” Brick gestured for Della to go first.
“There’s a card,” Della assured him. “Under the bow.”
The crowd parted to let them through the door to Sevens and into the front part of the bar. Della was taller than average for a woman, but it was so packed she couldn’t see much beyond a sea of faces. It was so loud she’d have to shout to be heard.
It was like a concert, except she didn’t have a microphone, and nobody was even looking in her direction.
Brick muscled his way through the throng of people, with Della and Ward traveling in his wake.
Both men fist-bumped and back-slapped everyone within arm’s reach on the way through. They knew everyone, and everyone knew them.
Here in small-town America, she drew interested looks, but only in a who’s-the-new-girl way. Nobody gave her much of a second glance.
Della couldn’t remember a time when she’d gone unrecognized at a party. She was usually the center of attention.
Ward’s evil plan to erase her had worked.
Della squeezed his hand a little tighter.
He gave her a questioning look. “Everything okay?”
She tucked her free hand around his arm and nodded. “Nobody knows me.”
Ward lifted his chin at someone. “That’s the point.”
She watched three more people greet him like a long-lost friend.
The pressure was all on him. She didn’t have to worry about anyone pushing in too close, getting handsy, or cameras flashing in her face. She didn’t have to hope her dress wasn’t see-through. She didn’t even have to pose.
“It’s just that it feels different,” she said. “I feel…free. I like it.”
She thought she saw surprise widen Ward’s eyes just a little, but it was gone so fast she might have imagined it.
Brick led them through the bar to a set of French doors that opened onto a romantic cobblestoned courtyard straight out of a painting.
Literally.
Someone shouted Brick’s name, and he sauntered toward a small temporary bar on the right.
“Something wrong?” Ward said, tension edging his tone.
“This is the painting in the living room.” Della stared at the place she’d thought only existed in a picture. It was all here, exactly the way his mother had painted it, except someone had added enormous sunflowers everywhere. It was like golden carpet of sunshine had been spilled over everything. “I didn’t know it was a real place. It’s beautiful.”
He didn’t respond for so long that she thought he was going to ignore her. Or maybe he just hadn’t heard.
“It’s just that when I saw it, I kind of wished I could go there,” she continued. “I pictured myself sitting right there, on that bench.”
“My mom painted that a long time ago, when it was Smokey Joe’s,” Ward said. “There used to be a barbecue pit where the fountain is now, and the back wall was covered with stacks of wood instead of ivy.”