Page 13 of Adored By the Wolf

“Why ever would you ride a camel backward?” I asked, trying my best to seem interested while crushing an English muffin with Nutella.

“Why not? You should try it some time.”

“I’d rather not.”

“You need to live a little,” Lira said, coming behind me and giving me a tight squeeze.

“I live just fine and have my quiet solitude when you’re not around.”

“Oh, but you love having me around because I bring color to your life.”

I snorted.

Lira’s phone rang, and she looked at it in confusion.

“An ex calling you?” I said, only half joking.

“Ha. Ha. Very funny. No, it’s Dad’s manager.”

“Mom?” I guessed.

“The one and only.”

Mom calling us on the weekend was not completely out of the blue, but it usually meant one thing—she wanted something.

Lira pressed the speaker button and put the phone between us, then we both leaned back to listen.

“Lira, sweetheart!” Mom’s clipped tone was extra sharp today.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Is Millie with you?”

“Yes, she’s right here next to me.”

“Millie, why are you not answering your phone?”

“I just woke up. I’m not sure where my phone is.”

I waited and, sure enough, I was not disappointed when a long, drawn-out sigh escaped Mom’s mouth. “You should have your phone on you at all times. Sleep on it, if that works. Goodness knows, it doesn’t work for your dad, but you are half me. You should have the wherewithal to think ahead.”

“Yes, Mom.” I gave Lira a glare. She had been making funny faces at me this whole time, trying to get me to laugh, and hence, get me in trouble with Mom, but I was in no mood for either of them.

“Why are you not at the gallery yet? Sundays are big days. Wemustsell every one of your father’s paintings. None of them are to come home.”

“The gallery isn’t open yet, Mom,” I said. “Lillian doesn’t open till nine o’clock at the earliest.”

“Well, we have a client that is there waiting right now. A high-spending fella too. Sell some paintings to him, okay? That’s a dear. Now, put Lira on the line.”

I handed Lira her phone back, and she immediately started telling Mom all about her trip. There was no mention of the customer or that she left me hanging or any signs of her getting reprimanded. I refocused back on my breakfast. If there was a high-end customer there, he must have acted pretty obnoxious to get the guard to call Mom. Or maybe the guard called Lillian, who then called Mom. In any case, I did not want to deal with this person.

Now, if Jacob had come back, I’d be there in a heartbeat. There was something about him that made me want to get to know him better. But I wasn’t holding my breath that he’d show up today. Dad had said no to any commission work based on that painting and had also apologized that it was even there, as he hadn’t known Mom had sent it. Mom acted like she didn’t have a clue that the painting would have been special to me. Well, I was going to take it home after this showing, as Lillian had it on hold for me. That meant I just had to figure out how to tell Jacob that he wasn’t going to get this painting or any others that were similar.

“Lira,” I said after she had hung up, “you’re going to go to the gallery today.”

“I am not!” She actually looked horrified.

“You’re the one who should have been there this week to begin with. There’s no reason why you can’t go today. I was supposed to be skiing or on a beach reading my book and relaxing.”