Chapter 28 Lydia
Lydia
Twelve Months Earlier
I smoothed my hands down my black corset-style dress and heaved in a deep breath.
This was my third gallery event of the season and everything was going perfectly.
The catering was delicious, and even better, here on time.
All of the artists that were being showcased had arrived in various states of black-tie attire.
I had a local vineyard here to pass out complimentary glasses of wine to everyone who entered.
And as it turned out, that was a lot of people.
“I didn’t expect such a big turnout,” Lynnette Vintier said.
As the gallery owner, she was my main point of contact as I coordinated curating the art and working with the artists.
We had been planning this for over twelve months, but it was really the last three months that everything started coming together.
A sense of pride expanded my chest. “I was always optimistic it would be a success,” I lied. Lynnette laughed, low and throaty. She knew that was a lie. Up until about two hours ago, I wasn’t totally convinced we would be able to pull this off.
“Mrs. Vintier, Lydia,” my boss, Dahlia, said, coming to join our conversation. “This exhibit certainly appears to be successful. Did I just see one of the Divilio paintings sell?”
“Yes, Angelo is doing very well tonight. He’s actually sold three so far.”
“And the night’s still young,” I added.
“It’s all because of our Lydia. She’s been working so hard to make sure this event went off smoothly and drumming up the excitement that brought everyone out tonight,” Lynnette said with a smile.
“Of course, Lydia’s our best curator. We would only ever assign the best to work with you, Mrs. Vintier,” Dahlia said.
“That’s good to hear, because I only want to work with Lydia from here out,” Lynnette announced.
My jaw dropped, and I had to snap my mouth closed before I caught a fly. Lynnette Vintier was a huge account for us. She had made a name for herself in the New York art scene. It was an honor to work with her on this exhibit, but I didn’t expect to have the opportunity to again.
“Thank you,” I started. A commotion by the front pulled my attention, but it wasn’t until I heard his voice that my heart sank. “Excuse me,” I said quickly, rushing away from them.
“That’s my girl who did all of this. She wants me here,” Blake mumbled, barely opening his mouth but somehow yelling.
“Hi, excuse me,” I said to the attendant at the front. It was an invite-only event, a tactic used to give a feel of exclusivity and status to the exhibition, and I hadn’t added Blake to the invite list. “Blake, baby, what are you doing here? You said you weren’t coming.”
“I’m here now. Let’s do this.” He slung his arm around my shoulder, wafts of body odor and alcohol circling us. I gave the attendant a small smile, sliding out from under Blake’s arm and taking his hand instead.
“What the fuck are you looking at?” he shouted at one of the patrons. “Keep your eyes off my girl.” He grabbed me by the back of the neck, tugging me to his chest.
“Blake,” I warned. “Not here, okay?”
“Oh, come on, baby. You want all these losers to know you’re with me, right?
” He pulled me to him for a dirty kiss. My heart was beating faster as I tried to push him away.
This was so embarrassing. My boss and my client were both standing by watching as it all unfolded.
Blake continued to harass and verbally assault every person in the room, ignoring all of my pleas to stop.
A well-dressed man in his late twenties glanced toward us, where I had us huddled at the back of the room, and Blake flipped.
He grabbed my breast, feeling me up, while yelling at the man, “She’s mine.
Don’t fucking look at her. She doesn’t want you when she has me. ” He cupped his junk in a lewd display.
“Blake,” I hissed. “Get out of here. Now. This is a work event, and you’re embarrassing me.”
Dahlia appeared beside me, along with the attendant from the front.
“You need to leave,” she said. Her face was a mask of fury and disappointment.
“He’s leaving. I promise.”
“No. Both of you. Please leave.”
My eyes bounced between her and the well-dressed but well-built attendant.
“Right. Of course.” Anxiety clawed at my throat, making it hard to swallow. “I’m so sorry, Dahlia.”
“Be at my office tomorrow morning, 9:00 a.m.” She turned and walked away. The attendant did not.
“We’re going. We’re going.” I guided Blake out the door with me, half dragging him along.
Apparently, it didn’t matter how successfully executed or well attended the event was.
When your boyfriend attacks every patron and feels you up in front of a mass of people while screaming about no one looking at you, it’s the final nail in the career coffin.
As my 9:00 a.m. meeting with Dahlia the next day proved.
And just like that, I was out of a job.
* * *
Present Day
“Could you stand by the wall of artwork at the front for a picture?” I asked. Danny, Seb’s client, had just finished a four-hour session for an intricate piece that covered most of his massive thigh.
“Sure thing.” He smiled, then turned to Seb and shook his hand. “Thanks, man. This came out killer. I saw your work all over TikTok. This is even better than I thought it would be though.”
“Thanks. It’s my pleasure.” Seb grinned. “Lydia will take a few pictures to keep that social media shit going, and then we’ll settle up. Meet me at the front when you’re all set.”
Seb shot me a quick wink before he started disassembling his equipment for sanitation. I brought Danny to the front and had him pose in front of my favorite collection.
It only took a few minutes, and we were done before Seb, so we made small talk while he waited. “Are you from around here?” he asked.
“Yeah, I grew up here. I moved away for college and stayed in New York City for a while after that. I just came back here at the start of the year.”
“Nice. And you and Sebastian… are…?” He faded off.
“Yeah,” I laughed. “We are.”
“Cool. That’s cool.”
Seb walked up with his usual happy grin. He and Danny settled up the amount owed and shook hands again.
“See you around, man. I’ll definitely be back for more. You’ll be seeing me again.”
“That’s awesome. Appreciate it.”
“Bye, Danny. Have a good night,” I said.
After Danny left, Seb pulled me into his arms. His lips brushed mine lightly, but it made my insides melt just the same.
“Hey. I have to run out for a bit. Can you watch the shop for me in case anyone comes in?”
“Of course. Where are you off to?”
“I have a meeting at the bank to go over the loan. Now that I’m completely current and have been for the past three months, they’re willing to talk to me about working out a better rate.”
“Oh, good luck!” I tilted my head up, silently looking for another kiss.
Seb didn’t miss a beat. He grinned knowingly, smiling against my lips.
A better rate on his loan would be a huge help.
His business had been doing well lately, and with summer just starting, it was only going to get better for the next few months, but what would happen after that?
“I’ll be back in thirty minutes, an hour at the most.” He kissed me again. It started chaste, a quick peck, really. Then again. And then again, deeper and slower this time.
His soft lips moved against mine almost lazily, like we had all the time in the world.
“That’s only true if you actually make it to your meeting,” I laughed.
He growled playfully, adding a nip to my lip before pulling back.
“Go.” I pushed him out the door. “If anyone comes in, I’ll set them up with an appointment.”
“Fine. But we’re finishing that later tonight,” he called as he walked backward toward his car.
A half hour later, I had my feet crossed under my legs on the couch, my laptop open in front of me, when the front door swung open.
My eyes were playing tricks on me. They had to be, because there was no way that he was here.
Blake couldn’t be here, standing in the doorway of SD Ink in Calla Bay, Massachusetts.
I jumped to my feet, instinctively grabbing my cell off the table.
For some reason, memories of the last time he showed up at my work swam through my mind. That was my last day, not only at that job but any job. Not until I came home and Luke hooked me up with a job with Seb.
Thank God Seb wasn’t here. What if Blake made a scene again? I was positive he was going to. He wasn’t here to catch up, after all. Would Seb fire me too?
No, that was ridiculous. I knew that. Seb wouldn’t have fired me for my ex showing up back in January, when I was still dead set on hating him. He certainly wasn’t going to fire me now.
“Blake? What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to get you back. I’ve missed you, baby,” Blake said, his sad puppy dog eyes locked on mine.
“How did you even know where to find me?” My brothers already knew what my relationship with Blake was like.
They wouldn’t have told him where I was.
Luke and Reid had filled Wyatt in when he got home, and we had a heart to heart about everything afterwards.
My dad was still mainly in the dark, but he knew enough.
Who else could he have reached out to? It wasn’t like he knew anyone in Calla Bay, other than me.
“I saw your video for this place. The one where you’re crying over your mom.
I looked it up and saw the feed for this place.
It was obvious it was you managing it,” he said.
He made his way into the space, looking around, probably to make sure there wasn’t anyone else here.
He turned back to me, sincerity in his clear, brown eyes.
“I’ve been miserable without you. I need you to come home. ”
“I am home. I’m not going back to New York. I’m not getting back together with you,” I told him bluntly.
“You were just upset. I get it. I didn’t always treat you right, and I’m sorry. But it wasn’t all bad, Lydia. Don’t convince yourself that a couple of mistakes are worth throwing away everything we had.”
“They weren’t just a couple of mistakes. They were a pattern of… It doesn’t matter. I’m not going back with you. Just leave.”
I unlocked my phone and immediately called Seb. When he didn’t answer, I tried again.
“What? No explanation? No conversation? I can’t defend myself?
It’s just whatever you say goes, and that’s it.
” His anger was building. He moved further into the room, each step bringing him closer to me.
I took one step back and then another. Blood rushed in my ears, drowning out everything other than him.
I didn’t want to take my eyes off him, but I needed to look at my phone.
Chancing a quick glance at my phone, I selected the next best contact.
I gripped my phone tightly, praying that Luke would answer, because otherwise, he was about to get one jumbled-up voicemail.
“Yes. I’m not having this conversation with you, Blake.”
“And I’m not leaving here without you, Lydia. I came all the way down to this fish market town… for you.” He continued his slow stride toward me.
“Don’t, Blake. I’m not joking. Stay over there,” I said.
“Stay, leave? Which is it, Lydia? And you think it’s me that’s the problem? You’re a fucking mess. You should be glad that I still want you. God knows no one else does. I could have a hundred other women, but I’m here for you instead.”
“I didn’t ask you to come here. Feel free to find one—or more—of those hundred women. My life is here. We are not together anymore. Just go,” I cried.
A faint voice sounded, and it took me a second to place it. I glanced down at my phone and saw my call was connected. Luke was coming. I just needed to kill enough time for him to get here. Or better yet, convince Blake to go back to New York—without me.