The Artist's Provocateur: Serano Brothers Novel, Book 3 Read online

  "Sure, sure. Are you coming over now?"

  "Chill out. I'll be over in ten minutes." With that, Chloe disconnected their call.

  Ten minutes later, Marie climbed into Chloe's car, and they headed down the road toward the farmhouse.

  "Hey, was Adam home when you left?" Chloe asked as she slowed the car down to a stop at a red light.

  Odd question. "I honestly have no idea. Why?"

  Chloe twirled a piece of her long blonde hair, staring ahead as though the shade of red glowing from the light above them fascinated her. "No reason. You didn't happen to mention anything about this well to him, did you?"

  Another – even odder – question and Marie frowned. "No, of course not. Why would I?"

  Finally, Chloe turned to look at her with something akin to bewilderment in her eyes. "You don't talk to him much, do you?"

  "Not if I can help it," she said with a shake of her head.

  The light turned green and Chloe chuckled as she moved the car forward. "You are the only woman I know who actively avoids the Seranos. Every other female in this town would kill to trade places with you and live next to Adam."

  Marie snorted. "Yeah, it's all fun and games, until he wakes you up in the wee hours of the morning for a week straight, because he's banging some slut's brains out and she has no concept of volume control. And I don't avoid all the Seranos, only the annoying one." Crossing her arms over her chest, she slumped back in her seat. "Actually, I was thinking that now might be a good time to consider investing in a house."

  Chloe outright laughed then. "You want to buy a house to get away from Adam? Oh, come on. He's not that bad. He's really a sweetheart once you get to know him. You just need to give him a chance."

  Seriously? Were they talking about the same guy?

  "Sure, you think he's a sweetheart because you're in a committed relationship, and he knows it, so he doesn't try to get into your pants every time you see him. When he's not throwing digs at you, that is. And you don't have to listen to the pornographic opera that goes on in his apartment more often than is healthy for one man."

  Chloe shrugged. "Okay, I'll grant you that he is a bit of a man-whore, but –"

  "Look, I don't want to talk about him anymore, okay? Every time I think about him, my blood pressure goes up." Among other physical reactions that she would not let herself dwell on. "I want to focus on my piece and forget that he exists for a while."

  "Well, your wish is my command, because we're here," Chloe said turning onto the narrow road that led up to the farmhouse.

  As Chloe slid the car to a stop in front of the house, Marie sat starting out the window at a view that she hadn't taken in since she was a kid. The gray stone walls remained mostly intact, only crumbling in a few places that made up the edges of the structure, with a few small holes here and there on the sides. Time and weather had worn away the shingles of the porch roof, making it droop in the middle, as though at any second it might collapse. A few of the shutters surrounding the myriad windows of the house had either lost their mate or hung at a crooked angle off their hinges.

  The years had not been kind to this place, and if at all possible, it looked even spookier than she remembered. But she hadn't come here to sit in the safety of the car gaping at it like a frightened child from the road. Opening the passenger door, she got out and tugged her tote bag over her shoulder. She could hear Chloe's footsteps in the dirt as she rounded the car and followed Marie onto the frozen ground surrounding the house. They cut a path through the yard to the back of the house, and Marie's heart stopped when the well came into view.

  Or rather, where the well should have been.

  A large construction fence surrounded it with signs posted in front declaring 'keep out' and 'danger' in big, bold letters. As she moved closer, one of the signs with smaller print came into focus, bringing her to a halt. This one claimed that a security camera had been installed and all trespassers would be prosecuted.

  Well, shit.

  Even if she wanted to peek behind that fence to see what was left of the well, she couldn't risk getting caught on camera doing so. No matter how much she wanted to complete this piece for the auction, her job as a teacher was much more important.

  If she couldn't get to the well to either sketch it or take some pictures, then she would have to reconstruct it on the page from memory, and she didn't know if she could do it justice. Disappointment swirled around in her gut like bitter acid. When the inspiration for this piece had hit her, it had been so brilliant, and now the possibility of it never coming to fruition stuck like a lump in her throat.

  "Now what am I supposed to do?" she mumbled to herself as Chloe came up beside her.

  "I don't understand," Chloe said. "This isn't supposed to be here yet. He said that they weren't going to start working on this place for a least another month."

  Marie's head whipped to the right to take in her friend. "He? He who? What are you talking about?"

  Biting her lip, Chloe winced and turned to face Marie. "Adam?"

  It came out as a question, but Marie's brain had some trouble connecting the dots. She had to speak slowly to make sure both of them understood. "What does Adam have to do with this?"

  Please don't say what I think you're going to say. Please. The plea went through her head on loop until Chloe finally opened her mouth and Marie's heart sank.

  "Adam bought the farmhouse and all the land that comes with it. He's planning to renovate it and move in hopefully before the end of the year."

  The pained groan escaped her before she could stop it. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

  "I didn't think it was relevant," Chloe said putting her hands on her hips. "The last time I talked to Adam about this project, he said that they wouldn't even begin to touch this place until March. That's next month. So, I didn't think they would have the well all blocked off like this. I figured we could sneak onto the property as planned."

  An idea struck her and, though it left a bad taste in her mouth, she had to ask. "Do you know if they've done anything to the well yet, or do they just have it blocked off until they do?"

  Chloe shrugged. "I have no clue."

  "Maybe, if they haven't started work on it yet, I can talk Adam into bringing me out here, so I can take a look behind that fence and get what I need," she said turning on her heel and hastily making her way back to the car.

  If he wouldn't help her, she would have to go ahead and try to do it from memory. This idea was too good to throw away without at least trying.

  "I thought you two didn't get along," Chloe said as they got into the car. "How are you going to talk him into bringing you out here?"

  "We don't, not really, but he owes me for all the hours of lost sleep." Not to mention as a true and honest apology for all the insults he'd thrown her way. That nerd comment alone warranted a favor.

  Chloe let out a bright, mischievous laugh. "Oh man, too bad I have to be at work soon. That's a conversation I don't want to miss."

  *****

  5 p.m. It was time.

  Marie dragged one of her kitchen chairs into the hallway and placed it in front of the door. Sitting in the chair, she placed the gourmet apple pie she'd purchased on the way home from the car rental place on her lap and waited. She had lived beside Adam long enough to get a sense of his routine, even if it had been subliminal when she had gathered the information. It was Saturday, so she knew he'd be headed to his family's bar, Abel's, around seven. The brothers liked to have all hands-on deck on their busiest night of the week, so all but Ben, who had moved away last year, would be working tonight. Not that she ever really went to Abel's, but she had overheard Adam tell a few women all this stuff from time to time.

  Before he went to work, though, she knew he liked to go work out for about an hour or so. She'd seen him lifting weights or running on the treadmill often enough as she walked past the apartment's gym facilities around this time. So, she sat poised and ready to intercept him when he came home
for a shower, the pie a peace offering as well as a bribe. She needed to be on his good side for once if she stood a snowball's chance of getting what she wanted.

  Almost like clockwork, at 5:13 p.m., she heard footsteps coming down the hall and the jingle of keys as Adam unlocked his door. She needed to wait long enough for him to get inside, but not long enough to give him time to hop into the shower. She didn't want to appear desperate or weird. Although, she supposed what she was currently doing made a case that she might be both.

  Dispelling the unwanted image of his naked body under the spray of the shower from her mind when it suddenly popped into her head, she balanced the pie in one hand and opened her door. Walking the two feet to his door, she took a deep breath to calm her jangling nerves and knocked.

  A few minutes later, he answered the door wearing nothing but a towel, which completely undid all her good work of getting the shower image out of her head. Especially, as all those muscles still gleamed in the dim light of the hall from his workout. Seemed she'd miscalculated and waited a tad too long.

  A slow, sexy smile spread across his face as he braced his forearm on the doorframe while holding the towel in place with his free hand. "Marie, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

  Ungluing her tongue from the roof of her mouth, she said the first thing that came to her head. "Do you always answer the door half-naked?"

  Stupid. She needed to make peace with him, not criticize his life choices. But it wasn't her fault if all that exposed skin scrambled her brains a little.

  That smile turned wicked and he winked at her. "Only when I know it's you on the other side of it. Is that pie?"

  "What? Oh." She had been so dazzled by him that she forgot she was holding the damn thing. Come on, Marie. Focus. She cleared her throat. "Yes, it is. After the last few days, this is sort of a peace offering. I thought now would be a more appropriate time, but maybe I was wrong?"

  He licked his lips and she caught herself before she could mirror the action. "You do have some pretty crap timing, lately. I was about to get into the shower. I thought you said you didn't bake."

  Straightening her spine, she refused to let his words rattle her. The twinkle of amusement in his dark eyes suggested he wanted her to take the bait. Instead, she followed the opportunity of his last sentence to change the subject.

  "I don't bake. This pie is from Cresthill Bakery." The gourmet pie would no doubt taste much better than any attempt at baking that she might have made.

  "Cresthill, huh?" His eyebrow arched as he leaned against the doorframe. "That's what, a thirty-minute drive from here?"

  Forty minutes, actually. But who was counting? "Something like that. I figured if I was going to make an attempt, it should be better than regular store-bought."

  "Yeah, but it seems to me that this grand of a gesture is more than just a peace offering." He said, tilting the lid on the pie box to take a peek before his gaze met hers. "What else are you up to?"

  How was it that he barely knew her, but could see through her so easily? She felt her cheeks heat and cursed her fair complexion for no doubt showing it. "Well, it is a peace offering but...I do kind of have a favor to ask."

  The corner of his mouth kicked upward, revealing the dimple in his left cheek as he straightened and tucked the towel in more securely around his waist. "Ah, now we're getting somewhere. What can I do for you, Marie?"

  Oh, so many things. The thought entered her brain before she could suppress it. The way that towel rested low on his hips, and the fact that the timber of his voice seemed to deepen about an octave, made it difficult. She swallowed and forged on. "It's come to my attention that you've recently acquired a bit of property. That old farmhouse at the edge of town?"

  His brow furrowed, and she could see the cogs turning as he tried to work out where this was going. Then his expression cleared, and that wry smirk returned. "I have. You afraid that when I move out you won't have a chance to run into me every day?"

  She snorted and rolled her eyes. "Not even close. It might be nice to get some peace and quiet around here for a change."

  Shit. She had to at least try to be nice to him if she had any chance of getting him to help her. She opened her mouth to soften her words, but he beat her to it.

  Placing his palm on his chest in mock pain, he said, "Oh, that hurts. How did you know I bought that place, anyway?"

  Waving that away, she said, "Not important. What's important is that you let me onto the property, so I can do some sketches of the old well behind the house."

  "I'm sorry, I can't." He shook his head and all playfulness vanished from his countenance. "My contractor said that the well is starting to crumble. Parts of it have already started to collapse. That's why he put the fence up around it. The way the kids in this town like to run on and off the property, it was necessary. I don't want any of them to get hurt, or worse, fall down the damn thing."

  Heaviness settled into Marie's stomach, as the last hope she had while concocting this plan, fled. She couldn't believe the well was gone. Not hidden or inaccessible. Gone.

  Unless...he wasn't telling her the truth.

  "Are you sure you're not just pissed at me for all the venereal disease comments? The fence around the well is up, but I couldn't see what's behind it."

  He held his right hand up, Boy Scout style. "God's honest, darlin'. This is from my guy's lips to your ears. Your remarks on my sexual conquests do sting, but I swear I'm not the asshole you seem to think I am. If I could help you, I would."

  She didn't actually think that he would lie to her about this. It was only her last-ditch effort at grasping at straws. Now, she had nothing to go on for her piece but a faded childhood memory. On top of crushing disappointment, the whole situation pissed her off and in a snap decision, she figured she'd take it out on him. Why the hell not? He was handy and so very easy to pick a fight with.

  "Damn, okay. Well, this is still for you, anyway," she said shoving the pie into his arms. "If you find any old pictures of the property and that well, let me take a look at them before you destroy everything worth remembering about that place."

  As she backed away from him to move toward her apartment, he placed the pie down on an entryway table and followed her out into the hallway, uncaring that he was mostly naked. "Whoa wait. Do you have a problem with the fact that I bought the farmhouse?"

  "No, no," she said, jabbing her shoulder up into a sharp shrug while she flung her apartment door open. "If you want to knock down a historic piece of our town, then you go right ahead."

  "I have no plans to knock it down. I'll be renovating the farmhouse, bringing it up to code and back to life. And there's nothing I can do about that well anyway, darlin', even if I wanted to. It's dried up, crumbling and in the way. At this point, it's a safety hazard."

  Deep down, she knew he was right. Part of her even admired his plan to revitalize and restore the old place that had been vacant for decades. None of that stopped the frustration from boiling up inside of her. Frustration that she may have to scrap the idea for her piece and start back at square one, and that she would have to admit that Adam, of all people, had a point. All of it had the childish comment leaving her lips before she could think better of it. "You're a safety hazard. I hope you bring some protection with you to work tonight and save the female population from itchy, red swelling, and a burning sensation when they pee."

  Thankfully, he didn't seem to take her lashing out personally. Instead, he actually laughed. "Ah, so we're back to the venereal disease comments. So much for your peace offering. You know, you should come out tonight. Dust that thing between your legs off and loosen up a bit. I'll even buy your first drink, maybe give you some pointers on how not to scare men off. What do you say?"

  Taking in the sight that Adam made in her doorway, the beautiful lean muscles of his upper body, the cocky smile in place on his gorgeous face, she gripped the door tightly and smiled sweetly up at him. "Oh, tempting. But I'm just gonna say fuck-off. Have a good nig
ht."

  And with that, she slammed the door in his face. His low laughter penetrated the door, and she shook her head to get the sound and thoughts of the irritating man it belonged to out of her head. She had a piece to either draw from memory or to throw into the garbage.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  This isn't working, Marie thought, tossing her pencil down onto the desk. Leaning back in the desk chair in her home studio, she crossed her arms over her chest and studied the drawing before her with a critical eye. She had gotten the rudimentary sketch of the well done, but it could have been any well on any property. It lacked the magic and character of the old well as she'd seen it that night so many years ago. She had spent all her spare time over the last few days trying to get it right. Something was missing, but she couldn't put her finger on what. If only she could have seen it in person one more time.

  The soft music of her cell phone in the silence startled her, breaking her concentration as she jumped and turned toward the offensive interruption. Chloe's name lit up the screen.

  "Are you excited?" Chloe asked, her cheery voice coming through the line once Marie answered.

  Marie frowned as she ran her finger along the paper in front of her to smudge a line. "Excited for what?"

  "You forgot about your date tonight, didn't you? Chloe sighed. "I figured you might, hence this phone call."

  Oh shit. It had completely slipped her mind. Really, she would rather not go at all, she was having too many issues with this sketch to think of anything else. But Chloe had gone to the trouble of setting it up, and a promise was a promise, after all. "You're right, I'm sorry. Tell me again, what time and where?"

  "Seven o'clock. Abel's. James is going to meet you at the bar wearing a gray t-shirt and a black baseball cap. He's about 6'2" and has pretty green eyes. He's so hot, you're gonna thank me."

  Marie didn't hear anything after the word "Abel's" left Chloe's mouth. "I'm sorry, we're meeting at Abel's?"