Giorgio (Vigilance #1) - Silvia Violet Page 0,51

to be careful who knows your whereabouts considering the connections Alan has.”

“It’s fine. We’ll manage.”

“All right. Let me know if anything else happens there.”

“Will do, boss.” I ended the call, and Lane pulled away so he could face me.

“What was that about?”

“My boss was just checking in.”

“You seemed upset.”

I shook my head. “Not really. He just had more confirmation that Alan is involved in the type of activities I mentioned.”

Lane shuddered. “I can’t believe I didn’t know.”

“Try not to think about it anymore. Why don’t you do some more painting to see if you can take your mind off things.”

He looked like he was going to protest but then he sighed and stood. While he changed and got supplies, I moved the pieces of the couch out onto the porch to give him more room and cracked a few windows to help with ventilation. Once he was ready to work, I settled into the least threadbare of the chairs with a book I’d brought.

Lane sorted through the small figurines and other items he’d found in the antique shop, separating them into three piles. I made it through less than two pages of my book before I abandoned it, laying it beside me with the pages splayed open to mark my place. I couldn’t stop watching Lane.

He was sitting on the floor with his legs crossed. He had on purple leggings with holes at the knees and a plaid button-down shirt that must be at least three sizes too big for him. His hair was still gelled, but I knew he’d start raking his fingers through it as he worked, and it would begin to curl again, returning to its natural wildness.

He was thinking so hard I could practically hear it. He carefully studied each piece that he picked up. As I watched him, I tried to puzzle out what his criteria were for categorizing the objects.

When he finished, he glanced up. “I could feel you watching me.”

Heat rushed to my face. “I can’t help it. You’re fascinating.”

“I’m just organizing my supplies.”

“I would enjoy watching you do anything.”

Heat flashed in his eyes for a moment. “I bet you would.”

“Tell me about these.” I gestured toward the piles he’d made. “What will you use them for?”

“Come down here, and I’ll show you.”

I joined him on the floor, and he pointed to a pile that was composed of all types of thimbles.

“I’m going to use these in a sculpture. The base will be clay, and I’m going to wrap it with different types of yarn and string. I’ll add these along with some other sewing tools and clips of quotes from magazine articles about how we stitch together different parts of ourselves to create a whole.”

I could feel the passion he put into his pieces as he spoke. He seemed to vibrate with energy.

“That sounds amazing. I hope I can see it when you’re finished.”

“I’d love you to come to my next showing. Hopefully Alan will be behind bars by then, but…”

“I’d like that too.” X wouldn’t, but I’d worry about that when the time came.

“What about these? I pointed to a pile of tiny animal figures.”

“Those are for an abstract meadow piece. I’ll paint them in shades of green and attach them to the green canvas I brought. I had some other objects for it, but these are way better. Once they are attached, I’ll paint some flowers and dragonflies and butterflies to finish it.”

I wondered what his pieces sold for because I needed one. “How do you come up with your ideas?”

He smiled. “I find inspiration everywhere. Songs, things I see when I take walks, things friends say, articles I read.”

“I’m really impressed. I know I said that before, but hearing you talk about your art makes it even better.”

“I…” He looked unsure of himself. Did he have that much trouble taking a compliment from me?

“What is it?”

“I didn’t think you’d be so interested.”

“Well, I am. I… I’d like to know more about you.” And wasn’t that a fucking revelation? When had I ever been with a man and thought that?

Lane smiled. “I’d like to know more about you too, but somehow I doubt you’re going to share.”

“I’ll tell you what I can.” I might not want to, but I would. “But first, you have to tell me about what you’re going to do with these.” I pointed to the third pile of objects.

“I don’t know. When I saw them, I knew they’d be right for something, so they’ll go into