Damn and blast!
“What?” I asked.
His face went soft and he muttered, “Shit, Sadie.”
“What?” I snapped.
He rolled us and once he got to his back, he did an ab curl, his hands tugging at the backs of my knees so we were sitting with me straddling him. His head tilted back, mine down, my hands on his shoulders, his arms loose around me.
“Your gallery has been torched,” he told me.
Convulsively, my hands moved to his neck and my fingers squeezed.
“Oh my God,” I breathed.
“Fire started at five this morning. It’s out now, they don’t know how much damage yet but it didn’t spread.” He paused then asked, “You insured?”
I was speechless so I nodded. For some reason, all I could think of was my lovely gift wrap and organdie ribbon, now probably reduced to ash.
And Lisette’s paintings!
I closed my eyes tight and, not even thinking about it, I dropped my head until my forehead was resting on Hector’s.
“Lisette’s paintings,” I whispered, his arms tightened and I opened my eyes.
“You wanna go down there?”
“No,” I told him. “But I’m going to go.”
His hands went to my waist, he lifted me off him and to the side. He came over me, off the bed, hands back to my waist, he pulled me out of bed and set me on my feet.
Without a word, he tagged my hand and led the way to the shower.
* * * * *
After Hector and I had our (yes, our!) shower, I called Buddy and Ralphie to give them the news.
Buddy answered and I felt weird. After last night, I thought they’d be mad at me but Buddy’s voice was its usual soft and sweet.
“You okay, sweetheart?” he asked.
“Yes. Did Ralphie –?”
“He told me. He’s upset, thinks he hurt your feelings,” Buddy interrupted.
“He didn’t hurt my feelings. I was worried I hurt his.”
“No, he gets what you were trying to do. He overreacted, as usual.”
“It wasn’t his fault.”
Buddy changed the subject. “Are you really movin’ to Greece?”
“Not anymore,” I answered.
Silence for a second then, teasing, “Damn, there went my vacation plans.”
I smiled into the phone, relief rolling over me for a brief shining moment then my smile faded and I said, “I’ve got bad news.”