To Sir, with Love - Lauren Layne Page 0,62

exact right shade of green I have in my mind’s eye, but the darn thing keeps skewing toward mint when I want moss. “What?”

My brother sticks his head out of my bathroom door, lower face covered in shaving cream. He holds up my pink razor. “I just put on your last fresh blade. You’ll need to order more.”

“Use your own razor!”

“Forgot it.” He pops back into the bathroom, and I shake my head and go back to my mixing.

I love Caleb, and I’m glad he’s staying with me while he’s in town. I’m also a little glad that he’s spending his last night before going back to New Hampshire with his friends.

“Where are you guys headed?” I ask.

“Some new bar down in the East Village. Fred’s girlfriend’s the bartender, so hopefully we’ll get a few drinks out of it.” I hear the swish of water in the sink. “You sure don’t want to come?”

“Positive,” I say as he comes out of the bathroom with a towel in hand, drying his face. “Also, put on some clothes.”

“Adrian will be there,” he says, looping the towel around his neck and tugging on both ends.

“Who?” I ask distractedly.

“My friend Adrian. He thinks you’re cute. Come with. Meet him. It could be good for you.”

I look up. “Good for me how?”

He sighs. “Sis. I’m thrilled that the art thing is happening for you. But you’ve barely left the apartment in days, you’ve only talked to me and Keva, and Lily told me that the closest thing you’ve had to a boyfriend is some dude you’ve never met who probably collects hair.”

“He does not collect hair,” I say. “And I knew it was a mistake to send you and Lily to lunch without supervision.”

Turning away, I swatch the paint on my test canvas. Mossy green. Perfect for the springtime Central Park picnic piece I’ve sketched out.

“G,” Caleb says a bit impatiently.

I glance over and see his look of concern. “What?”

He sighs. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I miss the old Gracie—the one who always thought true love was just around the corner.”

I set my brush down. “Hold on. Are you calling me cynical?”

He purses his lips. “I’m saying that it’s going to be awfully hard to find that Prince Charming you always used to talk about if you don’t even try.”

I heave out a sigh. “Okay. You’re right. You are. But I’m really on a roll here, and this thing with Hugh Wheeler feels like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. So how about this: I rain check tonight but promise to go out with your friend Adrian some other time.”

“Deal,” Caleb says, and I feel instant regret.

I don’t want to go out with some random guy. I want…

A knock at the door scatters my thoughts.

“It’s probably Keva,” I tell Caleb, turning back to my painting. “Can you let her in?”

My brother opens the door, and there’s a pause.

“Um, hello. I’m looking for Gracie Cooper?”

I whirl around from my easel at the masculine voice. One I never expected to hear at my front door.

“And you are?” Caleb asks, his tone protective.

I set my paint brush aside and wipe my hand on my smock as I walk toward the door. “Caleb, this is Sebastian Andrews.”

“The dude who put Bubbles out of business?”

Sebastian flinches. Almost imperceptibly, but it’s there.

“Hi,” I say. Is my voice breathless? Crap. My brother is still blocking the door, and I shove him aside.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt your evening,” Sebastian says a little stiffly.

“Really?” Caleb says. “What would you call dropping by unannounced at seven o’clock on a Friday?”

“Oh my God,” I mutter, pushing him toward the bathroom. “Go get dressed.”

Caleb gives Sebastian one last warning look, followed by a what the hell? glance in my direction.

I ignore it. Mainly because I don’t have a clue what Sebastian Andrews is doing at my front door.

“Come on in,” I say, standing to the side.

He shakes his head. “I don’t want to interrupt your… date.”

I blink. My what now? Gross.

Then I see the scene from his eyes—a half-naked man with a proprietary glower has just answered my front door.

I tilt my head in the direction of Caleb as he comes out of the bathroom, the towel thankfully replaced with jeans and a blue checked dress shirt. “My brother. He’s staying with me a few days while he’s in town.”

Sebastian’s aqua eyes snap to Caleb, his expression showing a blink-and-you-miss-it flicker of… relief?

“Nice to meet you,” Sebastian says.

“Uh-huh.” My brother is buttoning the cuff of his