Winning my Best Friend's Girl - Piper Rayne Page 0,21
I got inspired a few nights ago and it just kind of flew out of me.”
“Mom.” It’s a painting of my father. Not how I knew him though—how he would’ve looked had he still been alive today.
“I know. I’m sorry if it upsets you, but it just kind of happened and I went with it.” My hands land on her shoulders, and she pats one. “He would have been gorgeous with salt and pepper in his hair against the dark hue of his skin, still with that gentle look in his eye. He was a fine man then and he would be now.”
I ignore the Kleenex on the table nearby and take a moment to soak in the painting. “Yeah, he would have.” After a moment, I sit on a nearby stool. “Mom?”
“Yeah?” She picks up her paintbrushes and heads to her sink.
“How come you never got remarried?”
She never so much as went out on a date with anyone as far as I know. There aren’t a ton of African Americans in Lake Starlight, and if she’s attracted to only black men, her options are limited living here. But I don’t think she’s ever even entertained the idea of dating.
She turns off the faucet and comes and sits on the stool across from me. “I was lucky. Some people take a lifetime to find their perfect match. Some never find it. I found it with your dad. To date again was just senseless.” She shrugs.
“But you might have found a companion. Maybe you wouldn’t have loved him as much as Dad, but you could have loved him in a different way.”
She laughs and pats my knee. “What are you really asking me, baby? What’s this about?”
I shrug, running my hands down the skirt of my dress. “I just wondered. I hate you being here alone.”
“I’m not alone. I have my guests and my art.” She motions to the room around her, which is packed with her paintings and sculptures, some finished, some still works in progress.
“But—”
She waves her finger between us. “You and I are two different people.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you hate being alone and I enjoy solitude. Sometimes I’m so lost in my head that I expect to find your dad outside that door, waiting for me to finish.”
I stand and turn around. “That’s what I’m saying. There could be a man on the other side of that door. One to massage your shoulders and feet after a long day of sculpting. One who will make you dinner and make you feel special.”
“Stella?”
I look over my shoulder.
“Is this about Kingston Bailey?”
My hands twist around one another, knotting and pulling. She always could figure out when something was on my mind. “I’m dating his friend. Well, not really dating. I’ve been on two dates with the guy, but he’s super nice.”
“But?”
“It’s complicated.”
“There are so many men in this state, why are you always choosing his best friends?”
I turn around to make a sharp comeback, but when our gazes collide, my bravado fails. She’s right. How do I keep finding myself in these situations? “I told the guy I couldn’t date him, but he didn’t accept no for an answer. Besides, Kingston was adamant he doesn’t care.”
She laughs. “Do you see this ending like it did with Kingston and Owen?”
I shake my head. “No, I don’t think so. Kingston says he only wants to be friends with me. But still, he just has this way with me. And it’s still there after all these years.”
“What do you mean?” She tilts her head.
“When he’s in the room, I feel so transparent. Like he knows every single thing about me, every thought in my head. He knows what excites me, what I hate, what I love.”
She nods and smiles. “So why aren’t you dating Kingston?”
It’s a valid question. One I don’t have an answer for—except for the excuse of what happened our senior year. It’s my fault the course he’d charted for his future had to change. My fault he never attended college. I’m the reason he’s jumping out of airplanes into burning forests.
When I say nothing, my mom speaks up. “Go have fun at the wedding. Try not to go down that wormhole of the past. Each day is a fresh start.” She nudges me. “My present is on the table. Give my regards to them, but if I go to that wedding, I’m going to lose my vision for this piece and it’s important for me to finish it.”