BareBottomGirl Read Online Free

them?”
    She turned him loose. Her hands were nearly steady as she
stroked a silken neck, touched her fingers to a velvety nose.
    “Do you have medication to take, Greer?” His voice was so
easy, so soothing.
    “I-I quit.” She started to say she didn’t need it, but that
was hardly the truth anymore. She started to shake again, worried she would end
up back where she’d been five years ago.
    “Would you like to see my studio?” Not warm, Liam’s voice
was now cautious, but Greer met his gaze as steadily as she could. She took a
deep breath. A chance to see Lee Carle’s studio was beyond amazing. It was a
bucket-list opportunity. She had more faith in bucket lists than she once had.
    “I would.”
    Liam took her arm this time, tucking her hand in the crook
of his arm, making her feel for a minute like she’d stepped back in time. Greer
darted a glance at him. Hair just a little too long, jaw shadowed with beard.
She wanted to touch it, see if it felt scratchy or soft. He tilted his head,
met her look, and she felt heat stain her cheeks. Dr. Lynch followed behind
them.
    When Liam swung the door wide on another building that
looked like it might once have been a greenhouse and gardener’s shed, Greer
gasped. A huge stone sculpture of a horse was in progress, more than half its
body already emerging from the stone.
    “It’s beautiful!” She moved forward, panic forgotten in her
desire to touch it. As she reached toward it, she stopped at the last instant
and looked back over her shoulder. “May I?”
    Liam smiled, his brown eyes lighting with warmth. “Of
course. This is a commission for the Children’s Museum. I’m sure it will have
lots of hands touching it. Yours can be the first.”
    It was a gift, and one she’d cherish. Lee Carle was a name
that would go near Rodin or Calder or Remington. Only none of her textbooks had
mentioned where he lived, and she’d never made the connection to the Carle
estate.
    The stone felt warm, as if the sun had heated it during the
day, and it still held onto that. As she ran her hands over the curves and
planes, Greer’s tension eased and the last of the panic faded away as if it had
never happened. At last, she faced the two men. They stood next to each other,
watching her.
    “I’m sorry,” Greer said. “I embarrassed you and me. Thanks
for helping me, for being so patient.” She looked around awkwardly. “I guess I
should go.”
    “Don’t.” Liam spoke, his expression briefly mirroring his
own surprise that he’d spoken. “Could we start over?”
    Greer shifted nervously from foot to foot. “You…why? I mean,
you couldn’t possibly want to hire me.”
    Liam arched a brow. “I don’t really know that yet, do I? We
haven’t interviewed you.”
    “Come back to the house,” Dr. Lynch said. “We’ll get
something to eat and drink, then sit in the kitchen to talk.”
    Greer couldn’t believe her luck. With a nod to both of them,
she said, “Thanks.”
     
    Chas sighed with relief. From the moment he’d laid eyes on
her, something had shifted inside him. He’d been afraid when she’d fled his
office she would be gone for good. Thank God for that panic attack. Though he
was determined to discover the cause behind it, right now he was just grateful
she was still here, that she’d consented to talk to them.
    He stepped forward and extended his hand. She smiled shyly
as she took it. She was delicate, an elf compared to the gorgons they’d already
interviewed, but deep behind those dove-gray eyes of hers, he sensed a kindness
that would be good for Wyatt. Maybe good for all of them. Liam had enough
bitch-from-hell working in his life having to deal with his ex. Chas’ gaze
shifted to Liam. This was the man who made his heart beat faster, whose touch
could arouse or relax him, depending on their mood.
    “Shall we?” Liam stood near the door, his hand on the light
switch. It was rare he actually allowed anyone inside his studio, let alone
touch a work