Dreams Claimed (Warfield's Landing, #1) Read Online Free Page B

had grabbed him by the throat. Today, his reaction had reinforced that connection. And his response to her physical presence... well, it was off the charts.
    “Let me write up the invoice for these. Do you want us to deliver them?” Stevie’s voice drew him back to the present. He needed to get back to Plan A, if he hadn’t overplayed his hand with his impulsive purchase.
    “Hi, Nic.” He offered his hand and she took it. “I just recently discovered your work. A childhood friend of mine took dancing lessons, and I always found it fascinating, but your work is giving me an entirely new perspective.” He delivered his most charming smile.
    “Hi, Daniel, pleased to meet you.” At that moment, a phone rang.
    “Excuse me.” Nic broke contact with him and reached into a pocket on the messenger bag she was wearing. Looking at the screen, she quirked an eyebrow at Stevie and answered it. Oddly, she held it to her ear, but didn’t say anything. Daniel tried to make sense of what he was seeing.
    There was silence. No buzz from the caller on the other end. After a short time, Nic ended the call, checked something and pulled a small notebook. She made a note and put the phone and notebook back in her bag.
    Stevie asked, “More of those hang up calls?”
    Daniel caught Nic slanting her eyes in his direction, signaling something to Stevie as she replied, “Yeah. Still not sure what’s going on.”
    Daniel knew better than to ask, but he vowed that he’d find out what was bothering her as soon as possible. He didn’t understand the connection he felt to Nic, but he knew it was there... and it was real. With that promise, he began to implement Plan A.
    “I need to get back to the office shortly, but I’d like to buy you a cup of coffee before then... if you have time, of course. I saw a place right down the street.”
    Watching Nic’s expressive face, Daniel could see the instant she decided to agree. She was never going to be a successful poker player.
    After finishing up the paper work for his purchases and calling the concierge at his condo, Daniel happily escorted Nic into a nearby coffee shop.

CHAPTER 6
A few minutes later at the coffee shop
    D aniel pushed the gallery door open and guided Nic out.
    As they walked down the street, Daniel caught a glimpse of her shoes. They reminded him of the cloth sneakers CeeCee had worn back when they were kids, but these were bright colors and patterns. Reviewing his memory, he realized these were different than the ones he’d seen her in on the Metro.
    “Those shoes are amazing. I’ve never seen anything like them.”
    Nic laughed. She stopped on the sidewalk and lifted one foot, displaying the shoe. “These are hand painted originals.”
    He was fascinated. “Do you paint them yourself? And if so, enquiring minds want to know why?”
    She laughed again. “Well... I started wearing these all the time in grad school. They were cheap and I was on a tight budget. One day I had on a new pair, in white, of course, and I dropped a brush filled with paint right on one. Suddenly, I had on one pristine white shoe and one blotchy, fire engine red shoe.”
    He winced sympathetically. “Ouch!”
    “Exactly.” She shook her head mournfully. “Back then, I’d wear them until they were rags. Since they were pretty new, it meant I’d have months of one white shoe and one blotchy shoe... not a good look.” She shook her head in mock sorrow. “So, being an artist, I did what artists do... I painted them.”
    He laughed. “And... these aren’t those same shoes?”
    “Oh, no. Those are long gone, but I now paint them as a matter of course. I buy the white canvas slip-ons several pairs at a time. Stevie, you met her back at the gallery, and I have a shoe painting night. She wears them for casual. We order several pairs each, get take-out, eat dinner, and paint shoes... well, I paint the shoes. She does the prep work.” She wiggled a foot. “They make me smile and... the shoes