If I Didn't Know Better (The Callaways #9)(70)

Twenty minutes later, the crowd had settled into chairs as the movie began to play. It was a beautiful warm, starry night—the temperature around seventy degrees, the perfect background for an evening of family entertainment.

Mia felt relaxed and happy, and even happier still when Jeremy took her hand midway through the movie and wrapped his fingers around hers. She couldn't remember the last time a man had just held her hand. The connection was more special than she would have imagined.

When the movie was over, they chatted with Kara and Colin, Charlotte and Joe and a bunch of other people whose names she couldn't remember. Finally, they began to pack up a little before eleven. While Jeremy took some stuff to the car and Ashlyn ran around with her friends, Mia took some trash to the large garbage bins set up near the bathrooms.

On her way back, she was surprised to see Kent standing under the shadows of a nearby tree with Christina Wykoff, the woman who had come to her house a few days earlier. They appeared to be having a rather heated discussion. Kent said something, then Christina waved her hand in the air in frustration. Kent said something else, and she gave a vehement shake of her head.

Then Christina suddenly turned around and walked away, stopping abruptly when she saw Mia.

Mia started, realizing that she'd been caught staring at them.

Christina moved toward her. "I'm glad I ran into you. Have you pulled out all the paintings from the studio? I'd really like to find mine."

"I was actually going to give you a call. I do have the paintings available for you to look at."

"Good. Will you be around in the morning?"

"Yes, I should be there all day."

"I'll come by around ten."

"Great," she muttered as the woman walked away without even bothering to say thank-you.

Kent came forward as Christina left. "Hey, Mia."

"Hi," she said. "What happened to Eva?"

"She got a call from a patient; she had to leave. How do you know Christina?"

"We met the other day when she came to my aunt's house to look for her painting," Mia answered.

"That's right. I forgot she painted there last year, too."

"She'd also like to get her painting back."

"That makes sense. She stayed there after a bitter divorce. I'm sure she had some demons to paint away, too."

"I told her to come by tomorrow and take a look." She paused. "You don't think Christina could have broken into the studio, do you?"

"No," he said, shaking his head, not a doubt in his eyes. "The damage that was done there was not perpetrated by a woman who hates to break a nail."

"I have to admit she doesn't seem the type." She really wanted to ask Kent what he'd been arguing with Christina about, but that seemed a little too nosey.

"Kent, Mia," a man called.

She turned around to see Barton walking toward them. "Hi. It's Craig, right?"

"Call me Barton, everyone does," he said. "I guess I missed the movie?"

"Yes, it ended awhile ago," she said.

"I figured."

"Like you came here to watch the movie," Kent teased. "Who is she and where is she?"

Barton laughed. "I don't cruise the park for women, Kent."

"You'll cruise anywhere for a woman."

"You've got me there."

"I have to run," Kent said. "I'll see you both around."

"Bye, Kent," she said.

"So where's Jeremy?" Barton asked.

"He's putting our chairs in the car."

"What's going on with you and him?" he asked with an interested grin.

Apparently, Barton didn't share her concern about being too nosey.

"Tonight, it's just a movie," she said lightly, seeing his speculative gaze.

"What about tomorrow?"

"Who knows?" she said with a shrug.

"He's a good guy—Jeremy. One of the best men I've ever known."

She saw the sincerity in his eyes. "I believe that."

"You should. He's the kind of person who will stand by you no matter what. Once he's your friend, he's your friend for life."

She appreciated the admiration in Barton's gaze. "Good to know."

"I think you're good for him. When I saw him in the hospital after he got hurt, he was a shadow of himself. That blast had changed everything for him. His luck had finally run out." He paused. "I didn't expect him to find out he had a kid. At first, I thought it was the worst thing, just another horrible setback for his career, but now it seems like it was the best thing that could have happened. He can't go back to Delta, but he still has a lot to live for."

"Of course he does. He's more than a job, no matter how good he was at that job."

"I want him to work in private security with me. There's a position down in L.A. that would be perfect for him."

"What does he want?"

"He's thinking about it," Barton said with a smile. "That's Jeremy. He always has to think things through. I'm more of a jump-first, think-later kind of guy, which is probably why Jeremy had to save my ass on occasion."