The Pepper in the Gumbo (Men of Cane River #1)(26)
“Arthur Rackham,” Paul breathed. He’d never seen anything so beautiful. Vellum gilt-edged pages, perfectly engraved plates of full-sized watercolors.
“Only twenty were signed even though the publisher had planned for hundreds. As far as we know, there are only twenty total.” Alice sighed. “Probably money issues.”
“I’ll take this one,” he said. “This will be perfect.”
Alice opened her mouth, and then closed it again. She looked conflicted. “I hate to tell you this, but the price is more than a new car. It’s a very rare portfolio.”
“I’m sure it’s fine,” he said, smiling.
“It’s almost sixty thousand dollars,” she said, already moving to put the folio back in the box.
“I’ll take it,” he said. He wasn’t trying to impress her with his wealth but he felt great satisfaction in knowing that buying this piece would make up for being a real jerk earlier. “I think my friend will really like it.”
Her hand stilled on the papers. He wondered if she’d hoped to save it for her own children, but then he figured she would have put it aside. Unless she couldn’t afford to put it aside for her future children when her store was suffering. Paul blew out a breath. He didn’t know which way to go with this woman. It seemed whatever he did was wrong.
“Sorry, I probably seem like I don’t want to sell you a single thing in this store,” she said, rushing her words out. “I’m just surprised.” She glanced at him, smiling a little. “Not many people can buy a first edition like this. Let me get this wrapped back up in its box back to the register.”
“Thank you,” he said, feeling his shoulders relax. Maybe meeting him wasn’t a complete disaster on her side. Money didn’t solve everything but it sure helped soften the blow. He glanced around the small room, unsure if they would get another chance to speak alone. He cleared his throat, feeling more nervous than he had in a long time. “And I wanted to say I’m sorry for the way I spoke to you earlier.”
She looked up, meeting his gaze directly. “Don’t be. You were right.” Sadness touched her eyes. “Everything you said was right.”
He let out a short laugh. “Not everything, surely.”
She nodded. “Especially the part about―”
A teen girl with long blond hair came in at a trot, already talking before she was through the doorway. “Hey, Miss Alice! Why is Darcy down from his spot? Did you get the broom?”
“Darcy?” Paul asked. “I thought you didn’t have a cat named Darcy.”
“No, I said that particular cat wasn’t named Darcy,” Alice responded, her lips tugging up.
“You would have made a good lawyer,” he said.
“Oh, my gosh,” breathed the teenage girl. She came forward slowly, blue eyes wide. “Are you Paul Olivier?”
“Yes, I am.” He smiled and held out his hand.
She grasped it, shaking it reverently. “Wow,” she said. “Just… wow. I never thought I’d meet you. I’m Charlie Soule. I’m, like, your biggest fan ever.”
Alice stared from one to the other. “Are you an actor? I’m sorry, maybe I should have recognized you. I don’t watch TV.”
He let Charlie’s hand go and smiled. “I’m not on TV. And I should have introduced myself but I think we started off on the wrong foot.”
“No, it was my fault.” Alice put down the little box and took off her gloves. She held out her hand. “I’m Alice Augustine. Let’s pretend we just met. I’ll have better manners and you can buy anything in my store that you want.”
He reached out and took her hand, feeling the softness of her palm against his. For just a moment, Paul forgot all about the portfolio and the argument and the teen girl watching them. And he forgot especially about the long-term boyfriend sitting at Alice’s desk.
“Alice, are you coming or should I just go by myself?” Eric walked up, a scowl on his face. He took in the scene and his eyes narrowed.
Paul let go of Alice’s hand. “We’re just finishing up. I need to get going, too. I have to meet a realtor about an apartment.”
“You’re staying in town for a while?” Charlie asked breathlessly. Alice shot her a look.
“For a few weeks. I’m from this area but haven’t been back in years. I thought visiting during the three-hundredth year anniversary would be a good time to come home for a while. Looking forward to things like the zydeco festival this weekend.”
“I’m going to that, too,” Charlie exclaimed. “I mean, my mom mentioned it and I thought it sounded kinda weird, but if you’re going then I’m sure it’s a good idea.”
Paul moved toward the entryway, even though Eric was blocking the spot, face like thunder. “Plus, we want to make sure the store gets off to a smooth start so we’re temporarily moving our home base here.” At the last second, Eric turned and stomped toward the middle of the store.
“Which store is this?” Alice locked the case again and followed Paul out of the room. “Did you buy one of the local businesses? We’ll be neighbors, then. I’m on the historic district board so if you need anything, I’d be glad to help if I can.”
“The ScreenStop store,” Charlie said, bouncing alongside of them. She looked thrilled to pieces. “This is Paul Olivier, the guy who invented the biggest online social platform ever while he was in college and sold it for like, a bazillion dollars. Then he started a company that designs some of the best games and got even richer! He has stores all over the country.” She paused, her voice dropping shyly. “I’d love your autograph. I can’t believe we’re actually talking in real life.”