Read Online Close Up by Erin McCarthy - Free Book Online

exhibit.”
    He was right, of course. But what she couldn’t tell him was that if she did that, it would be like admitting failure. It would just give June a reason to fire her. If she fixed it herself, how could June blame her for a crazed vandal?
    Wishing she were wearing different shoes, Kristine steeled her spine and glanced around for her purse. “Can you recommend a hardware store? I’ll go after the police do their thing.”
    “You’re really going to tackle this tonight? I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Sean said, tucking his shirt back into his pants.
    She preferred the disheveled look he had been sporting for the past ten minutes, the naughty shirttail-out look, as if they’d been lip-locked instead of just locked in the back room, but this was public Sean. She had learned there were two distinct Seans, and while this one was sexy and commanding, she was sometimes wary of him. Like now.
    “Thanks for the vote of confidence.” She went into the back room for her purse, grabbing it out of the desk drawer so she could head to the store with the glass measurements. If she had a measuring tape, that was. Damn.
    “No measuring tape?” he asked her when she returned, biting her lip.
    Her cheeks were burning with irritation, embarrassment and fear. “No.”
    “Do you have a blanket or butcher paper in the back? We can cover one photo and take it to the hardware store with us.”
    Kristine narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re going to help me?”
    “Sure. In exchange for just one little thing.”
    She had a feeling whatever he was about to say was not going to make her day any easier. “What?”
    “You go out for a drink with me later. For old times’ sake.”
    She could do that. In fact, she was very much looking forward to it.
    “Deal.”
    But then he smiled and she wondered if she had struck a bargain with the devil. Or at the very least, his sexy assistant.
    Sean stepped toward her.
    The front door burst open and Sean’s assistant stood there, looking a little panicked. “Are you okay?”
    That remained to be seen.

5
    S EAN STOOD NEXT to Kristine as she finished up with the police. He was trying hard not to get frustrated. He was failing. Kristine would look to him for advice, her face pleading, and he would be unable to resist making a suggestion or offering to help. Then she seemed to resent it and pushed him away. In a thirty-minute interaction with the police, he’d felt as if everything wrong with their marriage had just been brought to light in startling clarity.
    He wanted to problem solve for her. Take care of her. She accepted his help then got angry about it.
    Yet, what was most frustrating of all was watching her interact with the officers sent to investigate the vandalism, and thinking she was beautiful and amazing, and whatever the hell had ruined their marriage hadn’t been worth it. It could have been fixed.
    “I’ve never seen art like this,” the one officer repeated for about the fifth time, gawking at a photo. His finger touched the glass, right on a woman’s backside, before he pulled it back quickly, pink staining his full cheeks.
    “Does the building have security cameras?” the second officer asked.
    “Just at the door. Not on the street.”
    Which seemed a huge breach in security to Sean. “It’s a very basic system and it only runs in intermittent sweeps. But there is probably something of value on it.” He turned to Kristine. “How soon did the gallery owner say she would be here?” Reluctantly, Kristine had called her boss. Sean had sent Michigan back to the office to cancel the rest of his workday.
    “She should be here any minute now,” Kristine said, looking peevish.
    Sean wasn’t sure why she was pissed at him. He hadn’t spray painted boy shorts on nude models. “Can I speak to you for a minute?” he asked her. “In the other room?”
    “Sure.” She followed him into the back room. She eyed the storage closet suspiciously, as if she thought