Page 47 of Tragic (Lark Cove 3)

“I don’t know why.” She held the canvas back so I couldn’t see the front. “But I just had to capture him. He was so . . . raw.”

Raw. That was the perfect way to describe that moment.

She glanced at the painting again, worry settling on her beautiful face. For as talented as she was, she was oddly secretive about her art. There was no doubt she could make a killing, selling her unique pieces in high-end galleries. But for the most part, she did it for fun. It was her outlet. Even when Logan had offered to buy her a nice studio, she’d refused. She created her pieces in an old garden shed that was practically falling apart.

“Hand it over.” I motioned for the painting.

“I’m not the best painter.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re talking to a woman who can’t draw stick figures.”

She smiled and reluctantly turned the canvas. The painting stole my breath away.

Thea had captured Kaine’s pain and trapped it on that canvas. It lived underneath the oil colors, jumping off the painting to settle heavy on my heart.

“Wow,” I whispered, unable to blink or look away.

It was a stunning piece, but it physically hurt to look at. Just like the day we’d seen him on the ridge, I had the overwhelming urge to hold him. I ached to take some of his pain away, absorb it like a dry sponge.

I swallowed hard and forced a smile. I didn’t want Thea to think my shocked reaction was because it was a bad piece. It was beautiful. Achingly beautiful. “You did an incredible job.”

“You think?” She tapped her finger on the bar.

“It’s amazing. But I, uh . . . I have a confession.” I sighed. “I know him.”

I’d kept my casual relationship with Kaine a secret from everyone, mostly because I hadn’t known exactly how to describe it. And because I hadn’t known if it would last. But it had gone on long enough that I felt like I was keeping a secret from my friend.

“How?” Thea asked.

“He’s my neighbor.”

“Hmmm.” She nodded. “I wondered if he lived up there.”

“There’s more.” I set the painting down. “We’re kind of . . . hooking up.”

Her mouth fell open. “You are?”

“Yeah.” I shrugged. “It’s nothing serious. Just a casual thing.”

“Casual?”

“I’ve never done that before. Have you?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know if I’m capable of casual. I mean, look at me and Logan. I tried casual with him, got pregnant and basically thought about him every day for six years.”

Thea stared at me for a long moment before she smiled. “I think this is a good thing.”

“You don’t think it’s too soon?” I asked, voicing one of the many worries about my encounters with Kaine.

“You’ve been divorced for months. You and Adam were separated long before that. I think finding someone new is overdue.”

My shoulders fell with immense relief. I needed to hear those words. I needed to have someone I admired and trusted tell me it was okay to move on from Adam.

“Do you like him?” Thea asked.

“I do,” I admitted. “Neither of us is interested in anything serious. We don’t really know anything about one another, but that kind of makes it fun. It’s all different for me. But for the first time in years, I don’t feel like I need to act a certain way to impress him. It’s . . . freeing.”

Thea’s smile widened. “And he is not hard to look at.”