All About You (All Series Book 6) Read Free Page B

time to grow up.

Unique
     
    Finn rapped his knuckles on the door to the back room and waited a second. Olivia opened it slowly, partially blocking him from seeing what was in there. He knew that this room had been finished completely over a week ago, along with the vault door installed. He’d been back there himself, running the pipes for the sprinkler system.
    “Yes?” she asked hesitantly.
    “We’re starting to clean up now and should be out of your way within twenty minutes. I wanted to let you know. I can lock up behind us if you’re staying.”
    “Oh, I didn’t realize it was that late.” She took a step back and reached for her phone on the table to check the time, allowing him to nudge the door open further with his foot and take a quick glance inside. “You can come in,” she said when she caught him looking at the work on the tables. “I didn’t know who was knocking and didn’t want to just swing the door wide open.”
    “I don’t blame you. I bet you have to be cautious with your inventory.”
    He looked around, his eyes landing on a necklace that looked like it had been hand-hammered. It was…interesting, and nothing at all what he expected. Thick, almost like a collar, yet lying down further on the collarbone by his guess. There were three holes in it though.
    “What do you think?”
    He shifted his eyes and caught her stare on his. She flicked those green pools of brightness back to her work, then back to him again. “It’s unique.”
    She laughed, the raspy sound of it landing in his chest, then traveled fast to his stomach and stopped with a thud. “It is. It’s one of a kind.”
    “You’re making that? I mean, I thought everything just came here in pre-made, or with empty settings or something and you put stones in them.”
    “I’ll have plenty of pieces like that. But I also make custom pieces and designs.” She backed into the room and pulled a tray over, showing a bracelet that he guessed was supposed to match the necklace, the same metal hammered out. Only this one had three stones in it, purple in color but in varying shades. “The bracelet to go with the necklace. I’ll set the stones in the necklace tomorrow.”
    He traced a finger over the large dark purple stone in the center. “What is it?”
    “The stone or the metal?”
    “Both.”
    “Amethyst and white gold. I’ll make a silver one at some point, slightly different, though, and at a lower price point. This is a special order for a repeat client. It won’t go in the store.”
    He looked around the room some more, and caught several pieces in different stages of completion.
    “How do you work like this? Half-finished pieces everywhere.”
    Her grin—wide and dazzling as sunshine—lit up her face. “Things need to set and cool. While that is happening, I work on another or draw up more designs. I’m always working on something…usually several things at once.”
    “I never realized how much work went into it. Like I said, I just thought you bought a setting or whatnot and placed a stone in it.”
    “I do that too. And it’s a general assumption. I’m sure those more traditional pieces are what is going to keep me afloat for a long time. Building a client base isn’t easy. Thankfully I’ve made a name for myself in other cities.”
    “Where is that piece going, if you don’t mind me asking? I can’t see anyone wearing it around here.” It was excessively fancy…a bit too artsy for this area.
    “LA.”
    That made sense. She looked like she belonged there herself, especially with pieces like that, if that was the type of stuff she made all the time. “Are all of your pieces that bold?”
    “No. I can make whatever someone wants. This isn’t really my style. A little bit too dominatrix for me. But my client wanted it for a premiere.”
    “A movie premiere?” Was she serious?
    “Yes, and don’t ask me what movie or what client. That’s confidential. But if you happen to see it on this