Free Dark Masterpiece (Serendipity Series 3) by Brieanna Robertson Page B

take my cold demeanor as annoyance. When you
first came here, I resented it because I feared change in a life I
was very used to, but I am not irritated by your presence any
longer. You are very intelligent and very kind. I do enjoy your
company.” Against his better judgment, he had to admit it was true.
He had grown to look forward to their discussions. Evie was in a
class all of her own. She was not one of the mindless, witless
masses. She walked her own path, spoke her mind, and did so with
abandon.
    Evie looked at him and smiled. She jumped as
the volleyball suddenly made contact with the side of her head,
sending her glasses flying. Seth’s laughter quickly followed.
“Thanks a lot, Seth,” she grumbled.
    Traevyn picked up her glasses with an amused
smirk and handed them to Evie, who had just hurled the ball as hard
as she could, sending Seth running after it. “You have to love him.
He’s your brother,” he stated.
    She snorted. “Doesn’t mean I have to like
him.” She shoved the glasses back on her face in annoyance.
    He smiled. “I have two younger brothers. They
used to drive me crazy.”
    Evie briefly thought of the pictures she had
seen in his office. She wondered if the two men in the photos were
his brothers. They had all resembled one another. “What are they
like?” she questioned.
    He gave a whimsical smile. “Julian works at
an animal clinic. He’s an assistant until he finishes school to
become a veterinarian. He has a very gentle soul. Talis is a tattoo
artist, and he travels with renaissance fairs pretending to be a
knight and playing guitar for the belly dancers.”
    Evie raised her eyebrows. “That’s an
interesting profession.”
    He chuckled a little. “Talis is the sort of
person who wants to sample as much life as he can.”
    She smiled. “Are you close to your
brothers?”
    “Yes. They are the two stabilizing rocks in
my life. They are the support beams on which I stand. They are all
I have and everything to me.”
    Evie thought of the deBoer family. With the
exception of Barrett, that was how they viewed one another. She
envied that. She watched as Seth started to walk back up to where
they were sitting. She wondered if she would ever be able to view
him as a stabilizing rock and support beam. Maybe when he wasn’t
seventeen. “My family’s not really close,” she said. “My parents
have jobs that keep them away a lot of the time. My friend Meg has
this family and circle of friends I’ve always been horribly jealous
of. They’re all so close. That’s something I’ve always wanted to
have one day.” She stared out at the ocean wistfully and sighed as
the last remnants of the sun dipped beneath the horizon line.
    “The stars will be out soon,” Traevyn
remarked. “If you ever get a clear night, there is nothing more
magnificent than the night sky away from city lights.”
    “I know. It’s breathtaking.”
    “At times I paint on my terrace. Usually
when the moon is full. It gives everything a different
perspective.” He glanced at her. “Perhaps at the next full moon you
could join me. See what inspiration the nocturnal world has to
offer you.”
    She grinned. “I’d like that.”
    He nodded. “When we return, I think we should
get you started on painting. You need to get over your fear of
it.”
    Evie looked down and swallowed. She studied
the patterns in the sand. “All right,” she said, her voice sounding
meek and tiny. The truth was, she was horrified to paint in front
of him. Painting on her own in her apartment where no one could
laugh at her was one thing. Even painting for class was safe, but
to paint in front of the greatest artist in the world? What if he
thought she was no good? Traevyn was anything but tactful. He would
call her a talentless amateur right to her face. She didn’t think
she’d be able to handle that.
    Seth sat down next to her and put the
volleyball next to him. “I dare you to jump in the ocean,” he
said.
    She rolled her