Free Mia Found (Starting Fires Book 3) by Makenzie Smith Page B

down my face. When did I become so needy and insecure? I needed to relax. He said he’d call and he would. After a calming breath, I walked into the store.
    “ Good morning my dear, Mia,” Gladys said. She was the owner and flitted around the shop like a nymph. Her dress went to her ankles, flowing out in a disarray of fabrics and colors. Her hair was always frizzy and she wore big thick-rimmed glasses. “I trust your day has gone well?”
    “ Yes,” I said.
    Before I even had time to deposit my things behind the counter she was in my personal space, her hands plastered to the sides of my face, forcing me to look at her. “No. Something is troubling you. I can see it. Your aura is withered.”
    I barely contained an irritated eye roll. Gladys thought she was some kind of sage. Wise and all knowing. Most of her advice amounted to drinking more tea or reading into your astrological sign. “There’s nothing the stars can’t tell you,” she’d say.
    “ Really, I’m fine,” I said, my words distorted from the force of her hands pressing into my cheeks.
    “ Hmm…” She searched my features, trying to suss out my problem.
    “ Really,” I reiterated.
    She let me go. “I have just the thing,” Gladys said, prancing to the back room.
    While Gladys was occupied, I took the opportunity to settle in. A few boxes were waiting by the jewelry counter and I knew I’d be pricing and placing today. I’d worked here for three years and was the only person Gladys trusted to set up displays.
    To her, presentation was essential. Some things could never face south. Some gold jewelry could be displayed next to the silver, but others couldn’t. The rhyme and reason always some weird, nonsensical feeling she had, but since I’d been with her so long, I knew the key to her madness.
    As I was setting up, she brought out a mug of hot tea saying it would bring me luck and ease my mind. I took a polite sip with her watching. She smiled brightly, thinking she’d done me a huge favor and walked to the middle of the shop to perform her daily yoga.
    I chuckled and focused on the job at hand, not stopping until after lunch.
    There was still no word from Paul.
    Gladys noticed my frustration and frolicked over to me. She grabbed my hands, turning them over. “Oh, darling,” she said. “Oh, my sweet darling. You are not ready.”
    I sighed. “Ready for what, Gladys?”
    She gave me a tightlipped smile and grasped my hands with hers. “Go home early, dear. You need a day to recoup and recharge. I will be here tomorrow. All day. Enjoy yourself. Relax. Take a long bath. Don’t worry yourself with school or the shop. I’ll see you Wednesday.”
    I only had another hour left on my shift anyway, and why would I turn down a day off?
    “ Okay,” I said and grabbed my things.
    Fiona’s car was gone when I pulled into my apartment and I let out a breath of relief. Part of me wanted to see her, to talk to her like we used to, but the other part couldn’t stomach it.
    I heard the TV blaring as I opened my door and shut it off. The table had been cleaned, and I reminded myself to give her some credit. She’d at least done that.
    I was standing in front of the mirror on our living room wall, trying to fix my hair, when someone walked out of the bathroom. He was wearing only a towel. His spiky black hair and tattooed torso glistened with water.
    “ What are you doing here?” I asked Fontenot. “And put some clothes on.”
    “ Why?” He winked. “Afraid you might get too tempted?”
    His dimpled grin reflected in the mirror and I didn’t hide my disgusted eye roll. “You wish,” I said.
    “ I do,” he chuckled and disappeared into Fiona’s room. When he didn’t venture out again, I propped my feet up on our coffee table and fired up the television.
    Paul promised, I told myself as I barely watched the screen. He’ll call. He promised he would.
    Since I was off tomorrow, I made a mental note to gather my paintings and bring them