She laughed at his latest attempt to hit on her. With his small frame and bright eyes, he'd always reminded her of an elf of some sort. She'd even included him-- in his elf-like form-- in one of her paintings depicting a fantastical scene of sea creatures frolicking on a beach.
"Sorry, Kevin," she said. "You should know better than to date moody artists by now. You've been burned by enough of us."
"I wouldn't own an art gallery if I didn't love artists. The art is a bonus," he said with a wink.
"Keep trying," she replied with a flirtatious smile. "And thank you for talking me up to Mr. Hardy."
Kevin shrugged. She leaned forward to give him a quick hug, gathered her money, and left. Rather than return home right away, she explored several small jewelry stores, looking for the perfect gift for Evelyn before she took her daily trip to the gym.
By the time she returned to the large row house, she was looking forward to an addition to their home who may not fear killing spiders and other bugs. She walked into the living room, puzzled to see Evelyn boxing up her bookshelf.
"Making room for Rum-ass's stuff?" she asked, flinging herself on the couch nearby to watch.
"Um, not really. You might have the house to yourself," Evelyn said. She pushed blonde hair from her face. "We're thinking about returning to his place to live."
"Really?" Kiera frowned. "He's from San Francisco, right?"
"No, his real home." Evelyn watched her digest the information.
"You're leaving me," Kiera said.
"You can come," Evelyn offered. "I'd like for you to come."
"To where?"
"You know how you said you'd like to explore other places?"
"I did?" Kiera asked, thinking hard.
"Last night, on the roof."
"Vaguely," she said. "You mean he lives really, really far away?"
"Yeah. Pretty far," Evelyn replied.
"You're okay with just leaving?"
"I want to be with him, and we think it'll be better for us both in his home."
"You're okay with just leaving me?" Kiera asked with a frown.
"I don't want to leave you! You're my sister, as far as I'm concerned. I'd like for you to come with us. You said last night you'd go for a week, but you can stay with us for as long as you want."