Page 15 of The Outline


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But his quick smile faded as he again noticed the man standing by my side, too close to be a stranger. “So…uh…are you, like, here…with Pete?”

Pete cast his eyes between Renn and me curiously. He paused a beat before stepping in to answer. “No. We just met a few minutes ago. I was bringing her over to see our basket.”

Renn’s tight features eased. “Wow. Small world.” He gave the other man an indecipherable look before turning to me. “Well, it’s great to see you.” He grinned. “But I admit I’m surprised. Based on everything we talked about, it doesn’t seem like this would be your scene?”

My shock at our unexpected encounter abating, I recovered enough to answer. “It’s not. I came with a friend. I was heading back to find him when I ran into Pete.”

Renn nodded, eyeballing Pete’s hand, which was hovering close to my lower back.

“How do you two know each other?” Pete asked, dropping his arm under the weight of the other man’s glare.

“The studio.” Renn angled closer to me. “I’m in the process of giving Sadie one of my favorite pieces I’ve ever done.” He glanced meaningfully toward my thigh, covered by my knee-length dress. Our eyes fixed together again as he lifted his head up.

“That’s awesome,” Pete said hesitantly, eyeing Renn as though expecting the younger man to say more, but Renn flattened his lips. I couldn’t diagnose the emotions playing out on either of their faces. The words were pleasant enough, but there was a strange undercurrent, something hiding behind the outward placidity of their features—tense, but also just…odd.Were they acrimonious business partners?Pete pushed on. “Renn is crazy talented,” he told me. “I only handle the paperwork side of things at the studio. He brings all the creativity.”

“Uh…thanks, Pete.”

In theory, the other man had just complimented him, but judging by Renn’s I-just-drank-chunky-milk-from-the-carton grimace, which morphed into an I-don’t-need-your-approval-eyeroll, it was obvious he did not appreciate the praise. Pete wore a less contentious expression, almost…expectant? Hopeful? These guys were definitely on different pages, air growing thicker by the moment.

Confused by the strange vibe, I attempted levity. “Well, I’m glad he’s so good at what he does—because if he messes up, I’ll have to wear pants the rest of my life.” I turned to Renn and punched him teasingly on the shoulder. “No pressure.”

Renn’s face softened, and he chuckled as he blew on his fingertips, then brushed them back and forth across his chest. “Oh, I can take the heat.” He winked at me. “You will not be disappointed.”

I grinned. No matter how serious, or how much of agrown manRenn was, he would always be someone that could make me smile.

Pete kept glancing between us. His still-unreadable expression took on a hint of caution as he continued. “Renn, you seem…different. I haven’t seen this side of you in a while.” He executed his fingers-through-the-hair maneuver again before venturing further. “You’ve been so…matter-of-fact…about the clients. But this is great.” He peered up, almost daringly. “I’d forgotten what it’s like to see you so engaged in the work. Not since—”

“Well, it’s easy to be creative when Sadie has given me free rein to be an artist,” Renn interrupted abruptly and crossed his arms. Evidently he’d known what Pete had been about to say and wanted to shut it down. “Besides, I haven’t seen much of you these days, so it’s not like you’d have noticed anyway.”

Yikes. Harsh. At Renn’s hostile tone, my head whipped in his direction. I imagined he thought his aggressive comment would put an end to this conversation, but rather than back off, Pete nodded his head. “You’re right. I haven’t been around enough lately, and it seems like I might have missed something important here.” He looked at me again.

“Pete…” Renn clenched his jaw and glared, sending an unmistakable signal that he wanted the other man to stop talking.

But Pete didn’t take the hint, instead growing even more animated, continuing to swing his eyes between the two of us as he spoke. “I guess I owe Sadie and her tattoo a thank-you. Because you finally seem kind of like your old self. I mean, it was bound to happen, right?”

“Seriously, man, you need to—”

“And it’s really great to see because your dad would have wanted—”

“Dude, can you please just drop—”

“For you to be happy—”

“Pete—”

“And feel creative again—”

“Fuck!” Renn hissed, throwing his fists against his hips. “Stop! Can you stop!”

Pete ceased talking, finally registering Renn’s pained countenance. Renn reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, inhaling and exhaling loudly, the way they tell people to do when they’re hyperventilating. Was he having a panic attack?

I was so confused, too stunned to move or do anything. I waited for Renn to say something, perhaps yell at Pete for talking over him, but when he finally raised his chin, it wasn’t anger, but anguish, that ruled his features. He looked wrecked.

Renn blinked rapidly, giving every sign of needing to regroup. “Just give me a sec, Sadie,” he said, retreating. I watched as he stumbled down the hallway and began low-key pacing back and forth, not in a way that would draw attention, but enough that I could tell he was working to get hold of his emotions.

“Shit,” Pete muttered under his breath, pressing his fingers to his forehead. “I guess I read that all fucking wrong.”

WTF? It was so bizarre. Renn was clearly struggling right now, but why? He’d seemed fine at first, up until they’d started interrupting each other—annoyed, but fine. I hadn’t even imbibed what had been said. Something about Renn’s dad? Luckily, none of the other guests seemed to notice Renn’s distress. The low buzz of conversation among the few folks nearby continued unperturbed.