“Oh, my gosh. What a great idea,” Lisa said, a smile overtaking her face. “I love it, Bennett. I absolutely love it.”

“I was hoping you would.”

Lisa squinted as she looked at watercolor again. “I can barely see the writing, but it looks Greek.”

“Are you saying it’s Greek, or it’s Greek to you, meaning you can’t read it?”

“Ha ha,” Lisa said, her eyes twinkling. “And both. It looks like Greek, but it’s so faint, I can’t be sure.”

“I asked her about that, and she said it all depends on where her imagination takes her. If she decides the flowers will be darker, then many of the words behind it disappear. And of course, being the watercolor is truly her creation, it takes precedence.”

“That makes sense,” Lisa said, admiring the gift. “Bennett, I really do love it. Thank you.”

“You’re quite welcome.”

Lisa gently placed the framed artwork back into the box. “So, does this mean we’re going to have Diallo’s in the gallery?”

Bennett cocked her head to the side. “You tell me.”

Lisa looked at the watercolor again. “Well, she definitely has talent, and her eye for color is fantastic. For our clients, though, I think the only drawback would be the size.” Lisa’s eyes crinkled at the corners, and she looked at Bennett. “What about the wall at the very end of the hall? We always have a problem finding something to put there because it’s so far from the other works, but if the rest of her stuff is this vibrant, and she does larger pieces, centering one on that wall would be perfect. It would draw our clients to it and give a new artist a place to show her work to boot. What do you think?”

“I think after the first of the year, you should ring up Ms. Diallo and propose what you just suggested. I have her business card back at my place. I’ll make sure to bring it in once you get back from your Christmas holiday,” Bennett said, watching as Lisa gathered up the presents and her purse. “Time to go?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I still have a few presents to wrap, and Mom and Dad want us all to go to the two o’clock service tomorrow because everything later on Christmas Eve is a madhouse. And don’t even get me started on how amped up Gunnar’s kids are going to be, so tonight is the last quiet night I’ll have for a few.”

“Sounds positively festive,” Bennett said, her cheeks turning rosy.

“The festivities begin when Dad starts spiking the eggnog,” Lisa said, looking toward the door. “Walk me out?”

“Of course.”

Bennett followed Lisa to the lot behind the gallery and glowered when she noticed one security light wasn’t lit. “When did that go out?”