“I am starting to, friend, but I think I want more. I want to be happy too.” Theo’s face when we danced that night in Santa Fe appeared in my mind. I missed him. The way he could make me forget everything but the two of us. I needed him in my life. My work was my passion, but Theo was my heart.

Another of those deep sighs from Julia. “You deserve all of it, Albita, which leads me to the second reason I called you.”

“Oh?” I knew that tone in my best friend’s voice and it almost always meant she was up to something.

“So, I got you a new client here in Dallas.”

“Julia, the last time—”

“I know! I know!” she hedged, interrupting me. “I know the library turned out to be a lot, but hey, it got you connected with Yazmin.” And it got me to fall in love with Theo. “It wasn’t all bad.”

“No.” I shook my head even if she couldn’t see me, as I leaned on my car door. “It had its moments. What does this client want?” I asked against my better judgement, already breaking my rule about not taking on more than I could handle. But I’d started thinking of settling down here, buying a house, and even with the money from the show, I still had a ways to go before I committed to a mortgage.

“They want you to do their whole house in bookish themes.”

I frowned, not even sure what to think. “The whole house?” What kind of nut wanted an entire house done like that?

“Yep,” Julia confirmed. “And they want you to come see the house today,” she added as I got into the car. “Now, actually.”

“Now?”

“Yeah, it’s not too far from where you are. I’ll meet you over there to introduce you.”

“Julia, please tell me these people are not some crazed millionaire friends of the twins,” I pleaded, because I could not deal with another situation like the library for a long time.

“No,” Julia assured me and she did sound sincere. “Not at all, I mean they’re rich, but definitely not crazed. Here, let me give you the address. It’s like five minutes from where you are.” I raised an eyebrow at that since I was currently in Highland Park, one of the nicest areas in Dallas. Julia recited the location and I typed it into Google Maps.

“Hm.” I frowned, noticing it was close to that Target Theo and I went to when he first got to Dallas. In fact it was right on that street I loved with the magnolia trees and that cute renovated Craftsman. “What are you up to, Julia del Mar?” I asked as a weird feeling settled in my stomach. “Aren’t you at work right now? How are you going to meet me there?”