Read Bring Me Fire for Free Online

Prelude -sized galleries. Did he really have art all over the place like this? Stacked in the corners, on the tables, covering every available surface? It was like a dream and a beautiful nightmare all rolled into one. Cataloging all of this could take months. But she would get to be intimately involved with all of this art. She would get to examine it, up close, study it, examine what feelings it brought up in her. That’s what she loved about art; not just the initial surface aesthetic pleasures, but the deeper feelings it stirred when she stopped to really consider the painting and the artist’s intention.
    Having this job would be better than any job she could ever get at a gallery or even being the curator at a museum. This place was like a museum. She couldn’t believe this was actually happening. She made a mental note to thank Aidan, if and when she ever saw him again. 
    Her phone started vibrating in her handbag. She dug around for it and pulled it out. A text from her sister: omg, have u met him yet?? i am dying!!!!!
    Not yet , she texted back. And don’t expect any pics because—
    Behind her, someone coughed. Sky jumped, dropping her phone, which bounced on the floor twice before coming to rest. She turned.
    Joshua Davis stood on the bottom step in jeans and a black v-neck sweater. His arms were crossed and he had a frown on his face.
    " Oh, hi, I...um..." Sky leaned down and retrieved her phone, stuffed it back into her bag. "I’m sorry, I was just..."
    " I sincerely hope you weren’t attempting to photograph anything."
    " No, no. Of course not. My sister just sent me a text. She’s actually a really big fan of..." Sky stopped, remembering what Conner said. "A big fan of art and I was just telling her that I think I’d just found the most impressive art collection I’ve ever seen."
    He raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing the lie.
    "So you know something about art."
    " I love art. I studied it in school. I always wanted to be a painter, but appreciating art and having artistic ability are two totally different things. As I know from first-hand experience."
    She smiled; hoping he’d think what she said was funny or at least a little amusing in a self-deprecating sort of way, anything to get that frown off his face. Suddenly, she wasn’t so sure that she had this job. In fact, it seemed that Conner’s whole notion of hiring someone based on what the universe provided was ridiculous. It would seem, in fact, based on the way Josh was looking at her now, that he found her unsatisfactory on all levels.
    "I’m Sky." She went over and held her hand out. "Nice to meet you."
    He looked at her outstretched hand, and for a second, she thought he wasn’t going to shake it. If that was the case, she figured, she might as well walk out right then and there, because clearly, she wasn’t the right girl for the job. But then, right as she was about to pull her arm back, he reached out and took her hand. His grasp was firm but gentle and she felt a tingling in her arm. Up this close, she could see what all the fuss was about, why girls like her sister were completely enamored. He was as beautiful as any of the fine art paintings Sky had ever seen, so good-looking it was difficult to determine exactly what it was that made him so handsome.
    He looked her right in the eye. "I’m Josh," he said.
    There was a moment of awkward silence. When it did not appear he was going to say anything, Sky made a sweeping gesture with her arm. "Your house is lovely," she said. "You’ve got a very impressive art collection."
    " So you’ve already said."
    She gulped. Had she already said that? She didn’t know. What she did know, though, was that if he were trying to make her feel as uncomfortable as possible, he was doing a marvelous job. In fact, he seemed quite content to just stand there and say nothing and leave her squirming.
    She straightened, smoothed back her hair. "Well, this job interview is going spectacularly, but I