Mr. Hayes jumps in to rescue me, and I could kiss him for it. “You could say that about any career, Eve. Sophie is incredibly talented and should be encouraged to pursue her passion.”
He steps closer to me and her eyes narrow in response.
“Yes! Yes, of course. I don’t mean to be a Debbie Downer!” She huffs out a breathy laugh, placing a hand on his bicep. “Well, feel free to take a look around and shmooze! Lots of people here tonight—make some connections.” She says pointedly in my direction, and it feels dismissive.
Then she turns to Mr. Hayes. “Join me for a drink?”
This isnotturning out how I’d expected, but truthfully, I don’t know what I’d really thought tonight would amount to anyway.
But then he wrenches his arm from her grasp, his tone tight as he says “No, thank you. You enjoy. I won’t be abandoning Sophie tonight.”
He places a hand on the small of my back and steers me away. The warmth of his touch is intoxicating, sending jolts of electricity through my veins and making my heart jitter in my chest. And hekeepsit there as we walk, heading towards an adjacent gallery showroom.
Every bit of my attention is there, at the point at which our bodies meet. Such a small touch, but my body is on fire. And the way he justsavedme from that awful interaction… the way he turned her down to spend time withme…well, fuck, that was amazing.
My modern knight in shining armor.
When we are finally out of her sight, he stops us in front of a large grayscale painting of what looks to be rain on a pane of glass. It’s beautifully done. I want to reach out and touch it. The picture is so realistic I justknowmy fingertips would come away wet.
“All of this art… it’s so beautiful.” I’m in awe. So much talent at every turn. I want to bundle myself up in it, breathe it in.
“Not the only beautiful thing I see here tonight.” He says, and then drags a hand down his face. “Sorry, that just slipped out.”
I turn and look at him, seeing something there in the depths of his eyes. An appreciation… for me. Inside, I come apart. I want him to say it again, and again. Instead, I give him a shy smile.
“Thank you for saving me back there…”
“No problem. She can be a lot sometimes, especially after a few cocktails.” He cringes, regret playing on his features. “Don’t let her get you down.”
“I’ll try my best.” I shrug, sheepishly. Not wanting to admit how much her words hurt my ego.
We walk to the next piece, an abstract painting. Swirls of every shade of blue and grey, splatters of black and white. A raised texture as if the paint was thrown upon it, not laid down with a brush. It’s chaotic, yet it still seems purposefully done.
He focuses on the canvas, lips pursed in thought, studying the lines and shapes before him.
“I didn’t take you for an abstract art kind of guy…”
He turns to look at me, a slow smile tugging at his lips. “And what kind of guydoyou take me for?”
His gaze moves over me, and I shift under the weight of it. Suddenly feeling self-conscious and wanting to run my hands down my sides, checking for wrinkles in my dress, for flaws of any kind.
“I don’t know… like you would prefer something more structured? Realism, maybe. Something that follows the rules.” I smirk.
He chuckles, shaking his head as he looks back towards the painting. “You think I like rules that much?”
“You sure act like it.”
He tilts his head, amusement flickering in his dark eyes. “Maybe I just like feeling in control.”
I fold my arms across my chest, looking at the painting. Trying to see what he sees. The more I stare, the more I can see it. The layered emotions buried underneath the texture, thecolors clashing and blending. Something beautiful being born out of the chaos.
“I used to think abstract art was meaningless. Like the artist just threw random things on a canvas and slapped a price tag on it, calling it deep.”
“And now?” He asks.
I exhale, something tightening in my chest. “Now, I think… maybe it’s the most honest kind of art. Nothing is hidden. A real representation of how the artist feels.Reallyfeels, deep inside.”
He studies me, quiet and contemplating. “That’s how it should be. But people still hide things in plain sight.”
