Brenna cornered her. Her silky black hair skimmed the shoulders of her deep green, sleeveless dress.
“Wow, Evie,” she said, draping an arm around Eve’s waist, her gaze darting around the packed, buzzing gallery. “So hard to get a moment with you, but great show.”
“Yeah, well done,” Kataya added, coming to stand beside her. A long, bronze column of a dress hugged her slender body. Her curly hair was piled on her head.
Eve noticed Kataya studying her. “What?”
“Okay. The deed’s done. I want deets.” She took a sip of her champagne.
Heat flared across Eve’s face. She barely stopped herself from groaning.
Brenna’s crystal blue eyes darted to her in surprise. She scanned Eve, up and down as if looking for evidence. “How can you tell? She looks the same to me.”
Eve cringed. “Jesus—would you guys stop it?”
“Seriously, Bren, you need to get laid more often. If you watch their body language, it’s all there. Reynner’s not taken his eyes off Eve once. Poor David is on tenterhooks, worrying if he still has a chance.”
Eve stole a glance at Reynner and found that Kataya was right. He may have been speaking to Eric, but his gaze remained on her.
“Is that true?” Brenna at least had the decency to whisper because Reynner must have heard Kataya’s comments.
“I’m not talking about this.” A touch on her elbow, and Eve turned to a man who interrupted them with some queries about her work. She followed him to the sculpture in question.
The moment Eve finished with the guest, she excused herself, only to find David appearing in front of her like an apparition.
“You look like a man on a mission,” she teased.
“I sure am.” He brushed the hair flopping over his brow, his face flushed from whatever liquor he’d consumed. “That piece you did on nature?”
“Trees in a Storm?” She gave him a curious look. “What about it?”
“I love the wildness depicted. There are two offers on it, but as the artist, you can let me have it, right?” He wiggled his brow at her.
She laughed. “Speak to Eric, I’m sure he can work something out for you—” Eve broke off, aware of the sudden silence around them…the air of expectancy.
Turning, she saw the woman. Tall, dressed in black, her gown hugging every sensuous curve of her body as she sashayed into the gallery. There was only one word to describe her: Exquisite.
Her hair, a shimmering wave of ebony silk, flowed to her waist and was the perfect backdrop for a face of palest honey. A delicate, wide, filigree choker of the purest silver set with a large, deep blue lapis lazuli stone in the center graced her elegant neck.
She moved like some slinky creature searching for prey. Her feline-like topaz eyes sparkled in excitement as she glanced around and settled in on…
Reynner.
Chapter 21
Eve watched the scene unfold like something from her worst nightmare. Her heart pounded and the pressure in her chest mounted.
With a seductive glide of her hips, the woman crossed to Reynner. She said something to him, then she reached up and kissed him right on the mouth.
Eve’s brave façade shattered. The glass slipped from her fingers. Kataya swore and grabbed the falling crystal.
“Oh, hun.” Brenna slipped her arm around Eve's waist. “I'm sorry...”
But Eve barely heard her.
Reynner stepped back, his expression rigid. The woman laughed, trailing a hand down his chest like she’d done it so many times before. Eve realized then to whom the scent of Opium belonged because the woman looked as sultry and exotic as the fragrance. And very, very beautiful.
Unable to watch, Eve turned away, pain ripping through her. Worse, Reynner didn’t even look her way, like she no longer existed. Finally proving to her just how little she mattered. The champagne churning in her stomach rushed up her throat again.
