“It’s Everly Calloway, thank you very much.”
“Oh, of course. Sorry, my lovely wife.”
Her nervous giggle sent a rush of heat to my groin. Damn it, I was trying really hard not to get turned on by her in that dress. But I hadn’t been kidding—she was hot as hell. It wasn’t the wig, it was the whole package.
And my package was paying attention.
She put her glasses in her purse, and when I held out my arm, she tucked her hand in the crook of my elbow, and we started up the sidewalk.
CHAPTER 18
Penelope
The wig was surprisingly comfortable,but walking without my glasses was not.
I kept my hand tucked in Theo’s arm as he led me up the sidewalk toward the gallery. It wasn’t far from the salon, but my fuzzy vision made it hard to tell exactly where we were. Plus, I was still reeling from this slick, sophisticated version of Theo Haven.
And from him calling me hot.
I was not a hot girl. Sean had called me things likeprettyorcute—in the beginning, at least, until the compliments gradually fizzled out. But never hot.
It was probably just the blond wig. And lack of glasses. I felt a little bit like a girl in an eighties movie who gets her braces off and starts wearing contacts, and suddenly she’s the hottest girl in town.
Not that I was actually the hottest girl in town.
I needed to get my head together before we got to the gallery. I wasn’t dressed up to look like a hot girl. We were looking for clues to a crime.
We got to the gallery and fortunately, it was open. It seemed like Theo had thought his plan through, so he’d probably checked to make sure we’d be able to get in.
He opened the door. “Watch your step there.”
“Thanks.”
My sight wasn’t so bad that I was unable to see anything without my glasses. But unless something was right in front of me, it was fuzzy and indistinct. It made it hard to separate smaller objects from larger ones, and almost impossible to make out faces.
“Hello, welcome,” a female voice said.
I could see the outline of a person, but other than the vague sense that she was wearing blue, I couldn’t make out much about the gallery assistant. And I had no idea if she was someone I’d seen before.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
“Shepherd Calloway,” Theo said and held out his hand. She shook it. “This is my wife, Everly.”
“Hi.” A tingle of nervousness swept through me, and I stuck my hand out a little too aggressively. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you as well.” She took my hand and shook. “I’m Tina. Is there anything I can help you with, or did you just wander in?”
“We heard about the unfortunate passing of Mr. Morris,” Theo said.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” I added.
“Thank you,” Tina said. “Yes, it was quite a shock.”
“My wife and I enjoy his work,” Theo continued. “We thought we’d come and take a look at his gallery in person.”
Every time Theo saidmy wife, my spine tingled.
“That’s wonderful,” Tina said. “Please, allow me to show you around the gallery.”
