Her heartbeat twitched. And yet running alongside their laboured conversation there had been something pulsing beneath the surface—a stirring of desire, something intimate yet intangible that had made her fingers clumsy as she’d tried to pick up her cup.
She blinked the thought away. Of course what had happened between them had clearly been a blip. After all, this was a man who had turned people’s need for intimacy into a global business worth billions—an ambition that was hardly compatible with empathy or passion.
Her jaw tightened. What was it he’d said about that night? Oh, yes, that it had been a ‘dummy run’ for his app. Well, she was a dummy for thinking he might have actually wanted to get to know his daughter.
From now on she was done with doing the right thing for the wrong people. She was only going to let the people she could trust get close—like the woman standing in front of her.
‘Thanks for staying, Georgina, and for everything you’ve done. I honestly don’t think I would have sold as well if you hadn’t been here.’
Swinging her cape of gleaming blonde hair over her shoulder, Georgina smiled back at her. ‘Oh, sweetie, you don’t need to thank me—firstly, it’s my job, and secondly it’s much better for the gallery to have a sold-out exhibition.’
‘Sold out?’ She blinked in confusion. ‘But I thought there were still three pieces left—those sketches and the collage—?’
Georgina shrugged. ‘Not any more. Rowley’s contacted me at lunchtime and bought all of them.’
Lottie felt her ribs tighten. Rowley’s was a prestigious art dealer with a Mayfair address and a client list of wealthy investors who flitted between Beijing, New York, and London, spending millions on houses and cars and emerging artists.
They also had an unrivalled reputation for discretion.
She opened her mouth, but Georgina was already shaking her head.
‘No, they didn’t give me a name.’ She raised an eyebrow. ‘You don’t look very pleased.’
‘I am,’ Lottie protested.
After finding out she was pregnant, working had been a welcome distraction from the upheaval in her life, but it had quickly become much more.
She glanced at the visitors who were still drifting around the gallery. ‘I just prefer to meet the buyers directly.’
‘I know you do—but you know what these collectors are like. They love to have the cachet of buying up-and-coming artists’ early work, but they love their anonymity more.’ Georgina tutted. ‘I know you hate labels, but you are up-and-coming. If you don’t believe me then believe your own eyes. You can see all the “Sold” stickers from here.’ Watching Lottie shift her daughter’s weight to her other arm, she said, ‘Are you sure I can’t take her?’
Lottie shook her head. ‘It’s fine. They must be on their way. I mean, Lucas was supposed to meet Izzy at the station and then they were coming straight back.’
Georgina sniffed. She was not a huge fan of Lottie’s family. ‘Yes, well... I expect they got “distracted”.’ She smoothed the front of her sculpted nip and tuck dress, and then her eyes narrowed like a tigress spotting her prey. ‘Oh, my...’ she said softly.
‘What’s the matter?’ Lottie frowned.
‘Don’t look now but an incredibly hot guy has just walked into the gallery. He has the most amazing eyes I’ve ever seen.’’
Lottie shook her head. No doubt they were fixed on the woman standing beside her.
‘Ouch.’ She winced as Georgina clutched at her arm.
‘He’s coming over to us.’
‘To you, you mean—and of course he is,’ Lottie said drily. ‘He’s male.’
Georgina had the most incredible effect on men, and she was used to simply fi
lling the space beside her.
‘He’s not looking at me,’ Georgina said slowly. She sounded stunned. ‘He’s looking at you.’
Lottie laughed. ‘Perhaps he hasn’t put his contact lenses in this morning. Or maybe he—’
She turned and her words stopped mid-sentence. Her body seemed to turn to salt. Walking towards her, his blue eyes pinning her to the floor, was Ragnar Stone.
She stared at him mutely as he stopped in front of her. He was dressed more casually than when she’d stopped him outside his office, but such was the force of his presence that suddenly the gallery seemed much smaller and there was a shift in tension, as though everyone was looking at him while trying to appear as though they weren’t.