Forbidden Kiss (Carson Cove Scandals 1)

“You never know.” He raised an eyebrow. “I might be bidding on a Taylor Abernathy instead of a Pablo Picasso one day.”

“You would probably be the only one bidding…” I shook my head back and forth, but I couldn’t hide my smile—I might have even blushed.

“I’d love to see your work sometime—seriously.” He furrowed his brow and nodded.

“Maybe…” I shrugged. “I haven’t really shown it to anyone.”

He’s probably just being nice…

“Then I’ll be your first critic.” He lifted his glass and took a sip.

“It looks like the coast is clear.” I let my hand fall away from Bryant’s arm. “It’s probably time for me to go.”

“Go?” Bryant raised his eyebrows. “You just got a glass of wine—surely you weren’t planning on leaving.”

I forgot how perceptive he is—Victoria and I were never able to get away with anything when he was around.

“I was considering another trip through the gallery.” I didn’t have much choice but to admit the truth. “I don’t get to see paintings like this very often.”

“I wouldn’t be a very good date if I let you leave before you were finished looking at everything.” He extended the crook of his arm. “Let’s go.”

“Okay…” I nodded and put my hand back where it was when I pretended to claim him in front of the Carson Cove sycophant.

He led me into the gallery—and I was no longer invisible. I was on Bryant Benson’s arm—that caused a few murmurs as we walked past the people who had previously ignored me. I started to wonder if I had made a mistake. I didn’t want to be noticed. I questioned if there was any way that Bryant would have actually fallen for Alexis Devereaux’s vicious charm—but he seemed to be relieved when I ran her off. I fulfilled whatever obligation I had to Victoria once she walked away, but I was still there—admiring paintings in the gallery with a man who could have bought every single one of them if he wanted—a man that I used to have a crush on when I was younger. The years had certainly been kind of him—he was still the most attractive man I had ever laid eyes on.

“Pretend that you’re admiring the Rembrandt.” Bryant came to a stop and stared at the painting in front of us.

“It’s—amazing.” I didn’t have to pretend.

I doubt I’ll be this close to one again.

“Yes, but while everyone is taking notes about the Rembrandt, I’m looking at the Picasso.” He gave me a slight wink.

“I’ve never been a big fan of Picasso?

??” I cut my eyes towards the painting he was actually looking at.

“He found beauty in chaos—then turned beauty into chaos.” Bryant closed his eyes for a moment. “He saw the world through eyes that nobody will ever truly understand.”

“That does describe his work pretty well…” I nodded.

“The painting Mr. Wellington is auctioning this year is from the Rose Period. I prefer the stuff he did in his later years, but I’ll never turn down the opportunity to hang a Picasso in my house.” Bryant lifted his shoulders with a slight shrug.

“Everyone has their tastes.” I looked up at him and smiled.

That came out wrong…

“Indeed…” His eyes met mine, and they lingered there for a moment—then he looked towards the next painting. “Let’s move on before someone figures out that I’m just trying to lure them into bidding on the Rembrandt.”

I started to get nervous as we continued to walk through the gallery. It felt like there were way too many eyes on me. Bryant didn’t seem to notice, but I certainly did. I was just trying to do my best friend’s father a favor—I didn’t want to become a topic of conversation. I told him what I overheard Alexis saying while we walked—and he didn’t seem to be that surprised by her ulterior motives. Maybe he saw through her from the beginning—he knew a lot more about her than I did.

I was glad to be out of the gallery once we made it back to the bar area. Most of the people were socializing and didn’t seem to notice that Bryant had someone on his arm. My glass was empty, and I definitely wasn’t going to have more wine. I just needed to find a way to make a graceful exit. My night had taken a turn that I didn’t see coming when I walked into the art show, but it was time for it to end. I didn’t belong amongst the privileged.

“I really should be going now.” I put my empty glass down on the table beside me.

“I’ve put in an appearance, so I’m ready to call it a night too.” He looked towards the bar. “Let me grab my bottle of Scotch, and I’ll walk you to your car.”

“Okay.” I nodded and stayed on his arm as we walked up to the bar.