I nod absentmindedly. "I should check in with Clive to make sure everything is set. You'll excuse me?"
"Of course," he says politely.
I look up into his face before I walk away. He's handsome in a way that is different than Caleb. He's more refined and polished. He's kind and as his eyes wander back to his wife, I watch the brilliant smile that consumes her face at the sight of him. That's what I want with Caleb. It's exactly what I've always wanted.
***
"Rowan, has Caleb talked to you about the new lingerie boutiques we're opening?"
This is it. This is the pitch I knew was coming.
"Lingerie?" Noah Foster appears next to where Gabriel and I are standing. "My wife told me about this. You're opening lingerie stores now, Gabriel?"
I highly doubt that Noah Foster remembers the brief conversation I had with him years ago at one of his photography shows. At that time, he was selling his pieces for a steep price and women were lining up to be one of his models.
I don't know anyone who posed for him, but I had heard the rumors. There was a contract and the rules were strict. No clothing allowed at all when he had his camera out and that worked both ways. Apparently he worked in the nude.
He smiles down at me and I instantly notice the scar that is now a permanent part of his cheek. I'd asked Asher about it after I met Noah the first time. He'd been stabbed and although he had the resources to seek the most skilled plastic surgeon in the world, he had made a conscious decision to not have his face repaired. It doesn't impact how attractive he is at all. He's hot and when I met him years ago, I made certain to tell Gabriel and Caleb how incredibly handsome I thought Noah was. They'd teased me about it on and off for years.
"You're Rowan Bell, aren't you?" Noah waves his finger in front of my nose. "You and I spoke a number of years ago. I think it was at a gallery."
No way. There's no way he can remember that.
"We did," I say suspiciously. I'm not memorable. It's not that I view myself as not being special; it's more that I'm realistic. He has to meet dozens of people on any given day. It's hard for me to imagine that he'd be impacted enough by our brief conversation that he'd remember me. "How can you possibly remember that?"
"You're Caleb's friend." He glances briefly at Gabriel. "He told me all about you a few weeks after that show and I recognized the name."
"Caleb talked about me?" I shouldn't sound as shocked as I do. I entered the doors of this event as a sophisticated, representative of Corteck. I now sound like a giddy school girl who just realized the boy who sits next to her in Algebra class likes her.
"No," he says quickly with a glint in his eyes. "Caleb talks about you. Every time I see him he talks about you. Rowan graduated with honors. Rowan got a promotion. Rowan is beautiful. It's all Rowan, all the time."
I look up and past his face to quiet my heart. "Caleb and I have been friends for a long time."
"Since you were born." Noah taps my shoulder. "I may know more about you than your own mother does."
I blush at the suggestion. "I had no idea."
He touches my forearm. "My cousin may be mildly obsessed with you. I'd keep an eye on him, if I were you."
I nod as I hear Gabriel's voice interject. "I was just about to offer Rowan a job with the new lingerie division. We should talk about us contracting you to take the photographs for the website and catalogues, Noah."
I know Noah responds, but I can't make out anything he says. The only thing I can focus on is Caleb's smiling face across the room.
Chapter 50
"I just want to kiss you once." He brushes his soft, lush lips over mine. "You're wearing one of our dresses."
I pull back to look at him closely. The sight of him in a tuxedo takes my breath away. "I wanted you to see me in one. I don't normally wear your clothes."
"Just my stolen sweatshirts." His voice tightens. "I'm sorry I'm late. I had something I needed to take care of before I got here. "
I want to ask what it is but I know that if it concerned us he'd tell me. I don't want to worry over every small thing that pops up in his life. He made a promise to me that we'd take care of one another and I'm choosing to believe that he'll honor that.
"We should go back out there," I point towards the now crowded ballroom of the hotel. "Clive is going to make a presentation before dinner and I need to be there to support him."
"I understand," he says brusquely. "I'll let you lead the way."
I study his features for a minute, trying to find some clue about what he's feeling. He hadn't shared more than two words with Asher when he walked right past him on his way towards me when he first arrived. When Gabriel approached him, his hand had darted in the air to silence him.