“What? When the hell did this happen?” Jax asked, raising his voice and nearly causing a scene, but he didn’t care. Mariana was not going to be an escort. That would mean men touching her, holding her hand, escorting like a piece of jewelry all around Houston. No, not happening.

“I spoke with her that night I saw her at Roldolpho’s. She is so sweet and very knowledgeable on the arts. She has natural beauty, don’t you think?” Freda asked with a smile, and then Darian Rothesburgh approached to greet them.

As Darian exchanged pleasantries, Jameson locked gazes with his brother. Jax could see his brother losing his cool. Hell, he was losing it, too.

“Need another drink? Or perhaps we should browse the artwork since that is why we are here,” Jameson stated to Jax. They excused themselves from the conversation and walked toward the direction they last saw Mariana headed.

* * * *

“This place is huge. How many people live here?” she asked Liam.

“I’m not sure. I don’t believe more than three,” Liam replied as they stared at a daguerreotype of John Wilson Ewbank.

“Liam, so nice to see you here. The board is happy that you were able to attend.”

Mariana turned as she saw four men join the conversation. These had to be the business people Liam wanted to impress.

“Thank you, Marcus. This is quite the display of Scottish art. I feel right at home,” Liam said as he shook the men’s hands. His Scottish accent was so cool.

“Wonderful. And who is this lovely young woman you’ve brought along with you?” Marcus asked as he reached for her hand and Liam made the introductions.

The four men stared at her body and she felt embarrassed. She was never one to flaunt her assets, but after receiving the royal treatment at Freda’s, she looked completely different. Her hair was styled in a fancy updo and the dress was slim fitting and accentuated her hips, her ass, and of course her breasts. Not that there was a low dip to the front, but the cut of the dress accentuated her breasts in such a way that it was very sexy, yet not too revealing. Margarete knew how to pick out the right dress for the right woman. Mariana was even getting used to the high heels, too. Freda had made her feel like a princess, and she was hoping this night didn’t fly by so quickly.

“So this right here is a nice photograph taken by a well-known Scottish photographer, I believe,” Liam said, and the men turned to look at another picture with a famous person they surely would recognize.

Liam gave Mariana a squeeze and she took her cue as the other men, two with Scottish accents, made comments about the photo taken by a famous photographer, Albert Watson. They walked closer.

“It is quite impressive for such a simple pose. But I bet you didn’t know that Albert Watson thinks of this as one of his favorites,” Mariana began to say.

“Do tell, my dear. It sounds intriguing,” Marcus said and took position beside her. She was surrounded by the four men as she told a bit of the tale around the photograph, which here, was blown up into poster size.

“Well Mr. Watson was extremely excited to photograph Alfred Hitchcock. It was his first celebrity photograph,” Marian said.

“Why the goose?” one of the others asked.

“Well, from the story Watson tells, he finds out in casual conversation that Hitchcock hunts goose and is quite a good shot. You see here how he chose to take the photograph with Hitchcock holding a plucked goose?”

“That’s risky,” Marcus said.

“Not really. Watson believed it to be more natural because of Hitchcock’s hunting experience. That was a twenty-five-pound plucked goose that he’s holding like that. Watson tells a story about how Hitchcock gave his Christmas goose recipe to all the people working on the photography site. They enjoyed the shooting immensely.”

“Intriguing,” Marcus said, and then the other gentleman pointed to a series of other pictures. They walked along, and she hadn’t even noticed the small crowd that seemed to gather around them as Mariana explained about each photograph she knew of and the artist’s behind-the-scenes stories. She loved doing this. She enjoyed bringing people into the minds of the artists from the artist’s point of view.

“This has been the best event I’ve attended, Mariana. It was such a pleasure meeting you,” Marcus said as he took her hand then brought it to his lips and kissed it. She glanced at Liam, who looked very pleased, and she felt relieved. Perhaps her first job would be a successful one.

“Can we take Liam for a few moments, Mariana? We have some business to discuss.”

“Of course. Please take your time,” she replied, and Liam took her hand and gave it a squeeze. He leaned down and whispered into her ear, tickling her skin.

“You are a gem. I will see you in a little bit.”

She smiled as he walked away. She felt her body warm and then a tingling feeling moved over her skin. She looked toward the right where she knew a series of John Wilson Ewbank paintings were on display and locked gazes with Jax.

Oh my God, he looks so sexy in that tux. He’s all in black and appears mysterious and intimidating. I’m in trouble.

It was strange how her body just knew that he was nearby. The tingling sensation, that warm heat that skimmed across her skin. It was him. He caused that.

She debated about turning around and heading the other way, but she didn’t. He was too good looking to ignore and in all honesty, dressing like this and playing this role gave her confidence she normally wouldn’t have.

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