Randy finally met her eyes with a warm, appreciative gaze. He’d asked her out a few months ago and Megan had agreed to dinner. Initially, she’d found it appealing that Randy was from New York and that he didn’t know anything about Megan or her past. He was nice, attractive enough and very successful for his age.
But by the end of the evening she knew that Randy was left in little doubt about the unlikelihood of the relationship. Megan was only relieved that he hadn’t asked her out again. She recalled how she’d dreaded his kiss goodnight. It hadn’t remotely resembled the experience with Christian. It wasn’t really fair—either to Randy or to herself—to compare the two kisses…
…or the two men.
Besides, where was Christian now? At least Randy was standing right in front of her. She hadn’t heard from Christian or seen him for days, and according to Jeff—the doorman at their building—she shouldn’t plan on seeing Christian for a longer than that, if ever again.
“It’s beautiful, the way you caught the emotions on her face right at the knife’s edge of longing and uncertainty. I hope you plan to cast it in bronze.”
Megan nodded, glad to have something else to focus on besides the emotional tumult that had gone into her art. “This one is ready for wax now.”
“Good. It’s the best I’ve seen you do so far. You seem inspired. And I have the perfect use for it. I’d like to offer you a showing at the gallery.”
Megan stared at him round-eyed. Only the best, top-rated artists from around the nation showed at Rosenfeld. Several Chicago artists who had started at Rosenfeld and went on to gain renown in the world art community continued to premiere their new work at Rosenfeld & Epner. Being offered a show with them at some time in the far future had only been a vague, unformed dream at the periphery of her awareness. But being offered a show now wasn’t even something that had entered her universe of expectations.
“I don’t know what to say. Do you really think I’m ready?”
Randy crossed his arms and studied her for a moment before answering. “To be honest with you, I wasn’t sure about the answer to that until I saw this piece. Nancy has been much more gung-ho about the idea. She went a long way to convince me.” He nodded toward her sculpture. “But this really sealed the deal. Yes, I can say it with complete confidence. You’re ready.”
She shook her head, still stunned. A curl broke away from the loose knot on her head and fell into her eyes. “Thank you for your confidence in me. I hope I don’t let you down.”
Randy smiled and took a step closer to her. He gently brushed the tendril behind her ear. “You won’t let us down, Megan. You won’t let me down.”
Megan blinked, surprised to realize how close he was.
“I hope we’re not interrupting anything,” a familiar voice called with amusement from the entryway to Megan’s small studio. Megan glanced over her shoulder, glad to hear Tina’s familiar voice. The moment with Randy had quickly segued from euphoria to discomfort.
Tina must have been doing some metal soldering because she was still had a protective visor tilted back on her head. The visor looked strangely right, like an accessory to her shorts, cut-off tank top and army boots. Her revealing black clothing, colorful arm tattoo, and pierced belly button only emphasized the delicate beauty and perfection of her face and body. Megan’s greeting froze on her tongue when she saw who stood behind Tina.
“Someone’s got a visitor,” Tina announced with a grin, obviously relishing seeing Megan’s reaction to the man she’d led into the room.
“Oh… Christian.”
Megan’s senses tried to realign themselves to the reality of him standing at the entryway of her studio. He looked impossibly tall, perhaps due to the contrast of Tina’s miniature proportions in comparison. He was dressed in the clothing that suited him the most, faded jeans that seemed specially made to show off his lean hips, flat belly, and long legs along with scuffed boots, and a dark blue, untucked T-shirt that highlighted the taper running from his broad shoulders to trim waist. A tiny portion of Megan’s brain took in that the white writing of the logo was in Chinese. His arms were crossed loosely over his chest, giving Megan a glimpse of well-developed biceps and strong-looking, veined forearms dusted with brown hair.
“How did you find me here?” she asked, still vibrating with shock at his sudden presence.
Christian’s hard stare shifted from Randy to Megan. “Jeff,” he answered tersely, referring to their doorman.
Even with the single syllable, Megan was stunned anew by the resonant, rich quality of his voice. “Oh, right. He’s the one who told me you were out of town,” Megan replied hoarsely.
A silence ensued. Megan blushed hotly, realizing that she’d just revealed that she had engaged in a conversation with their doorman about Christian…something she would have sworn she would never tell him in a million years. Why did he have this effect on her?
Still, he wasn’t gloating over her slip-up. In fact, he wasn’t showing much emotion at all.
“Jeff must have noticed us together last week. He told me about you leaving with a suitcase on Saturday night. I didn’t really ask him or anything,” she said quickly, trying to cover her tracks.
She barely noticed the impatient feminine sigh that broke the silence.
“Not that this stare-fest isn’t fascinating. It actually is. But I’ve got to get back to work. Megan, do you think you could get around to introductions before the next millennium comes to a close?” Tina prodded.
“Oh, of course.” Megan formerly introduced Christian and Tina. His stoic expression warmed when he took Tina’s hand in greeting.
“I already knew it was you,” Tina told Christian with a smug grin. She nodded to the Chinese script printed on his T-shirt. “Cool shirt. Did you actually go to that club in Shanghai?”
“Yeah, a couple times. You’re the sun worshipper, right?”
Tina glanced back at Megan with an unasked question in her dark brown eyes before she turned her attention back to Christian. “You saw that piece, huh? You’ve been in Megan’s place? Someone around here has got some explaining to do,” Tina murmured with a pointed look at Megan. “Well, gotta run. Hot metal won’t wait anymore than a hot man will.”