Zach pulled a business card from his suit jacket pocket. “Here.” He extended the card. “Call me tomorrow, and we’ll set a time for next week. As for my masterpiece, it’s a portrait of Kelton Maxwell that should be around here somewhere. If you were in class today, then you know what he looks like. I need to talk to Brew.”
I gripped his business card as my insides waged a small fight between irritation over his dismissal of me and nervousness that everything today seemed to revolve around Kelton. “It was nice meeting you. I’ll give you a shout midafternoon.”
I quickly searched the room for Zach’s masterpiece and Kelton. Satisfied that I didn’t need to hide from Kelton, and disappointed that I was coming up empty on Zach’s masterpiece, I continued to work the room. It was probably best I didn’t spot the painting. If Kelton was posing in nothing but a cowboy hat, I had no doubt my tray of drinks would be splattered on the floor— along with me.
I weaved through the throng of people, passing those who had full glasses. As I passed a man dressed in a sharp, tailored suit standing next to a redheaded woman, I paused when I heard Kelton’s name.
“Daddy, when are you interviewing Kelton Maxwell?” the redhead asked.
Their backs were to me as they faced an art piece on a stand, which I couldn’t quite see. Regardless, her mousy voice was hard to forget from class today.
“Trudy, pumpkin, stop asking about the boy. I have his résumé and application. I haven’t had time to read through it.” He shifted on his feet. “Although I’m not sure posing half naked for an art class looks good on a résumé. He’ll have to convince me he wants a job at my law firm.”
So Kelton was sticking to his dream of becoming a lawyer. I was so proud of him.
“Daddy. You’re so old-fashioned. So what if he models? Do you know how hard it is for someone to stay still long enough for us to sketch?” Trudy hooked her arm through his.
They stepped to the next piece of artwork. When they moved away and revealed the painting they’d been looking at, my jaw dropped. Piercing blue eyes stared back at me. I bit my tongue when all I wanted to do was moan at the beautiful, perfect man on the canvas. Kelton was casually leaning against a large oak tree with his hands tucked into his jeans pockets, bare chested and barefooted, hair tousled, and a half smirk on his chiseled face. Memories flooded my vision of Kelton and me playing in his tree house when we were ten years old. He loved trees and how the branches swayed in the wind. He’d once told me that when the leaves rustled they were talking to each other. We would sit in his tree house listening to the trees on very windy days.
“It’s a great piece. Zach, one of Brew’s students, painted this,” Kelton said as he came up next to me, the smoothness of his voice washing over me like a shower of melted chocolate. “Like it?” He gently placed a hand on my lower back.
“Not in the least,” I said confidently, even though my knees were about to give out. I thought I’d forgotten what his touch was like, but the heat of his hand brought back more memories of when we used to tackle each other playing football. I had to drop that art class. I couldn’t afford to let Kelton distract me from my goal.
He pulled on the bowtie of his tux with his free hand, stretching his neck. “Do you lie a lot?”
I do since this morning. “I’m not lying. You have several flaws, you know.”
He snorted as he flexed his fingers where they were splayed on my back. “I’d like to hear them.”
“Sorry.” With my head down, I started for the kitchen and got a whiff of his fresh rain cologne. At that moment it took every bit of willpower not to whimper.
He grabbed my arm. “Wait. Why do you keep running from me?”
My pulse began beating like a jumping bean. “Why do you keep chasing me?”
“I’m not chasing you. I’ve been trying to apologize. Brew said you seemed spooked about something when you left class. He thought I scared you.” His handsome gaze drank me in.
You did scare me. You still do. “Sorry, dude. You can be a creeper.”
He raised his hand to his mouth as one side turned upward. Damn sexy grin had only gotten sexier with age.
“I have to work. I shouldn’t have said anything.” I gawked at him instead of doing my job.
“People are mingling and talking with drinks in their hands. So, talk to the creeper. You might find that I can purr like a kitten if you pet the right spot,” he said in a serious tone.
I was so doomed to fail if I stayed this close to him. I was ready to tear off the wig and my contacts and throw myself at him. But for some reason, my legs wouldn’t move.
He cocked his head to one side. “I can’t help but ask. Do I know you?” He studied me like I was his lab experiment.
Get out now! a voice in my head screamed as I glanced past him.
A beautiful blond girl dressed like a runway model in a formfitting white strapless cocktail dress glided toward us with a smile etched on her face and her gaze fixed on either Kelton or me. Whoever she was after, her arrival was my cue to leave. My legs still wouldn’t move. Damn curiosity.
“Kelton, there you are.” She reached up with her delicate fingers and touched his face.