Chapter3
Savannah was preparing a cup of tea in her office at the gallery when Leo came in and gave her a wink and a smile. She laughed a little at him as he walked in and sat at the edge of her desk, raising a single brow at her as his smile widened.
“What’s that look for?” she asked him curiously.
“You have a guest!” he answered with a hint of a tease.
She dropped her tea bag into the trash bin and set her cup of tea on table beside her. “Who is it?”
“You’re going to have to go see. I have to go. Have fun!” He winked at her again and flitted from her office. She watched him go, laughing and giving her head a shake.
She had no idea who it might be, but she was pleasantly surprised to discover that Lucas was standing out on the main floor of the gallery. She eyed his stylish suit and the way that it fit him like a perfect glove as she walked toward him. He turned and saw her, giving her a smile.
“Good afternoon! You look as ravishing as you did last night,” he flirted boldly with her. She felt everything in her stop short a little as she blinked and gave him a nod. She hadn’t put any thought at all into the buttercream dress she was wearing. It was narrow at the waist and dropped into a full skirt just above her knees. The top was a V-neck sundress, and she wore a thin, white sweater over the top of it.
“Oh, thank you.” She clasped her hands before her and tried not to look as nervous as she was feeling. “What brings you in today?”
His mouth curved into a half-smile and his green eyes seemed to still be dancing with some mischief. “Well, I came in to make delivery arrangements for the art I purchased last night.”
“Oh!” she gasped, realizing that he must have been serious when he’d told the couple with them that the painting they were looking at had already been purchased. “You bought the one that we were looking at together last night!”
He shrugged and looked away from her for a moment and then returned his gaze to her. “I did. I picked up a few others as well, since I was here. Mostly, though, I came by because I haven’t heard from you, and I wanted to be sure that you didn’t lose the card that I gave you last night. I know you got a few cards from different people, and I wanted to be sure that mine hadn’t been lost in the shuffle.”
Savannah knew that she was going to have to say something. She hadn’t expected him to come back in to see her, or more than that, that he would be so forward about asking her for her time. She smiled and cleared her throat softly. “You’re right. I haven’t contacted you, and that’s because I’m not really sure if you’re my type. I think… I think we’re probably from two different worlds, and I’m not sure that those two worlds would really… blend well.” She smiled kindly, trying to let him down easily. She didn’t want to sound awful for turning him down, especially since he’d bought some of her work.
He pressed his lips together into a slight line as he looked down for a brief moment, but then he raised his eyes to meet hers again and took a step toward her. “I understand what you’re telling me, but unless there’s someone else that you’re seeing and absolutely committed to, I’d like to suggest that you give my type a chance. Give me a chance to show you who I am, and you’ll find that I’m not what it might look like on the surface, just as I’m sure there’s much more depth to you than what’s on the surface, although the surface is quite lovely. I’m willing to take the risk that you’re worth getting to know, and I would encourage you to take that same chance because I have a suspicion that you like what you find in me. Please think about it. Give this a try because I’d really like a chance to get to know you.”
His words made a deep impression on her. She realized what he was telling her. She was judging a book by the cover, and that wasn’t fair of her. He might be right. He might very well be someone that she wound up liking and even enjoying spending time with. She had jumped to the conclusion that he was a rich man and would be too shallow and different from her world.
Giving him a smile, she nodded. “Okay. You’re right. I can give this a chance and take some time to get to know you. There isn’t anyone else that I’m committed to; it’s just me. I’m worth getting to know,” she said confidently, “and I’m beginning to think that you must be, too.” She laughed a little, and he grinned.
“That’s more like it. Have dinner with me tonight, please.” His voice was soft, and his eyes were steady on hers, holding her there close to him, in a way. She felt almost as if she was tethered to him.
“Alright. I’m finished here at five. You could pick me up here, if that’s alright.” She felt her heart begin to beat as he moved closer to her.
“I’ll be here. Thank you for the chance; I’m so looking forward to it.” He leaned toward her and kissed her cheek lightly, and then he turned and walked out of the building.
Her heart was still pounding against her chest when Natalie came up to her, looking much the same as she had the night before, in a black dress with her dark hair pulled back and her red lips dramatically juxtaposed against her pale skin.
“Well… that looked fun. What’s going on with tall, dark, and handsome?” Natalie asked with no hint of coyness and only a detectable sliver of keen interest.
Savannah turned and smiled at her, feeling her cheeks warm. “Oh, well… I guess we’re going to have dinner tonight.”
“A date?” Natalie raised one perfectly arched brow.
“Yes, I guess it is. He was here last night for the show, and he bought a few pieces. He said he was here today to arrange delivery for them.” She smiled happily, thinking of the night before and the night that was yet to come.
Natalie shook her head and held up one pointed finger, tipped with a nail as red as her lips. “Oh no, my darling, he didn’t buy a few pieces from the show last night.”
Savannah frowned slightly. “He didn’t?” she asked in surprise.
“No. He bought every piece that you had up at the show last night.” Natalie smiled at her and watched with satisfaction as Savannah’s face fell wide open in shock.
“Every…” she began and trailed off quietly.
“Every piece,” Natalie repeated, looking pleased. “You just made more in one night than you make in a whole year.”
There was nothing that Savannah could say. She could only shake her head and stare at her friend. Natalie rolled her eyes a little and smiled, reaching her arm into Savannah’s and walking with her toward the back office.
“You had tea, didn’t you? Let’s go get your tea.”