The next day Mandy wished she’d had a roommate around to zip up her dress. The stubborn thing fit perfectly, but it was awkward to zip up with the sequins scratching her hands.

I’m not jealous. Who was she kidding? She totally was from the moment the woman’s picture from the restaurant appeared on Derek’s screen. It was fine. He’d gone to ask Alice if he could bring his girlfriend to the party yesterday and Mandy hadn’t seen him for the rest of the night. His girlfriend seemed a shoe-in, so why wasn’t she already here?

Mandy finally zipped her dress and then peeked between the curtains at the window. Guests were already arriving. Alice hadn’t exaggerated when she said this was formal, and Mandy was glad she’d decided on the red gown for the evening.

She spotted Derek in a sleek, black tux. He looked like a fashion magazine model, and her heart beat in an erratic pattern.

She swallowed the lump rising in her throat. Derek had admitted to remembering she loved Shorvan, and yet said nothing about the fact that he owned one. She shook her head. He’d missed something so fundamental about her. And he wasn’t available. Those were two very good reasons to move on.

Closure. That was what she needed tonight.

Mandy took a deep breath, added another layer of bright-red lipstick, and fastened on dangly earrings and a drop necklace. She looked at herself with a critical eye. She could pull off red. Really well. Grabbing her jeweled red heels, she carried them down the stairs before putting them on and heading out to the party.

She navigated the brick pathway expertly in her heels. A live orchestra of twenty played softly, while people mingled. The white tents housed the food and drink, and the hired caterers walked around with drinks and hors d’oeuvres.

Derek greeted people as they joined in the party. He squeezed her hand and welcomed her, just like he did with everyone else. “I have someone special I want to introduce you to,” he said as he scanned the crowd. His smile was brimming, his eyes had long ago lost their stormy look. Of course they had. He was going to introduce her to his girlfriend.

“Okay.” It was all she could muster to say. This was the moment. She was going to meet his girlfriend and Mandy would be all smiles about it.

“You look beautiful, by the way,” he whispered in her ear as he led her toward the large gathering of people.

Her entire arm overreacted from the touch, shooting tingles filled with possibilities all the way up to her neck. She ignored the sensation.

“Thank you. You smell good.” She froze. Her burning cheeks would exactly match her dress. “I-I mean, you look good, too.” She turned away from him.

“Grams want to see you, but can I tell you something first?” he asked.

After her last comment she needed distance, but her mouth said, “Anything—that’s what friends are for.”

He frowned. “Friends?” he asked in an uncertain tone.

Ugh. He didn’t even think of them as friends. “Or acquaintances.”

He studied her for a moment and said, “I knew days after we met that you were someone…special to me.” He pulled out a small velvet box from his pocket. Opening it, he revealed a dazzling anchor necklace.

She gasped. “Wow. It’s beautiful.” She swallowed the lump in her throat.

He rubbed a finger along his jaw. “It’s yours.” He pushed the box into her hand.

She shook her head. Those were real diamonds. And how could she accept such a gift from someone who had a girlfriend? “It’s too much.”

Derek blinked several times. “I want you to have it.”

“Why didn’t you call me after the cruise?” she asked, keeping her voice low as people mingled around them.

“I—”

She cut him off. “It’s the same reason I can’t accept this.”

“Is there any time in our future where we could work?” He hooked a finger under her chin, lifting it ever so gently. He was two short breaths away from kissing her, and she was falling for that moment, like the ones they had on the cruise.

Yeah. She wouldn’t be a rebound, or the reason he dumped the woman from Renaldi’s. “I don’t see it.”

His eyes pierced her with a look that made her question her last statement.

She needed to change the subject. “You were going to introduce me to someone?” She smiled, hoping it looked genuine.

“It seems Grams wants you first.” He looked like he’d say more the way his eyes searched hers. He motioned to Alice, and in three steps Alice held out her hand to Mandy.

“Alice, hi. This is a beautiful party.” When Mandy looked back in Derek’s direction, he had disappeared into the crowd.

Alice gave Mandy a kiss on the cheek. “I’m sorry we didn’t have much time to spend together yesterday. The party took most of my brain power. But we’ll have time to catch up afterwards, right? We have the whole weekend, and tomorrow the party is much smaller.”

Mandy nodded. “I’d like that.” And she meant it. Alice was one of her favorite traveling companions.

“Harold is busy talking, so I’ll introduce you to him later.” Alice introduced Mandy to several friends, pulling her from one group to another. Mandy did her best to remember names. After meeting another one of Alice’s friends, Mandy searched the crowd, wondering where Derek was. She knew she shouldn’t be, but she was.

As if reading her thoughts, Alice said, “Derek is probably finishing up a business deal. That man certainly uses the party scene to get business done.”

“You don’t mind that he does business during your party?” Mandy tilted her head.

Alice looped her arm through Mandy’s. “Not at all. In fact, it’s the point of the party. At least according to my late husband. Though I think Derek could give Stanley a run for his money. Derek has certainly gotten savvy at these sorts of gatherings.”

“I have always believed parties are for enjoyment.”

“And so they are,” Grams said, laughing. “But people enjoy things in different ways. Derek finds enjoyment in socializing and doing business at the same time. He thrives on it. It gets him out of the office, and he feels like he hasn’t wasted his time.” She gestured around the crowd.

“But to do business during a party—”

“It’s like making new friends for him. It’s how he works.”

“You’re right,” Mandy finally said. “Where is his girlfriend? I guess I thought he’d be with her the whole time.”

Grams snorted. “He most certainly does not have a girlfriend.”

“He doesn’t? Are you sure? He said he wanted to introduce me to someone special.” Mandy’s heart rate picked up.

“I’m sure he’s looking for the right woman right now.” Alice gave her a pointed look, then said, “I have a few more people I need to greet…and oh look, there’s Derek now.” Alice walked Mandy over to Derek and then continued walking to join another group.

Her mind went blank. Derek didn’t have a girlfriend. Alice had confirmed it. She could have jumped in the air if she wasn’t wearing a gown. “Hi,” Mandy said, awkwardness sinking around her like a high heel caught in mud.

“Are you having a good time?” Derek asked her but kept facing forward, shaking people’s hands as they passed him.

“Yes.” And she was going to have a much better time now that she knew about Derek. “This song reminds me of dancing with you on the cruise.” Okay it wasn’t anywhere close to the same songs they’d danced to on the cruise, but she could hint without being obvious, couldn’t she?

“I’d imagine all parties would remind you of some cruise,” he said, watching the crowd and avoiding her.

“About earlier, I want to explain.” She needed to clear the air. She’d only pushed him away because she thought he had a girlfriend. It was a noble gesture, sort of.

He looked at her then, and if looks could inflict physical wounds she would be in critical condition. He whispered, “You don’t need to pretend anymore, Mandy. I got the message. If you’ll excuse me I have a deal to wrap up.” And with that he stormed away.

She blinked. Grabbing a plate from the nearest stack she went through the food line, hardly knowing what she dished up. A dull pounding pushed at Mandy’s eyes.

She needed to find a small place to eat her food out of the public area. Some place quiet. Some place secluded. Mandy followed the lantern lit path further into the garden. Tables and chairs were set up along the way, and the further she went the quieter the music and the hum of conversation became. She could almost hear the ocean. She could make out the vague outline of the shore and the water in the dusk.

She took a few deep breaths and forced her stinging eyes to remain dry, feeling the tension wash away from her as she took in her surroundings. A cricket chirped, drowning out the laughter and music from the party.

“You look like you could use some solitude,” an older man’s voice said.

She startled and looked around. A man sat at a table, a small lantern lighting his features. His full head of hair was completely white, and his face had a calm serenity to the wrinkles and lines that caressed his features. He was at least Alice’s age. “I probably could,” she said.

“Come, join me then,” he said, standing up and pulling out a chair for her.

“I don’t want to interrupt your solitude,” she said, moving toward the chair.

“I suppose a little company in my solitude every once in a while, is okay.”

Mandy sat and let him push her in. “That happens to be the title of one of my favorite paintings. Company in my solitude.”

He rejoined her at the table, his bushy eyebrows lifting to reveal bright-green eyes. “Is it now? Tell me about you. How do you know the Thompson’s?”

“I was Alice’s traveling companion on a cruise this past summer.”

“Ah. The traveling companion. I’ve heard a lot about you. Heard you were enchanting. Wasn’t sure I’d believe it. And here you are, finding me out here, away from the party.”

Alice really had talked Mandy up and she was grateful. “Alice is always so kind in her praise.”

He pursed his lips. “That she is. But I was talking to Derek about you.”

“Oh. Do you work with him?” she asked, trying to figure out why she’d come up in conversation.

“I occasionally work for him, in a manner of speaking.” He chuckled.

Mandy looked down at her food, not wanting to be rude.

“Go on and eat your food. I’ve had mine already,” he said. “Now, Derek tells me you’re the most amazing person he’s ever known. So, let’s hear your story.”

“I’m just…well I’m just me.”

The old man steepled his fingers. “Well, tell me about yourself then. Let’s start with your name.”

“I’m Mandy.”

“That is a beautiful name. An artistic name.”

“Thanks.” Silence stretched between them, and Mandy asked, “What’s your name, sir?”

He laughed, but Mandy had no idea what was so funny. Confusion must have been written on her face because when he looked up, he stilled. “Sorry. I, hm. Are you an artist?”

“I am.”

“And are you amazing at it?” His bushy eyebrows rose.

Mandy shook her head. She didn’t feel amazing at anything right now. “I doubt it. But I do what I can. You’re not going to tell me your name?”

He reached over and patted her hand. “I’ve been called a lot of names, but Jerry suits me fine. It’s what my friends call me.”

“Jerry it is then. So how do you know Alice and Derek?”

“I’ve been friends with Alice and her late husband all my life. We used to go to the beach together when we were kids. Lifelong friends they are. Do you have friends like that? Good ones?”

“I’ve got some great roommates. They’re the kind of people I’d still want to get together with for my entire life.”

He nodded. “That’s good. So, you met Alice and Derek on the cruise?”

She nodded.

“It sounds like it was a nice vacation. Did you take your art with you?” Jerry’s eyes twinkled.

“Always. ‘A true artist always has his art with him, no matter where he goes.’”

He leaned back in his chair and nodded. “Spoken like a true artist.”

“I can’t take credit for that sentiment though. I learned if from one of the greats—my favorite contemporary artist once said that.”

“Is that so?” He drummed his hands lightly along the table.

She nodded. “For a young girl, it sounded magical, like I could always have this creative side with me on any adventure.”

“It is magical.” He cleared his throat. “Makes me think you’re as amazing as I’ve heard about. Art has a way of elevating people.”

“Do you have a favorite piece of art? Were you thinking about that or just talking in general?” She leaned forward, wondering what this man’s opinion would be on it. He seemed at ease in talking about the abstract, in getting her to open up.

He rubbed a finger across his jawline. “I have lots of favorites. Some of them are popular and some of them will never make it into a gallery. My favorites right now are a gallery wall filled with art from my grandkids. It rivals some of the more expensive pieces I have in my collection. And, in a lot of ways it has to do with the meanings behind their effort.”

“I love that. The deeper connection to the work. An idea that an artist understands something profound that changes your life when you see it.”

“Your art is better than you realize with a perspective like that.” He leaned forward. “If you understand the connections, you can’t help but create masterpieces.”

Mandy tilted her head. “Are you an artist then, too, Jerry?”

Jerry’s jovial laugh filled the air. “Much like you, I never really considered my dabblings in art to be anything extraordinary. But, you know, Alice was among the first to love some of my creations. She’s an influential woman, if ever I’ve met one.”

“She is. And did you do more art because of her?” Mandy listened as he told about some of his earlier triumphs. Jerry’s life story fascinated her.

“It’s important to listen to those who believe in you,” he said.

“I agree,” she said. Everything Jerry said inspired her. Talking art was exactly what she needed in this moment.

He raised a brow. “Then I’m surprised you don’t listen to Derek. He thinks your artwork is good.”

At the mention of Derek’s name she wilted. “He only saw sketches and just quick mock-ups,” she said quietly. Besides, if Derek were introducing her or talking about her to party guests he’d never say she was only mediocre at art. He just wouldn’t mention it at all.

“Were the nursery paintings you did only sketches or mock-ups?”

She hadn’t mentioned anything about the nursery paintings. Had Derek been trying to drum up business for her? Why else would he mention it? “How did you know about those?”

“I’m like an uncle to Derek. Think a very old, crazy uncle. When he asked if I was coming tonight, he told me about you.”

“Why about me?” Maybe Jerry’s granddaughters needed a nursery redone, and he wanted to buy some of her prints?

“Let me ask you something first. Why didn’t you let him pay you for the art?” His gaze seemed to pierce her, and she didn’t know what to say. He waited for her to answer, then broke the silence. “As one dabbling artist to another, I can think of a few reasons. Should I guess?”

Mandy nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

“You don’t think your art is worth much?” He paused looking at her. “But that can’t be right, can it? Because you are confident in your art, even if you are a little shy about it.”

Again, Mandy nodded.

“Guess number two. You didn’t want to seem greedy by the price you’d charge.”

“That might be partly it,” she said slowly.

He whistled. “If that’s partly it, the only other reason that fits into it was that you care about him. And your art was an expression of that. A gift.”

Mandy knew he somehow knew something, or that he could sense it about her. It was the strangest thought while he questioned her. She swallowed hard. “I did care about him. And I was trying to help him out with a gift and—”

“And the money would have cheapened that,” he finished for her.

“Exactly.” She smiled at Jerry. He understood her, though they’d only known each other for less than an hour.

He nodded. “Then I can answer your first question, artist to artist.”

Mandy waited with baited breath.

“Derek talked about you, then wanted to know why you wouldn’t accept the money. I gave him my best guesses, but I think he expected I would have an answer for him.”

“I’m surprised he cared about the reason at all.” She didn’t mean to sound irritated, but the thought left her mouth without any filter.

“Are you? I’m not.”

Mandy nodded. “I can see him not wanting to owe anybody anything.”

He laughed his customary hearty laugh, and Mandy realized she could listen to that sound all night. Being away from the party and talking with Jerry was therapeutic. “You know him well. He’s not one to be outdone. He will always find a way to repay others. I suppose that’s why I’m here.”

Mandy wasn’t sure what he meant, but she nodded anyway. “I suppose it doesn’t matter too much now.”

Jerry stood. “And from one artist to another, is that how you really feel?”

She knew Jerry would see right through anything but the truth. “I’m smitten. I guess it’s a good thing I never had a chance, huh?”

Jerry held out his hand for her. “Walk back with me to the party? I’ll be the talk of the place with you on my arm.”

Mandy looped her arm through his. “I’d be honored. Thanks for the talk.”

“No, thank you, Mandy. If every party was as enjoyable, I’d attend more of them. You’re a refreshing conversationalist.”

“Thank you.”

“Would you dance with me when we rejoin the party?”

“It would be my pleasure,” she said.