Chapter TWENTY SIX
Damon
My breath went stone cold as I realized someone had given her the painting.
My painting.
Good lord, what was I thinking? I’d wrapped the darn thing so fast, encased it in bubble wrap then a thick coarse canvas over that for protection, I hadn’t stopped to think what it would mean to have Delia revealed for the world to see.
Exposed.
In all her glory. Naked as the day she was born.
Liz and her associate had unwrapped the damn thing. Completely. She’d not only taken it out of its protective casings, but someone had set it upon an easel on the podium right beside her. And she was talking about it. Explaining who my grandmother was in full descriptive detail, right down to her five muses, a story I knew nothing about. Told Liz, but never me. Part of me was sad. Another was angry. But the painting was good. Really good!
Of course, I’d seen the painting before, marveled at how talented the artist was. How lifelike. Even though she’d painted her with white hair, the rest of the painting was on fire. Youthful. Energized. The real Delilah. The rendition of her was amazing! How perfectly she’d captured the essence of my shamefully sexy grandmother showed how very intimate they’d become in their relationship. In the way only two women could know each other.
I looked around the room.
Mrs. Lucy Delaney, my DD, blended in beautifully with the rest of the artwork. Each and every one of the pieces had some element of sexuality portrayed. I wondered if Delia had ever seen the portrait herself. Had she liked it and how had Liz kept it such a secret from me? A small part of me was jealous. Secrets. There were always secrets.
Liz covered the painting back up, saying that particular work was not for sale. She ended with a smile, an invite for refreshments, and a cash bar to everyone in the room. There was something different about her. A confidence I’d not seen before. She looked…in command of her own world. Yes, that was it. She commanded this room. And my heart to beat again as well.
I watched her leave the podium. Watched how her shimmering auburn hair fell about her shoulders. The slight bounce of her full breasts. The larger than life sparkling green eyes as she looked over the room. Searching. My cock twitched when she looked in my direction. I stayed in the shadows, not sure of what to do next. I didn’t have a clue.
When she disappeared in the back hallway all I could think was she’s getting away. I know it was silly. Where would she go? She had a show to run for Christ’s sake, but it was clear that the painting had completely thrown her off balance. I went after her, but I stayed back, out of sight as the woman who’d stopped me at the door, also went after her. The woman paused. She glanced back at me, then ahead to her friend, and then followed her into the ladies room.
Shit. Now what was I going to do? Wait, you idiot. Listen to what Delilah was trying to tell you. If she thought you were ready for all this six months ago, she wouldn’t have made you wait.
Finding the painting had made it clear, Liz was the one. The one for me. The only one. And my grandmother had known it.
So I stood there, outside the little door with the silhouette of a ladies’ hat hand-painted on it, feeling a heating duck blow hot air up my kilt. I was glad I’d opted for more yards of tartan making my kilt heavier. Maybe the hardon I was sporting could be concealed, instead of making a ridiculous tent I couldn’t hide.
I thought of our time together, the sweet candy-coated scent of her skin, the glitter of firelight eyes when I touched her skin bronzed to copper in the summer sun. I thought of waking up in her arms, conversations we’d had. When my mind strayed to our time in the sex room, which was a mistake, my cock went rock hard. I couldn’t stand still any longer. With no one within earshot, this was my opportunity. I was going to take it.
Feeling like the biggest creep on the planet, I snuck inside, and shut the door, grateful for the tiny entranceway that kept me hidden. Once, I flattened myself against the wall, I didn’t move.
I heard every word.
“I know she was your friend, Liz but, she was an old woman. Pardon me for stating the obvious, but we all have to die sometimes.”
“That’s not what’s upsetting me,” Liz said.
“Okay then what?”
“He’s here, Maura! He’s here and he looks so good. The one time in my life I manage to get over someone without making a huge mistake... Why did he have to look like that!? ”
“But you are over him…Right?”
“Well…”
“Come on, Liz. We talked about this. Remember? Stiff upper lip, as the Brits say.”
I heard giggling as I imagined the woman physically trying to push Liz’s lips into a smile. “Now wipe away those tears and smile. Oh come on! You’re at your very first art show! This is your dream! Your baby. Don’t let some asshole destroy that for you.”
Asshole?!
“I can’t help it,” Liz whined. “What if he’s the one, Maura? What if I blew it with the one man in the universe I’m supposed to be with for the rest of my life?”
“Is that really how you feel?”
“Yes. No! I don’t know. Jason says I’m a lousy judge of men, and he’s right. Or I think he’s right, so how would I know, Maura? How would I know?”
My hands tightened into fists, as I thought of Jason, my former friend. He’d told me much the same thing at one point in our relationship. Judging by the way I’d actually helped him set up that blind date at the club—like a fool, I’d actually believed him.
“Screw, Jason, Liz!”
Huh. Now, I’m starting to like this woman.
“Screw them all.”
Ok, maybe not.
“Why not be like me? Single and fancy free. Forever. I don’t need a man. Never have. Never will.”
“Maura…”
“Oh god, you have that look.”
“Maura, I think I love him.”
“Liz, sweetie, you’ve come so far. Can’t you just be happy? I want you happy, Liz. Look at what you’ve accomplished today.”
“I know but...”
“And so help me, if you do something stupid again, I’ll kill you myself!”
I heard a light chuckle. “Don’t worry. I have my head on straight. I know I can be happy on my own but... It’s just…he does something to me, ya know. What if things had played out differently? If Jake had never shown up. If Delilah had never given me the Club…God, it became such a mess in the end.” I heard sniffling. “And he’s here, Maura! He’s really here. What the hell do I say to him after what I’ve done?”
“What you’ve done! All you did was accept a gift from a wealthy old woman. There’s no crime in that.”
“It wasn’t the way he saw it.”
“Well, maybe he sees it different now. Are you going to talk to him?”
“I’m not sure I can, besides he probably just came to give me the painting, right? He tried to do that before.”
“He did?”
“Yeah, and I told him to keep it.”
“Well, I guess he didn’t listen.”
“Right, and it is my painting. I guess he must have read about the show and thought, hey, she needs this and it’s just lying around here so…”
“I don’t know. Seems like a lot of trouble to give you something you said you didn’t want, but I guess… I guess that sounds reasonable. I can see you’re not going to rest until something here is resolved. Christ, you’re worse than I am when it comes to men.”
“Maybe it runs in the family.”
“God, I hope not. So…you want to get this over with, right? We can’t hide in the bathroom all day. It’s now or never.”
“Right.” A long pause.
“What’s wrong now?”
“What if he hates me?”
“Then I think you need to find out if that’s true. Okay, how about this? Let’s rehearse what you would say.”
“Yes! That’s a terrific idea.”
“Okay, tell me what you’re feeling.”
I tried not to breathe, wanting to here every word of their conversation.
“This is only hypothetical, right ? I’ll probably never tell him all this.”
“Whatever. Just spill it. You’ll feel better after you get it off your chest.”
“Maybe.”
I wished I could get closer. I wanted to see the sincerity in her emerald eyes, smell the spiciness of her skin, cup her chin in my hand while she revealed the true nature of her feelings for me. But more than that, I wanted to take her in my arms and kiss her, feel her yield against me. I wanted to I lift my kilt and...
“Oh god, I look a wreck,” Liz said.
I imagined her gazing into a mirror.
“And my armpits smell.”
“Take off your blouse, dab some water under your arms with a paper towel.”
Fuck! My cock stirred.
I was kicking myself for not wearing proper boxers. The loose fitting briefs gave too much room stimulation. Luckily I was distracted by something tickling inside my nose.
“Geeze, I can see right through your blouse.” Maura giggled. “Good thing he’s not in here with us.
My nostrils flared. A vision of Liz’s gorgeous pink tits blossomed in my head. Both of them.
“Good enough. Give me the blouse.”
“I can’t go out there, Maura. I can’t face him.”
“So tell me what you would say if you weren’t so scared. If you were sure he felt the same way. If you had nothing in the world to lose. Not your self-respect. Nothing.”
“Okay.”
And it was at the precise time, my nose decided to do its thing.
I let out the loudest, most echoing horrific sound ever known to man. When I sneezed; it echoed in that tiny room and rippled along the walls.
There was no place for me to hide. Not now.