Page 10 of The Chase
Liquefying my insides and making my chest tighten.
Oh, bloody hell.
He was still staring at me.
At least when I’d met him briefly in the basement there had been some distance between us, but now, with that intense green stare locked on mine and that delicate waft of heady cologne reaching me he’d made my thoughts freeze.
“Mr. Wilder?” Nigel proffered his hand. “It’s such a pleasure to finally meet you.” Tobias turned toward Nigel and reached out to shake.
“I was in LA when The Wilder hosted the Samurai collection,” Nigel told him. “Japanese art is my specialty.”
“That was five years ago.” Tobias turned to us. “The Taka Ishii Gallery generously loaned us a few of their most treasured pieces. First time in the US.”
“I’d have loved to have seen that,” said Clara. “Will it come to London?”
“Afraid not,” said Tobias. “The collection is at home in Tokyo now and won’t tour again in our lifetime. Though we are hosting a collection by Sandro Botticelli.” His face lit up with happiness. “It’s quite something.”
Sighs of admiration rose from everyone circling him.
“You’re all invited of course—” his gaze fell on me “—if you’re ever in the neighborhood.”
My heart fluttered at the thought of seeing those early Renaissance pieces by an artist who’d captured the deepest emotions in his subjects’ eyes.
Who was I kidding? My heart was fluttering over this hottie.
Tobias smiled wistfully. “SeeingLa Primaveraup close is a privilege.”
I wanted to tell him how much I’d always wanted to visit The Wilder Museum, but held back, not sure if that would come over as a little forward.
Tobias slipped into a smile. “Nigel, may I call you Nigel?”
“Absolutely.”
“I enjoyed that piece you wrote about the Tate.”
“The one on Anna Lea Merritt?”
“That’s the one,” he said. “Very insightful. Love her work.”
“She married her tutor,” I muttered.
Tobias looked my way, his eyes narrowing in interest, and he made me blush.
Clara’s eyebrows popped up, and I hoped she was the only one who’d caught my visceral response to this man. For some reason my mouth had stopped working and this was unusual for me. I loved taking part in this kind of conversation and Clara knew it.
“So what brings you to London?” asked Nigel.
“Business,” he replied.
With Tobias conveniently distracted, I took a breath and admired him discreetly. He moved with such refinement, and yet his earthiness made him less threatening. I kicked myself that I’d had him all to myself down in the basement and not taken the time to talk with him and get to know this enigma better.
Tobias tucked his left hand into his trouser pocket casually and took a sip of bubbly.
That lick across his bottom lip, that tilt of his head, that intensity in his expression as he listened to Nigel.
God, he was gorgeous.
A rush of excitement flooded my chest as I realized he was still hanging out with us.
