Page 58 of Saltwater Promises
Chapter 24
The preparations for the art show kept Lynn occupied. There was so much to do, far more than she had anticipated. Sometimes she wished that she could just tell Miguel to do whatever he thought was best, but she didn’t want to seem ungrateful.
So, day after day, she offered her opinions, listened to debates on the VIP invitation list, and commented on the choice of hors d’oeuvres.
Miguel was a master, and the staff at Stormy Gallery worked like a finely oiled machine. There were several days that Lynn made the drive down to the gallery at their behest, but she never had any real input. How could she improve on perfection?
Two days before the show, she decided to take a break from it all and meet up with some of her friends at a gallery in Bellingham. She didn’t have any of her own work on display there – the Gallery at Lexinfire catered to a more exclusive clientele and had never been interested in her paintings – but she loved the feel of the place. One of her closest friends had just gotten two sculptures into the gallery, too, and Lynn wanted to show her support.
She also figured that it would be a good distraction as she waited for Mike. He still hadn’t been able to call, but he’d sent along a few promising messages. Apparently, he had almost everything he needed, and he expected to close everything up within a matter of days.
The thought of it made her stomach lurch. She was more nervous about that than she was about her show, for some reason. A show which Mike had promised to attend.
The thought of him showing up, undisguised, just as Mike, made her dizzy. Though he’d gone places as himself before, he’d never gone somewhere just forher.
Though if she didn’t get a chance to talk to him beforehand, all she would want to do during the show was sneak off so she could hear about the case. She was dying to know what he’d found, who had talked, and when the attorney general would launch his investigation.
Perhaps soon, his last undercover project would come to an end, and she would finally have to have the conversation that she’d been dreading.
But not yet. For now, she set her mind on enjoying the offerings of Lexinfire Gallery.
Lynn arrived at the gallery, meeting her sculptor friend Cheryl at the door. As they did their rounds, a few people approached Lynn to congratulate her on her upcoming show, even promising to stop by.
It seemed like a strange promise to Lynn. She didn’t need these strangers to show up unless they were truly interested in her work, or perhaps if they were new and wanted to see what an amateur’s show was like.
Maybe a few of them actually were interested? It was hard to tell who was sincere and who had suddenly decided to be nice to her because she might be successful soon.
It didn’t really bother her, though, and she didn’t waste much thought on it. The only thing that she couldn’t shake was the feeling that someone was watching her, that at any moment a shadowy figure or silhouette from across the room would pop up and surprise her. In her mind, of course, it was always Mike.
The only issue with that was she hadn’t told him that she was going there that night…so it was all just wishful thinking.
An hour into the evening, she was standing and listening to a debate on Cézanne’s works when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Lynn turned around to see a man that she didn’t recognize.
Not Mike. She had to force herself not to look disappointed.
“Lynn Campbell?”
She nodded. “Yes. I don’t believe we’ve met?”
“We haven’t,” he said as he offered a handshake. “I’m Brent Smith. It’s so lovely to finally meet you. I’m a great admirer of your work.”
“Oh, thank you.”
“I didn’t expect to see you here today. I work at Stormy Gallery – I’m in charge of security for the event.”
Lynn raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I didn’t know that we needed security.”
“Oh yes,” he said with a nod. “We have to make sure that your paintings are secure, and that no overindulgent patron stumbles into anything valuable.”
Lynn laughed. “Ah, I see.”
“You don’t even notice us discreetly patrolling this event, I’m sure.”
She had, and it had creeped her out. She’d just hoped, like a love-sick teenager, that it was Mike. “No, I didn’t notice.”
“Excellent.” He smiled. “Since we’ve run into each other, is there anyone that we need to put on the do not enter list?”
“Uh…” Lynn looked around. “I don’t think so, no.”
