“Yes, it is,” he corrected.
A puzzled expression settled on her face. “It doesn’t seem to need preservation or restoration. Why is it here? Whose is it?”
He had her. Anticipation tightened his gut. He wasn’t sure his plan would work when he’d spent days making phone calls, but the gleam in her eyes cinched it. All that remained was setting the other pieces into place and slowly reeling her in.
“It belongs to Bridget VanderMarck,” he said, keeping his voice neutral.
Her eyes widened in recognition. Anyone in the art world knew Mrs. Bridget VanderMarck, formerly Bridget O’Malley, an iconic figure in the fashion industry. A year ago, she’d held a private auction of her late husband’s artwork and caught the attention of the media when a few of the paintings went for a million dollars each. Then one of the collectors had a second appraisal done on his new acquisition and shocked the art world with the news that it was a forgery. The scandal that ensued alienated Bridget VanderMarck from the world she loved so much. That the collection had belonged to her deceased husband hadn’t mattered. The media and the art community still vilified her. Only a few of her close friends, including Baron’s mother, had rallied behind her. Keeping the scandal alive was Jake VanderMarck, Bridget’s late husband’s son. The vindictive bastard had gone on record to say his stepmother was a greedy woman who’d replaced the original paintings with forgeries. Those who knew Bridget were aware who the liar was.
“This is a genuine piece.” Kara’s excited tone pulled him back to present. Her eyes were locked on the painting.
“Yes it is. Jade and her team of experts just finished physical, chemical, and elemental analyses on it. It is genuine.”
A sigh escaped Kara. “Okay. So what is it doing here? I thought Mrs. VanderMarck paid several appraisers across the country to reevaluate all of the pieces she owned and got rid of them.”
“Yeah, but it’s costing her an arm and a leg.” He looked at his watch and picked up the painting. “I’m meeting her for lunch and need to leave now. I’ll explain everything later.”
Her eyes dimmed. “Why not now?”
“Because I’ve got to run.” He started repackaging the painting.
“Come on, Baron. Does she have more paintings? Is she going to use our gallery to sell them? Are there any that need restoring? Framing?”
Baron couldn’t stop the grin that crossed his lips. Kara was tenacious, a quality that could be both endearing and maddening, depending on the situation. Did she realize she’d said ‘our gallery’? The woman wasn’t going anywhere. The only change that was going to take place around here was their relationship. It was about to get very close and personal.
“Like I said, you’re always impatient.” He stood. “Everything will become clear after we talk, which won’t happen if I don’t get out of here.”
She wrinkled her nose. “You know I won’t concentrate until I know what’s going on.”
He resisted the urge to smooth the lines marring her smooth forehead. But she looked totally adorable when she pouted, made him want to lean forward and capture her lips in a kiss. He resisted the temptation, not wanting to scare her.
“Oh yes you will. You’re too focused to let something this small bother you. Let’s talk later.”
He turned before he could succumb to her pleading eyes and hurried upstairs. Once he loaded the SUV, he went back to his office to pick up the rest of his things, a dozen white roses and a box of chocolate for Bridget VanderMarck.
His assistant was just getting into her office as he left his. They spoke briefly.
“If I’m not back by the end of the day, close up,” he added. “Kara must not be disturbed; her sign is up. If you need counsel on any of the pieces, go to Rick. I’m not to be disturbed either, unless it’s an emergency.”
Gena gave him a weird look and nodded. When he reached the main entrance, he glanced back and found her still staring at him. His attire must have thrown her off. It wasn’t often he wore casual clothes to work and carried around gifts obviously meant for a woman. But Bridget was his ticket to getting what he wanted—Kara.
As he pulled away from the parking lot, Baron dialed his mother’s number. He’d promised Chase and his baby sister Jade he would call. His siblings knew how to pile on the guilt.
The phone was picked after a ring. “Morning, Ma. Did I wake you up?”
Estelle Fitzgerald chuckled. “At nine? Of course not, sweetheart. What’s wrong?”
He frowned at the anxiety in her voice. “Nothing. Can’t I call you without a reason?”
“Of course you can. It’s just that you haven’t called me out of the blue since…since…well, let’s just say the only time I hear your voice is when I see you at family dinners. But I’m happy you did.” She laughed. “How are you, sweetheart?”
Had he been that remiss as a son? He hoped not. Still, the guilt weighed heavy on his shoulders. He saw his mother once or twice a month during family dinners, but he never called without a solid reason since that night five years ago, the day he thought he’d never recover from a woman’s betrayal. Valerie had just delivered him a fatal blow with the news about his unborn child and he was reeling with pain and disbelief. Of course, he could have called Chase or Lex, but Baron had found himself dialing his mother’s private line.
Within seconds, she’d gotten the entire story and was begging him to come home, so she could tell him it was okay when they both knew it would never be so. The urge had been there, but he’d resisted. He could handle it, he’d told her. But the real reason he hadn’t gone was because he couldn’t bear to see the pain in her eyes. His child would have been her first grandchild. At the time, he’d felt he was to blame for Valerie’s actions. Instead of arguing with him, Estelle had told him she loved him and hung up. Within the hour, his brothers were at his door, threatening to break it down if he didn’t open.
He and Chase got drunk that night, a first since their crazy college days. He would have done anything to dull the ugly truth, that a woman would rather kill his child and chase stardom than be with him.
Baron’s chest tightened. The pain of betrayal was still there, less raw and devastating, but a creeping shadow that followed his waking moments and taunted him in the dark. Five years and he was still fighting the same demons.
He shook his head and let his mind go back to that day. His ever-cautious older brother Lex had kept an eye on him and Chase as they binged, while he sipped from his glass. The next day after his brothers were convinced he wouldn’t do something stupid like go after Valerie and her new boyfriend, they’d left with the promise to come back later. But Kara arrived immediately after they left. He never learned how she’d known about Valerie and her new man Stu Granger a.k.a. the Slugger. It might have been in the news since Stu was Major League Baseball’s new golden boy at the time.
Without Kara by his side, nagging and scolding, he would have wallowed in self-pity for days. Even his loving mother had willingly let Kara take charge. But Estelle never mentioned that day again, although he knew she’d been devastated by what Valerie did.
“Baby, are you still there?”
“I’m here, Ma. I’m on my way to see Mrs. VanderMarck in Santa Barbara.”
“Why? Is something wrong at the gallery?”
Baron laughed. It was funny how everyone kept asking the same question. “No, everything is fine. I’m dropping off a painting Jade was working on. I thought you might want some wine or something from her winery. That’s why I was calling.”
“How thoughtful of you, dear. Bridget knows what I like, just ask her. And it’s sweet of you to drop off the painting. If you can, spend the day with her.”
“Ma—”
“You are her godson, Baron,” she reminded her gently.
Baron sighed. His mother, in her own way, could be very pushy. “I’d planned to.”
“Good. I was with her a few weeks ago and she was feeling rather low. But she asked about you. She’s very pr
oud of what you’re doing with the gallery. We all are.”
“Thanks, Ma. I’ve got to go. I’m about to hit the highway.” He hung up before Estelle could get more emotional. His father died when Lex, Chase, and he were in their teens, and Jade only ten, but Estelle brought up the four of them along with two cousins, Ashley and Faith. It hadn’t been easy, especially with his father’s side of the family looking over her shoulder, waiting for her to make a mistake. She showed them. All six of them were hard workers, just like her. Any screw ups on their parts weren’t her fault.
Baron inserted a CD of classic rock in the player and grinned. Traveling music. He sung along with Aerosmith. Soon he just drummed the steering wheel as he drove.
He couldn’t have come up with a better plan. What he’d told his mother, about dropping off the painting, had been but a small part of his plan. After he slept off his hangover, he’d come up with a brilliant plan and called Bridget VanderMarck, the woman who’d introduced him to the world of antiques.
After the auction scandal broke, Bridget VanderMarck had asked him to spend some time in her summer home in Hope, Idaho, and catalogue her late husband’s last stash of antiques. She’d begged him to “get rid” of everything through his gallery after they were authenticated, but he had been too busy at the time to take some time off. Even now, it would have been much more convenient to go after the grand opening of the gallery in San Francisco, but the situation with Kara precipitated things. So he’d called Bridget, and she’d been more than happy to oblige him.
If any of the remaining VanderMarck’s collection rivaled what she’d auctioned off, it would be a coup for his gallery to sell them. But to have a week or two alone with Kara, at a secluded cottage in the middle of nowhere, would be the cherry on top of the ice cream. Anticipation sliced through Baron. He was a sucker for garnish.
CHAPTER 4
Kara worked on the Hallè until her stomach growled. A glance at her watch and she realized why—it was three-fifteen. No wonder she was starving. Turkey on croissant would tide her over until dinner. Maybe rye, which had fewer calories. She removed the jeweler’s magnifying glass from her head, turned on her cell phone, and dialed Raul’s pastry shop.
She placed the order, and ignoring her growling stomach, picked up the UV-lamp to study the area on the painting she’d just finished cleaning. No fluorescent. Good. The uncleaned part lit up like Christmas lights. It wasn’t that big, which meant she could be done tomorrow.
She switched off the lamp, turned off her iPod, and headed upstairs to wait for her sandwich. Rick had the phone glued to his chin, so she walked by without stopping. The receptionist, whose counter sat to the left of the hallway, glanced up when Kara entered the showroom.
“Finally upstairs, huh? I don’t know how you can stand being cooped up down there for hours,” the petite, mocha-skinned girl said with a smile.
Kara just shrugged and leaned against the counter. “To each their own, Maya. Any messages?”
“One. From Renee Gunter.” She picked a piece of paper from a tray and handed it to Kara.
“Thanks.” Kara read the note and sighed. Renee wanted to know when they could get together to plan Chloe’s engagement party. Kara folded the note and shoved it in her pocket.
Planning a party was the last thing she wanted to do. She was tired and needed to unwind, take the edge off. In the past few months, her workload had left little room for relaxation. During her free time, she hit the gym or cleaned her house. Still, that didn’t mean she couldn’t help throw Chloe a big-ass engagement party. She just needed some me-time first.
Maya leaned forward, a gleam in her eyes. “So? Who’s gotten engaged?”
Kara felt a tinge of irritation. The girl was sweet and bubbly, but her nosiness could be annoying at times. In fact, Kara had an inkling she eavesdropped on phone conversations too, and was privy to everyone’s business. After being behind a magnifying glass for hours, Kara wasn’t in the mood to be pleasant.
“A friend’s.” Her tone didn’t invite further discussion. “Listen, one of Raul’s men will be dropping off my lunch any minute. Could you have him leave it here?”
“Of course.” The phone rang and Maya adjusted the headset as though to answer it then paused to frown at Kara. “I don’t have to pay him, do I?”
“No, I have an account with them. Just keep it here and I’ll pick it on my way back. Thanks.” Kara moved away from the desk and headed toward the winding ramp connecting the first and second floor. She wanted to ask Maya if Baron had come back, but when she glanced back, the receptionist was talking on the phone.
Kara continued up the ramp and headed to the gallery’s antique room. For a moment, she strolled from one statue to another, a sense of well-being enveloping her. She loved to be surrounded by relics, and Baron had some exceptional pieces. A display case in the middle of the second floor was dedicated to ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Taharqa, the ruler of the combined ancient Egyptian and Nubian kingdoms. She never got tired of looking at the statues or reading the inscriptions. There was a brief history of the rise of Taharqa and a donated byline. Most of the pieces belonged to Alexander ‘Lex’ Fitzgerald, Baron’s older brother.
Kara moved away from the display cases to the paintings on the wall. One vibrant piece reminded her of the one Baron had shown her earlier. Surely he should be back by now. Turning, she headed to his office. If there was any framing to be done on the VanderMarck collection, she wanted to do it, preferably at her new company. Baron’s gallery outsourced all framing jobs.
No one was in Gena’s office, although the door was ajar. Kara heard mumbling coming from Baron’s office. She raised her hand to knock and froze when Gena spoke.
“Baron? He’ll be gone the whole day. He probably has a new girlfriend.” There was a long pause, and then, “I wouldn’t know. I just buy the roses and the chocolates. In fact we have an account with a flower shop down the block. No, not champagne. He keeps a case of Bollinger right here in the office.” There was another pause. “No, don’t worry about me. He’s a wonderful boss and pays well…plus, I enjoy my job.” The person on the other side must have said something funny because Gena burst out laughing.
Kara decided to not bother her, backtracked, and went downstairs to pick up her lunch. Maya gave her a strange look, but the younger woman was on the phone and couldn’t speak to her. Kara hurried downstairs, mentally beating herself. She must be wearing her feelings on her face again.
She didn’t know why she felt disappointed in Baron. Just because he never paraded his conquests around the office anymore didn’t mean he wasn’t still going through women with the speed of an Indy race. He was being himself, a bachelor with no emotional attachments, free to date whomever he pleased.
Kara locked her door, retrieved a bottle of unsweetened green tea from her mini fridge, and removed her iPod from its docking station to select a different playlist. Her choice in music went with her mood. While working, she liked to listen to ballads, jazz, or classical. Times like this, she wanted validation, a salute to heartache. Kara grinned as she put the neon blue portable music player back on and hiked up the volume. Pink’s deep, sultry voice plucked on her heartstrings.
The image of Baron flitted in her head as she listened to the lyrics of Long Way to Happy. Not that she was broken. Yes, she wanted Baron, but giving him that much power over her happiness was out of the question. Men like Baron wouldn’t know what to do with a woman’s heart. Probably trample all over it on his way to the next conquest.
Kara put her feet up on the desk, munched on her sandwich, and occasionally sipped her iced tea. Okay, maybe she was being a little too harsh on poor Baron. He’d shown he was capable of being monogamous. He’d been willing to commit to Valerie. Granted it was five years ago, but the relationship must have meant something or he wouldn’t have been so devastated when she left.
Kara chewed and scowled. That was the first and only time she’d ever seen him vulnerable. It probably would never
happen again. On the other hand, she’d visualized him plenty vulnerable in her fantasies. The images of an oiled down, stark naked and defenseless Baron flitted in her head. Totally at her mercy as she rode his hard, sexy body at a full gallop.
Phew. Kara blew air toward her flushed face. Her wanton thoughts were becoming too risqué, and in broad daylight to boot. I need to stop lusting after the man. No, she needed an intervention—something to take the edge off. Besides, her fantasies would never become a reality. Meek wasn’t in Baron’s vocabulary or demeanor. The hunk wore intensity and dominance like a cloak. A man like him would have her at his mercy from the word go.
Kara dropped her feet down, put aside the sandwich wrapper, and reached for her cell phone. She speed-dialed Renee’s number.
“Hey you, up from the paint land, are we?” Renee’s cheerful voice came through after two rings.
“I’m just about to dive back in. What do you have planned for tonight?”
“I’m thinking dry martini served by a yummy, shirtless hunk.”
Kara frowned. “You and Heath are back together?”
“Please. That slime ball is so yesterday. I don’t know why I hadn’t seen his wandering eyes coming.”
I did, Kara thought guiltily. He’d brush against her whenever their paths crossed at Renee’s house or when she’d double date with them, his smile unapologetic. Maybe she should have mentioned it to Renee.
“You need to look beyond six packs and rock-hard buns,” Kara chided.
“Yeah, right. I don’t work my butt off at the gym to roll in bed with Mr. Flabby. Let’s go somewhere cool.”
“Define cool.” Kara picked up the lunch evidence and dumped it in the trashcan.
“A place with lots of eye candies, hors d’oeuvres, and music. I feel the urge to be naughty.”
Kiss Me Crazy Page 5
