The Companion Page 19

  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.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  This party was not going as planned. Jerry Shorvan had finally agreed to come, after an hour of grilling Derek about why it was so important to attend this particular party. Derek wanted to introduce Mandy to her hero. But if Jerry just grabbed food and left, Derek was going to be disappointed.

  He hadn’t seen Mandy since their conversation. After rejecting his gift, he had respected her need for space and didn’t ask her to dance. He didn’t need to be rejected twice in one evening, but the reasoning fell flat now. With three business deals secured he should feel more like celebrating.

  The music played one of Grams’ favorites, and he looked through the crowd, for her. He’d be a dutiful grandson. He parted the crowd and offered his hand to her. He two-stepped with her, twirling her around the dance floor.

  “Have you been enjoying yourself?” Grams asked.

  Derek forced a smile. “Trying to. We solidified three deals and one said they’ll get back to us on Tuesday, so it’s not a hard no yet.”

  Grams nodded. “Where did Mandy go? Did you introduce her to Jerry?”

  “I haven’t seen either of them for the last hour.”

  “The night is still young, I suppose,” Grams said.

  “Did you introduce Mandy to your friends?”

  “I did introduce her. Several were disappointed to learn she is no longer going to do companion cruises with her new job.”

  “She’ll be great at her new job though,” he said. No wonder she had said they didn’t have a future. Starting a new job was her priority. And work was his priority.

  The song ended, and Derek looked toward the orchestra where the dancers parted and clapped generously. Through the crowd he saw a small flash of red. Mandy? She’d been dancing with…Jerry?

  He turned to Grams. “I just found Jerry.”

  Grams looked to where he pointed. “Now we just need to find Mandy.”

  “She was his dance partner. Did you introduce them earlier?” he asked, disappointed he hadn’t seen her face light up when she met her hero. Despite Mandy’s indifference toward him, Derek had wanted to introduce Jerry to her.

  Grams shook her head.

  The orchestra started playing another song, and as Derek and Grams approached both Jerry and Mandy, Derek heard her laugh. Her musical, beautiful laugh.

  Derek shook Jerry’s hand, but Jerry pulled him in for a hug. “Mandy is enchanting,” he said, loud enough for Mandy to hear. Her cheeks pinked at the statement.

  Derek responded to Jerry, but kept his eyes locked on Mandy. “I agree. So, you met her?”

  Jerry clapped him on the shoulder. “She found me on the edge of the garden. We talked there. Glad I took your advice to come tonight.” He smiled at Derek, then turned his attention to Grams, and said, “Best party I can remember.”

  “Thank you, Jerry,” Grams said. “It’s always good to see you.”

  Jerry turned back to Mandy, took her hand, and kissed the back of it. “Thank you, young lady, for the dance and the talk. I expect great things from you. Whenever you are in New York, you come and see me. Have Derek bring you by tomorrow. I have some things I want to show you.”

  “I’d love to.” Mandy smiled. “It was nice meeting you, Jerry, thank you.”

  At that moment, another man around Alice’s age came up to their group. Alice introduced Harold, then said, “And you know Derek. And this is my friend from the cruise, Mandy Jones, and our dearest friend, G
erald Shorvan.”

  Mandy was in shock. She didn’t register anything Harold said as he shook their hands. Jerry was Gerald Shorvan? The Shorvan? She tried to formulate words but couldn’t. Harold caught up with another group.

  Then Jerry turned to Grams. “Now, if you’ll permit me, I must dance with the hostess. How about it, Alice?”

  Grams put her hand in Jerry’s, then turned to Derek. “Derek, ask Mandy to dance. I never did get to see you dance on the cruise.” Jerry escorted her to the middle of the dance floor.

  Mandy shifted her weight, finally finding her voice enough to say, “Alice won’t notice if we don’t dance. It’s okay.”

  Derek held out his hand, he’d ask just like Grams had suggested. “Would you like to dance?”

  She took his hand and resting her other on his shoulder. “I can’t believe that Jerry is Shorvan.” Her mind was spinning, going through the conversation.

  “He is the special guest I wanted to introduce you to. I guess it’s a good thing you didn’t know who he was when you talked to him.” He smiled sadly.

  “I guess it is. Thank you. He is my hero.”

  “I didn’t introduce you though.”

  “But you thought about it.” She laughed. “When he asked to me to come see his gallery he talked about a wall of his grandkids’ art.”

  “You’ve never seen a private collection quite like his. He doesn’t bring many people to it. It was generous of him to ask you.”

  “Thank you, Derek,” she whispered. She leaned closer to him, making it impossible to look into his eyes, but easier to whisper in his ear. “About earlier, when I said those things,” she began.

  Derek took a step back from her adding distance as they danced. “You made your opinions very clear.”

  She pushed forward. “When you said you wanted to introduce me to someone special, I assumed you wanted me to meet your girlfriend.”

  He stilled, emotions ran through his entire face. “You what?” His eyebrows rose.

  The dance ended and he led her to the small gazebo by the pool.

  She bit her lip. “First it started at Renaldi’s—”

  He snapped his fingers. “I knew I saw you that day. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  She shrugged. “You said you always went there alone. And then you weren’t alone, and she’s beautiful, and I just assumed…you said you never ate at Renaldi’s with anyone.”

  A low laugh found its way from Derek’s lips. “Rachel is my marketing director.” He took a step closer to her. “Our meeting was running long, and our time to solve an ad campaign was running out. Adam said he’d order lunch for us, but I told Rachel if we wanted to continue the meeting through lunch we’d have to go to my favorite restaurant.”

  Mandy’s breath hitched. “I guess I jumped to conclusions.”

  His gray eyes pierced hers. “So, when you said things between us wouldn’t work out…does my not dating anyone change that?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Just a maybe?” He lifted his eyebrows.

  She twisted her fingers in her lap. “Why didn’t you call after the cruise? I assumed it was because of Rachel. But that’s not right.” She tried to read the answer in his face, but she couldn’t.

  “Truth?” He hesitated. “I thought you were putting up with me. I saw a page in your notebook about wanting to be nice only to get rid of me.”

  She swallowed. This was one of the reasons she preferred to draw instead of write. Putting thoughts into words could easily be misconstrued. “I did write that, but it wasn’t like that. Not for all of it. At first, you have to admit we didn’t get along too well, but after that I looked forward to spending time with you. The mornings when we talked and walked around the deck together was what I looked forward to the most every day. I thought when you didn’t call you weren’t as interested as I thought. It made believing that you were with Rachel easy. I missed you. I thought you didn’t care.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t call you. I couldn’t when I thought you didn’t return my feelings,” he said softly.

  “I’m sorry too,” she said.

  “But I thought about calling you…a lot. I thought I saw you everywhere I went, and it made realize that those two weeks we spent together on the cruise were more real than anything I’ve ever had. You stole my heart. I picked up the phone so many times to call you and tell you how important you were to me. Can you…do you think—”

  She kissed him, pouring her entire apology and promise of a future together in it. She wrapped her arms tighter around him, threading her fingers through his hair. One of his hands wrapped around her waist, the other caressed her jawline.

  When she knew she’d need some air, she pulled back just a little.

  “I’m taking that as a yes.” He pulled her in tighter and she wrapped up in his embrace.

  “I guess we need to work on our communication,” she said and laughed.

  He held her closer. “I’d rather work on our non-verbal communication.” And with that he kissed her again.

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  A Sneak Peek from Perfect Catch

  Prologue: 10th Grade

  Kandice Naylor adjusted her glasses and read the seating chart on the board. Third row over, fourth seat back. In the middle, again. She took her seat, opening her notebook. So far her first day in tenth grade held no surprises.

  Then Kyle turned around. “Looks like I win this time, Naylor.”

  She’d only seen those chocolate eyes twice over the summer, but they were still delicious. Butterflies flew in her stomach, knotting her insides with giddiness. Fourth period before lunch just got interesting. “How do you figure that? Because you sat down before me?” She raised an eyebrow, only pretending to be annoyed by the banter. She secretly lived for the competition Kyle had created between them over the last two years.

  “Alphabetical seating by last name. Montgomery comes before Naylor.” Kyle tapped the corner of her notebook.

  She leaned out of her seat dramatically, looking around Kyle before responding, “Except, genius, you’re in the third seat in this row. So. That’s like a bronze medal. Two other people beat you.”

  The girl to Kyle’s right tried to interrupt them, but Kyle didn’t seem to notice, he kept his gaze on her. “I’m not playing the game with them. The game is with you. And I won.”

  Kandice rolled her eyes in his direction playfully. “Like winning an alphabetical contest shows any skill.”

  He took his pen, drawing something small on her notebook. “Drawing a smile upside-down takes some skill,” he said. The bell rang, and Kyle faced forward.

  She looked down at the small smiley face on her notebook and couldn’t help smiling herself. Kyle Montgomery was the most impossible guy in the entire tenth grade. And she was completely smitten by him. From his dark eyes and dark hair to the way he rubbed his chin when he was thinking, she was still crushing on him hard. Crushing on him for two years. Which meant she pretended like crazy that she didn’t care about him in the least.

  The emotional strain was unbearable most days. The more she stayed aloof from him, the more he talked to her. And the more he talked to her, the more she wanted to be affected by his attentions. But, that’s what every other girl did, and he didn’t seem to notice them. So being friends and having ridiculous contests was as good as it was going to get.

  The teacher stood up from her desk and paced the front of the room.

  Kandice leaned forward and whispered to Kyle, “I get the last word in before the teacher talks. I win.”

  Immediately their geography teacher started her monologue. Kyle groaned, turned toward her, and said, “Well played, Naylor.”

  At the end of class, Kandice packed up her books, surprised to see Kyle still sitting in his seat. He smiled. “Want to sit with me at lunch?”r />
  Kandice’s pulse raced. Was Kyle really asking her to sit with him? Not likely. “Don’t you have a football team to sit with?”

  “C’mon. Sit by me. Don’t tell me the only time I get to sit by you is when we are assigned to sit by each other?” He opened the door for her and walked with her out of class.

  Her heart leapt into her throat. Maybe he wasn’t just trying to win another made up contest, but she’d play unaffected just to be sure. She stamped down her excitement, forcing her voice to sound nonchalant. “I’m choosing my own table. You can sit wherever you want.”

  “Fine. I’ll follow you through the lunch line and sit next to you then.”

  The lunchroom was around the corner from their geography class, and Kyle stayed next to her through the line, like if he didn’t watch her closely she might bolt. “How was your summer?”

  “Summer was good. What about yours?”

  “Lots of football practice with my brothers. Dad ran drills every morning, whether we practiced as a team or not.”

  She could imagine he spent most of his days focused on football—since his dad retired from the NFL he had been the high school’s head football coach.

  During the summer, she’d practiced with the track team, and seen him from a distance, but didn’t brave getting close enough to have an actual conversation.

  They made it through the food line, and Kandice chose the table. Kyle sat next to her, moving his chair closer to hers. Several more people joined their table. Kandice’s best friend, Jane, scooted her way into the crowd, and sat next to her.

  “Wow. This table is crowded,” Jane whispered. “Should we find another place to sit?”

  Kandice smiled. “I don’t think it will help. Kyle’s determined to sit next to me, and the rest came because of him. We move, and the whole party moves with us!”

  Jane raised her eyebrows. “I suppose tomorrow we’ll have to choose a bigger table then.”

  Kandice couldn’t remember a lunch where she had so much fun. She didn’t mind being surrounded by the crowd, especially when she mostly talked with Jane and Kyle. He told jokes and stories, and was the life of the party. But in between the stories, he’d talk just with her.