Next to Belle, Carlyn’s lips were curled up in a cat-that-got-the-canary expression. Her eyes were big and sparkling as they landed on Rich.
“And now I’d like to hand you over to the lady of the evening, the talented Belle Martin. But first, please raise your glasses to her amazing talent and artwork. To Belle.”
The undercurrent rushing through his brain muffled her words. Rich lifted his glass, his eyes landing on Belle. She was staring right at him, her hands trembling as she pulled a piece of paper from her side.
She was nervous as hell. He was desperate to go over to Meghan and find out what the hell was going on. But his sister needed him. He could tell by the way her eyes shone as she looked at him. Somehow he managed to smile at her, hoping to hell it looked reassuring.
“First of all, I’d like to say thank you to Carlyn for putting on such an amazing show. I never dreamed my paintings could look this good, but she’s a natural. None of us would be here tonight without her.”
She smiled up at Carlyn, who looked distracted. Her eyes were trained on Meghan and Dylan.
“Secondly, to my tutors, Alice and Ryan. You guys are everything to me. You never let me give up, even when I think a piece is going nowhere. You made going to college a joy. I can’t believe I won’t be coming in next year.”
“You can still come if you’d like,” Alice called out. “You’re always welcome.”
Carlyn walked over to where Meghan and Dylan were talking, whispering something into his ear.
Rich tightened his hold on his glass. Belle kept looking at him, and he kept smiling.
“But there’s one person in this room who I owe everything to. He’s the one who picked me up when I was at my lowest. Who made me get up every morning when all I could see was darkness. Who brought such color back into my life that I had to express it by putting it on canvas. He’s not only my brother, he’s my father, my mother, my best friend, too.”
James touched his arm, and Rich flinched. This was all such bullshit. He hadn’t done anything except steal Belle’s future away from her. The rest was pure guilt.
“To my big brother, Rich.” Belle lifted her glass. “My patron and my muse.”
To his horror, everybody joined in the toast. Everybody except Meghan, Carlyn, and Dylan who were talking in the corner. Carlyn said something and Meghan nodded, her skin blanched. She led Dylan and Meghan to the back of the gallery, the three of them disappearing into Carlyn’s office.
“Please help yourself to more drinks and food. And enjoy your evening. If you have any questions about my artwork, I’ll be around to answer them.” Belle smiled shyly.
Harper touched Rich’s arm. He had no idea she’d even walked over to him. “Can we go outside? I need to talk with you.”
James frowned. “Who
was that drummer guy and why did Meghan walk away with him??”
Harper ran her tongue along her bottom lip. “We can’t really talk about it here.” She gave Rich the softest of smiles. “Can we go?”
“I need to stay here for Belle.” He didn’t want to hear it. Didn’t want to acknowledge it.
“She’s fine. She’s got her friends with her.” Harper shot a worried look at James. “Come on, let’s get some fresh air.”
“I don’t understand. I thought you wanted me to come here.” Dylan was frowning at her. Meghan twisted her fingers together, trying to stop her heart from hammering against her chest.
She shook her head. “I had no idea you were coming tonight.”
Dylan turned to Carlyn, who was standing by the door, next to a big, muscled guy that looked like a bodyguard. “You told me that Meghan wanted to meet me here. That she was ready to talk about our daughter.”
Carlyn shifted her feet. “I just thought it would be a good time for you to talk, that’s all.”
“You did this?” Meghan asked her. Her stomach felt all twisty and sick. She shouldn’t have drunk that champagne, because it was almost impossible to think straight.
“Yes.” Carlyn gave a small smile. “I just thought it would be wonderful for you to be reunited. This is romantic, isn’t it? Two long lost loves meeting for the first time in years?”
The bodyguard cocked his head at her, his expression incredulous.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Dylan asked. “I’m engaged to another woman. I’m just here to talk about my daughter.”
Meghan blinked, looking from Dylan to Carlyn. She had no idea what to say. Carlyn was so completely out of line it was almost funny, except this was her life.