We stayed in the car for a couple of moments. I wasn’t about to push Renee to get out any faster than she wanted to. She wasn’t going to enjoy the art show if she was wrapped up in anxiety. Renee seemed extremely grateful for this much-needed time and space because she gave me a gorgeous smile before she stepped out of the car and headed inside.
I held on to that smile, kept the warmth with me as I followed Renee inside, but of course I kept my distance. I was like a spy, and she was my target, and all I really needed to do was keep her in my eyeline. Honestly, I couldn’t imagine anything bad going down here. I didn’t think Renee was going to need me, but I was glad to be helpful and be there for her.
Once inside the building, I soaked up the atmosphere, drinking every little bit of it in. It was a stereotypical art show, nothing surprising to me, but I wasn’t dumb enough to let outward appearances fool me. I even took a second to hack into the gallery’s server from my cell phone as I wandered around just to make sure there wasn’t anyone in particular I needed to look out for. But all looked good. So far, I couldn’t see any reason to worry about a damn thing. Relaxed, I found my gaze straying to Renee, smiling to myself as I spotted other gentlemen trying to engage her in deep conversation, artists and patrons alike. Here in the art world, she was different. She was much more confident, the usual shy demeanour dropped away. She was blooming, radiating in the crowd, engaging everyone who crossed her path. She showed off her incredible beauty while tactfully turning down any guy who got a little too close. Thankfully, I didn’t have to give in to my urge to protect her from those men. I was only really here to keep her safe if there were any threats on her life. Nothing more.
I guess I was the only one she was allowing to get away with flirting with her. Now that was really something. If I thought about it that way, I wasn’t going to be able to wipe the smile off my face all night long.
* * *
The hours might as well have whizzedby. Watching Renee light up a room was so addictive, that I barely noticed a damn thing going on around me while I watched her blossom. She was the most stunning woman that I had ever laid eyes on in my life, and I didn’t quite know what to do with that revelation. I knew what I wanted to do, but she was engaged to another man. I couldn’t act on impulse, even if acting on impulse had gotten me this far in life.
No one had paid any attention to me the entire evening. I hadn’t even overheard anyone talking about how weird I looked in my suit, which I definitely would have overheard with my excellent wolf hearing.
As the gallery emptied with the ending of the show, Renee remained. She didn’t seem quite ready to go, which was just fine by me. If she was happy to stay in the presence of the art she clearly loved instead of heading back to her home of chaotic wedding planning and whatever else was going on, then I was here for it.
Stark never gave me any instructions to make her leave before she was ready to do so, and I didn’t intend to.
Now that the gallery was empty, I didn’t see any harm in wandering over to her just to check in and see how she was doing.
“Hey there, Renee. How’s it going?”
She didn’t answer me, she didn’t even bother to drag her eyes off the painting she was staring at. There was something so intense about her stare that I couldn’t help but look at the stars on the canvas as well.
“This painting is about love, you know?” she told me wistfully. “I love it. I actually wish I’d been the one to paint it.”
“It’s about love?” I asked her curiously. “Are you sure it isn’t just an image of space?”
She nudged me with her hip playfully. “Don’t be silly. Of course it’s about love. It’s about searching the universe to find your one true star.”
I had never heard it described like that before, and I had to admit I was intrigued by the sentiment. Romance and love didn’t exactly work the same in the shifter world. Polyamory was the name of the game. The idea of one true love, or one shining star, wasn’t always the way to go. For some people it was, every wolf was different, but a lot of us didn’t necessarily think monogamy was the only way to be in love. But I got a feeling Renee wasn’t inclined to think that.
“And you have found your one true star?” Just because I wasn’t planning on talking about polyamory didn’t mean I wanted to dive head first into that challenging, very serious topic of conversation either. I should have said something light hearted and fun, but it didn’t happen. Shit. I guess I’d opened up that can of worms now, so I needed to keep going. I was definitely interested in the answer. “In Diego, I mean.”
I should not have said that. I could see it as Renee’s expression faltered. I was here to protect her life, not dig into her relationship. If Stark knew what I was saying, he would kick my ass, and I’d deserve it. I needed to apologize and find a way to make Renee forgive me before we eventually headed back to her home.
“We should go star gazing,” she blurted out, almost knocking me off my feet in surprise. “Don’t you think? It’s a clear night and it’s been forever since I’ve been. Come on.”
I had so many questions, but I wasn’t given the chance to do so. Renee took my arm and pulled me outside. We got into the limo and she sat next to me.
“We need to go to Carl Schurz Park,” she announced to the driver confidently. “It’s an emergency. I need to get to my favorite star gazing spot before there is even one cloud in the sky.”
As we drove, Renee started to talk excitedly to the driver and me about star systems. All I could do was lean back and listen. Well, listen and occasionally dart my eyes down to note that she was still holding my hand. There was an intense heat radiating between us, which Renee seemed to be thriving on. Fucking hell, she was beautiful. I was so freaking attracted to her that it almost didn’t matter that she was engaged to someone else. I found it really hard to give a shit. Especially since it didn’t seem to me like she was totally happy with that piece of dirt. The more I got to know Renee, the more I realized just how great she was. Far too good for Diego Vanderbilt, even if he did have the sort of money to keep her in a fancy lifestyle.
She was much better than that, and she deserved better too. Where even was he tonight? Why didn’t he come to support Renee at her art show? That was a dirt bag move. Maybe I should try to tell her how I felt, how I knew he wasn’t good enough for her. Would she be receptive to it? Would she listen? I honestly had no freaking idea, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to sit back and do nothing. That just wasn’t my style. Whether it was my place to say anything or not, I was going to have to try to make her see that she could have so much more in her life. She could have art and real love. She could have anything she wanted.