Paul still held her shoulders in a gentle grip. “Are you going to be okay?”
“Just a moment of weakness. I appreciate the hug.”
“Any time you need it. And I mean that.”
She examined his face. His gray eyes were dark with concern, and he gave her shoulders a little squeeze before he released them.
Maybe he really did mean it.
Chapter 3
I CAN’T BELIEVE it!” The beautiful dark-haired woman in the pink high heels took Julia’s outstretched hand in both of hers and stared. “I’ve found Julia Castillo.”
“Actually, I found her,” Paul said. “Julia, this is Claire Parker Arbuckle. Julia’s gone to a lot of trouble to get to you, Claire.”
Claire shook her head once, sharply, and gave Julia a warm smile. “My apologies. I’ve been hoping to see more of your work for so long I can’t believe my good fortune.”
“And you owe it to me,” Paul said.
“Actually, I did most of the driving,” Julia said in a dry tone. “Paul just brought me the last few miles.” And he looked at Claire as though she were a memory that made him sad and happy at the same time. She was trying to figure out what it might mean when Bud walked in carrying one of her paintings.
“Where shall I put this?” the older man asked.
“Right here,” Claire said, pulling forward an empty easel from a corner of the back room where they’d found her. Her eyes lit up as Bud carefully propped up the plastic-wrapped canvas. “I feel like it’s Christmas in June.”
Terror clawed at Julia’s gut. Now that she had the audience she had traveled so far to find, she wanted to turn and run. The confidence she had felt in the new paintings evaporated in the face of Claire’s anticipation. She stared at the easel, but it showed no distortion around its edges. Somehow she was handling the stress.
“I’m being a terrible hostess,” Claire said, turning away from the canvas. She waved to a couple of Lucite-and-metal chairs. “Have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?”
As the moment of panic receded, Julia couldn’t decide if she was relieved or frustrated to have Claire’s verdict postponed. Her throat was so tight she was certain she wouldn’t be able to swallow anything. “No, thank you, I’m fine.” She perched on the edge of a chair while Paul lounged in the other one, his long legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles, his fingers beating a quiet tattoo on the desktop beside him.
Claire sat back down in the desk chair she’d been occupying when they walked in. In her slim beige linen skirt and pink silk blouse, she looked like she should be strolling down Fifth Avenue. Leaning forward, she looked at Julia with a touch of bemusement. “Tell me why you drove all the way here in an unreliable car.”
Julia had no idea how to couch her story in more positive terms, so she went with the bald truth. “I want your opinion on the paintings I brought.”
Claire’s eyebrows rose. “My opinion?”
“Yes. They’re different from what I used to do, and I want to know what you think of them.” She couldn’t bring herself to tell this stunning, sophisticated woman her uncle-cum-agent hated them so much he wouldn’t even show them to a dealer.
“I’m honored, but why me? Why the Gallery at Sanctuary?” Claire waved her hand at the storage room with its stark white walls, wide-plank floor, and racks of artwork. “As much as I love it here, it’s not the epicenter of the art world.”
“You were the first person to show my work in New York City. My uncle and I were so excited when you took those paintings of mine five years ago. Then he told me you’d moved to a gallery in Sanctuary, West Virginia.” Julia locked eyes with Claire, willing her to understand how important this was. “It seemed like the right choice.”
Claire’s gaze was still puzzled as she scanned Julia’s face.
Paul’s drumming ceased when he entered the conversation. “Julia’s agent—who’s also her uncle—wasn’t sure about the market for these paintings, so Julia decided to consult with an expert. Knowing your interest in her work, she came to you.”
Julia threw him a grateful look as he glossed over the whole car disaster and put her quest in blandly commercial terms. Of course, he probably didn’t realize how gut-wrenchingly important Claire’s judgment of her work was to her. “Exactly,” she said, nodding emphatically.
Claire still looked as though she wanted to ask more questions, but after a quick exchange of glances with Paul, she smiled and stood up. “Well then, let’s take a look.”