Obsessed(23)

"I'm fine, but thank you."

He settles in close to me.

I shift slightly hoping to gain some space. "Your brother has become a partner in Veray Jewellers. As you already know, they commission my work. "

"Oh, yes. He said something about that a few weeks ago."

I study his face and it dawns on me that he looks much more like Jax than I first realized. "Yes, well, there's an event on Thursday evening to welcome him into the business. I was wondering if you'd like to go...go...with me?"

He sighs and I panic just a bit. "I was wondering when you would get around to asking me?"

I stare at him, certain that my mouth is open. "What do you mean?"

"Jax called me after you two had lunch and gave me a lecture on the reasons why I shouldn't go with you."

I'm shocked given the fact that our lunch was yesterday. "I'm sorry. I should have called and asked sooner."

"You didn't think Jax would get in touch with me that quickly?"

I shake my head from side-to-side.

"My brother is obsessed with you, Ivy." His gaze darkens as he continues, "you have no idea the lengths he has gone to."

"The lengths?"

"You don't know, do you?" He stands, walking to the bar to pour a drink of something deep amber.

"I'm lost." I shrug my shoulders, unable to process what Brighton is telling me.

"He..." The words stop as his eyes travel to a painting on the wall of a woman. She looks to be in her thirties, tanned, brunette, her smile wide, her eyes a deep brown. She's resting in a lounge chair near a pool wearing a black one piece swimsuit. The artist obviously captured her bright spirit.

"He what?" I stand and move closer to where Brighton is.

"That's our mother, Ivy." Brighton points to the grand painting. "My father painted that before they divorced. I hung it there the day she died."

"It's beautiful. She was beautiful."

"She was extraordinary. Strong, independent, loving, fearless."

"I'm sorry for your loss. When did she pass?"

"She died a year ago. It still feels like yesterday."

"I know how hard that is." I verbally console him although emotionally I'm still stuck on his almost confession about Jax.

"She lived with Jax in Los Angeles before she died. He was so devoted to her. He nursed her the last few years of her life."

The Jax surprises keep coming. "I didn't know that," I manage. Of course I didn't know I scold myself. I know nothing about the man beyond the fact that he bought into Veray.

"What's your mother like?" Brighton turns to face me directly, his eyes still filled with so much sadness.

"I never knew her." I sigh. "She died when I was a baby."

He stares at me before a single tear slides down his cheek.



***



"You're an angel, Ivy." Brighton smiles up at me from his seat on the couch as I bring him a cup of tea.

"That's kind of you to say." I hand it to him and sit next to him.

"I'm sorry I was so emotional."

"No, please," I say warmly. "I'm glad you showed me the painting. It's incredibly special and I can see where your talent comes from."

"My father is a remarkable artist. He's been my greatest inspiration."

I smile listening to him telling me a story of the first time his father showed him how to paint. My mind skips briefly to an image of Jax at his mother's funeral. His body must have been rife with grief. I feel a pang in my heart thinking about how much I wished I had been there to comfort him. I shake the thought from my head remembering his omission about being Madeline's new partner.

"Ivy?" Brighton's voice breaks through my thoughts.

"Yes?"

"I'll definitely go to Madeline's event with you on one condition." His sly grin has reappeared.

"I can't sleep with you."

"Woah." He bursts into a loud laugh. "Ivy, you're great, but you're not my type."

I can feel my face turn a bright shade of red and I instantly start laughing too. "But at the gallery, I thought you..."

"No!" His laughing slows. "I was trying in my roundabout, awkward way to see if you'd hook me up with Liz."

"Oh!" My hand jumps to cover my mouth as my laughing begins again.

"She's not interested in me, I'm afraid."

"We haven't discussed it that much."

"I thought she was." He continues," we had a few drinks one night and then when I visited her at her studio, she almost kissed me."

"Almost?" My curiosity is racing.

I don't know what happened." He shrugs his shoulders. "We were close, she seemed really into it, and then pulled back and said that she was in love with someone else."