Crazy Love (Emerald Lake Billionaires 3) (27 page)

She glanced at her watch. Daniel would still be at work. She’d get changed, drive into town, then come home and collect her suitcases.

“Remember to pick me up from my house. I’ll tidy up here if you want to get out of your paint-splattered clothes.”

Holly jumped off the kitchen stool. “I won’t be long, I promise.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I hope you take a lot longer than you think you will.”

She had no idea what Mia was talking about and no time to think about it. Missing their flight to San Francisco couldn’t happen, but she didn’t want to leave without asking Daniel about the painting.

She rushed upstairs and grabbed a pair of jeans and a T-shirt out of her closet. A purple sweater and orange hat completed the mismatched orphan Annie look.

She didn’t think Daniel would mind. He was used to her bizarre wardrobe choices and colorful combinations.

And if she took some blueberry muffins with her, he’d mind even less.

***

Holly walked into Daniel’s downtown office. She stopped in the doorway, too surprised to do anything more than stare at the open-plan room.

Daniel’s office was still behind the main reception area, but the wide space in front of her was full of new furniture, green plants, and colorful curtains.

“Hi, Holly,” Louisa said from her desk. “Are you looking for Daniel?”

She nodded, still too surprised to say much. “This is amazing.”

Louisa grinned. “Brown and gray don’t do anything for me. As soon as the rest of the team arrived, we went shopping. It’s so much better than walking into a funeral home each day.”

Daniel walked out of his office with a folder in his hand. “Who died?”

“No one died. I was telling Holly how uninspiring our office was before the A team arrived.”

Daniel looked at Holly and smiled. “I thought you were getting ready for San Francisco.”

Holly didn’t know how someone could look so handsome and cute at the same time. His black trousers and white shirt were both simple and sophisticated, a lot like the man wearing them. But it was his tie that made her heart do a funny little flipperty-flop.

She’d bought it for him last week. They’d gone to the mall for groceries, but Holly had pulled him into a new men’s clothing store. The purple shirt she’d wanted to buy him had pushed him out of his comfort zone. The best she could do was a blue silk tie that matched the color of his eyes.

“Nice tie.”

Daniel’s grin grew wider. “Thanks. Someone with impeccable taste chose it for me. Are you taking me out for coffee?”

Louisa cleared her throat. “I hate to break it to you, boss. But it’s usually the man who takes the woman out for coffee.”

Holly walked across the room and kissed Daniel’s cheek. “We have a different arrangement, don’t we?”

Daniel’s eyes connected with hers. “We trade cooking lessons for coffee.”

Louisa sighed. “If that’s what you want to call it, it works for me. You’d better leave before I get jealous.”

Holly pulled Daniel toward his office. “I haven’t got time for coffee. There’s something I want to ask you.”

“Make sure you close the door,” Louisa yelled after them.

Daniel closed the door. “Ignore Louisa. She’s got a warped sense of humor. How can I help you?”

Holly slid her bag off her shoulder and sat on the sofa. “Mia visited Tommy’s mom and dad yesterday. They had my portrait of Tommy and his grandma on their wall. Did you buy it at the auction and give it to them?”

Daniel sat beside her. A faint blush skimmed his face. “No one was supposed to know.”

“Why did you give them the painting?”

He gave a careless shrug, but she knew from the look in his eyes that he took her question seriously. “The portrait belongs with them. It wouldn’t seem right for anyone else to own it.”

“They didn’t expect to see the painting again.”

“I know, but they’ve been through a lot. I’m lucky that I have enough money to be able to do that for them.”

Holly took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “Your heart is as big as the state of Montana. You care about people, Daniel.”

His fingers tightened around hers. “I do what I can.”

“You do more than that. You make things happen so that people have a better life. I’m proud you’re my friend.”

Daniel cleared his throat. “About the friend business. We must have gone out ten times by now. How would you feel about being my girlfriend?”

Her mouth dropped open. “I’d never… I mean… I hadn’t thought about that. I just assumed you wanted to be friends.”

“Why would you think that?”

She looked down at their hands. “When we were part of the trial for the Crazy Love app, you weren’t looking for a girlfriend. You weren’t looking for anyone. I didn’t know how serious you were about me.”

He touched the side of her face. “Would it help to know the cooking lessons were an excuse to spend more time with you?”

A part of her wanted to grab Daniel and kiss him senseless. The other part, the part that had been hurt once too often, wanted to curl into a ball and pretend nothing had happened.

Daniel’s hand dropped to her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

Holly took a deep breath. “I don’t know if I’m ready for a boyfriend. I don’t have much luck with the men.”

“Maybe the right man is sitting beside you. I don’t know what the future holds, but I do know that I care about you. We’ve both got busy lives, but we’ve managed okay so far.”

“What does having a girlfriend mean to you?”

Daniel smiled. “We would spend more time together, maybe visit my parents. We could have a vacation overseas and go to every major art gallery in Europe.”

“You added the last point to strengthen your case.”

“Did it work?”

She thought about Daniel and what he meant to her. Although she was nervous about starting a new relationship, she had to admit he was an amazing person. “Yes.”

His fingers tightened on her shoulder. “Does that mean you want to be my girlfriend?”

Holly grinned and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “Yes.”

And before she could take another breath, he pulled her close and kissed her senseless.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Holly and Mia waited for the security guard to let them inside the Gagosian Gallery. Randolph had asked them to be early. It was their last chance to view the exhibition and meet the other artists before the crowds descended.

Mia took a deep breath. “I feel like Cinderella going to the royal ball. Do you think anyone will realize I’m an impostor?”

“You’re not an impostor. Randolph selected your paintings because they’re amazing. The other artists are just as talented. But whether our paintings sell or not, we’re here because we want to share our art with other people.”

Mia straightened her shoulders and stood as tall as her petite frame allowed. “Granddad is so proud of us. He wanted to be here, but he’s busy organizing another exhibition.”

“Take some photos and send them to him.”

“That’s what I told him I’d do,” Mia whispered. “I’m not sure if I’m allowed to, but a couple of photos won’t hurt.”

After a quick phone call and another scan of their invitation, the security guard opened the door.

“Are you all right?” Mia asked Holly. “You look more nervous than I am.”

“I’m going to tell Randolph who I am. I’m not sure how he’s going to take the news.”

“He’ll be fine. If nothing else, it will be in all the newspapers and online magazines tomorrow. That has to be good publicity for the gallery.”

“I hope so.” Holly looked around the large exhibition space. They’d been into the gallery earlier in the day to speak with one of Randolph’s communication managers. They’d been given information about the Gagosian and a list of the news media that would be attending the exhibition.

Randolph walked toward them. “Mia and Holly. It’s good to see you. I trust my staff answered all of your questions this morning?”

“They were great,” said Mia. “It’s a privilege to be exhibiting in your gallery.”

“It is our pleasure to have you.” Randolph turned to Holly. “I’m very pleased you agreed to coordinate the artists work. It made our job so much easier.”

Holly held her evening bag a little tighter. “I was hoping to speak to you before the exhibition. There’s something you need to know.”

“That doesn’t sound promising. Is one of our artists sick?”

“No. It’s nothing like that. I thought you should know that I’m H. Jones.”

Randolph didn’t say anything. He looked at the paintings behind them, then back at Holly. “I can’t believe it. Does Nick know?”

She nodded. “I swore him to secrecy. I hope you’re not upset. I made the decision a long time ago to paint under my mom’s maiden name.”

“Why did you want to let everyone know who you are tonight?”

“It’s the right time. There’s something else you should know. My dad is Brian Miller.”

Randolph’s mouth dropped open. “Is there anything else you need to tell me?”

Holly tried to smile. “I think that’s probably enough for one night.”

Mia touched his arm. “You look pale. Do you want to sit down?”

“I’ll be okay in a few minutes.” He took a deep breath. “This is the biggest news the art world has heard all year. Thank you for sharing your news with me, Holly. Would you mind if I told my communications manager?”

“That’s fine. Hopefully, the extra publicity will bring people into the gallery for our exhibition.”

“I have no doubt it will. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to make some phone calls. Please make yourself at home. I’ll be back soon.”

“You’ve made his day,” Mia whispered.

“I just hope it works out.”

“It will. We’re exhibiting beside each other. If all the media attention becomes too much, come and see me. I’ll look after you.”

Holly hugged Mia and thanked her lucky stars they were friends. “You’re amazing.”

“You’d do the same for me. Now let’s introduce H. Jones to the other artists. They’re going to be so excited.”

***

Daniel waited beside the taxi that had brought him and Holly’s father to the Gagosian Gallery. He had no idea what she’d say when she saw them, but he hoped she would be more surprised than shocked. They were here to support her and enjoy the exhibition.

“It looks as though Randolph has been busy,” Brian said as he stepped out of the taxi.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” Daniel said as he watched the flow of people heading inside. “Invitations for opening night exhibitions at the Gagosian are treated like gold.”

“How did you manage to get tickets for us?”

“I know someone who’s a good friend of Randolph’s. If Nick hadn’t been able to pull some strings, we wouldn’t have made it through the front door.”

Brian straightened his jacket. He nodded at some people who turned and stared at him. “This is why I prefer the Scottish Highlands,” he muttered. “No one knows who I am.”

“That’s because not many people live there.” Daniel walked toward the red brick building and gave their invitations to the security guard. He’d never been into this gallery, but he had visited other Gagosian Galleries in New York, London, and Hong Kong.

As they walked through the glass doors, he realized this one was every bit as extraordinary as the other galleries he’d seen.

“Try to look less impressed,” Brian whispered. “If you’re not careful, you’ll have half the gallery staff standing beside, ready to sell you a painting.”

“No one knows who I am.”

“Don’t be too sure about that. Randolph runs a slick operation. Anyone who was issued with an invitation has money, and lots of it. Your friend’s connections wouldn’t have been the only factor that got us through the door. Being a billionaire helps, too.”

Daniel raised his eyebrows. “Meaning?”

“What? You think I’m not going to take an interest in who my daughter is dating?”

“I’m surprised. I thought you’d take people at face value.”

“Not anymore.”

“I should tell you something, too. I had you investigated.”

“Sounds like Holly is in good hands. If we don’t start moving, someone’s going to pounce on us.” Brian took two glasses of champagne from a passing waitress. “Take this and head toward the back of the room. Holly’s paintings are on the far wall.”

He didn’t need to ask Brian how he knew where his daughter’s paintings were. Her dad had clearly been here before. Judging by the number of sideways looks being sent their way, most of the people in the room knew who Brian was.

Daniel scanned the women around them, looking for Holly and Mia.

“Don’t slow down,” Brian said, as they made their way across the huge gallery. “They’ll be here somewhere.”

Daniel had to hand it to Brian—he knew how to move through a crowd. He said hello to people he obviously recognized but didn’t stop to talk.