A flush of pride went through her and she smiled at him. “It’s not really—”
“Don’t do that,” he said gruffly. “Take the compliment.”
She nodded, and inwardly she thought about how she’d been raised and how it had once been more accepted to demur at kudos. But she had been in her studio day and night to produce this. It was a true labor of love in every sense of the word. “Thank you. I worked really hard at it. I had a recording of Xavier doing his spoken-word poetry that I played while I worked. His voice and word choices change as he moves between the two worlds. I just hope I captured enough of that.”
She’d named the sculpture The Border and tried to show Xavier’s struggle to stay on the right side of the law. The sculpture was one body but two faces looking in different directions. One contemplative, the other angry. In one hand was a notepad and pen, in the other, a gun.
“I’d say you did,” Brian said, then glanced beyond her to where a couple of women were standing and watching them. “I think those ladies might agree.”
She looked over her shoulder and noticed that the women were from a local PTA that she worked with to encourage arts. She waved them over. “Hi, Kim and Kathy. This is Brian Cooper. He’s a family lawyer here in Dallas. Brian, these ladies are from the Thomas Hicks PTA. I work with them to bring an after-school art experience to the kids.”
Everyone shook hands and Brian offered to brave the crowd at the bar and bring them back drinks. Everyone ordered a prosecco and he left.
“I love this piece,” Kathy said. “I’m going to go back to our parents and see if we can get something like this for our school. Of course, a piece geared toward younger kids, but I think they all struggle with duality.”
“I’d love to do a commission for you,” Piper said. “Just let me know.”
“We will. I have to warn you there have been some rumors about your family that a few concerned parents have raised with us,” Kim informed her. “We know you, Piper, and have squelched them. But it might be hard to get this approved this school year.”
Piper bit her lower lip to keep from saying something and then just smiled at the ladies. What could she say anyway? She couldn’t change the opinions of the parents in the school district. Heck, she wasn’t exactly sure what had happened at Wingate Enterprises, only knew that her family hadn’t acted illegally. No one really seemed sure about who was responsible, though her nieces and nephews had a few leads that they were pursuing.
“There is no hurry for art,” Piper said. “Will you two excuse me? I see someone I need to speak to.”
“Of course,” they said.
She walked away, trying not to dwell on the far-reaching aspects of the criminal activities of a company that she’d never had anything to do with. But that was easier said than done. Instead, she moved closer to the bar, where Brian stood, waiting his turn in line. He looked over at her, quirking one eyebrow.
Piper just forced a smile and indicated she’d be waiting in the corner. She was a social person by nature. But tonight, being in this room, she wanted to shrink into herself. To just blend in with the background until all the hurt that was buried under her skin disappeared.
“You okay?” Brian asked, coming over to her a few minutes later and handing her a champagne flute. She’d noticed he’d had a waiter deliver to the rest of their table.
“Yes. Just overwhelmed for a few moments,” she admitted. “I want so much for everyone to see my sculpture for what it is and not filtered through the lens of the criminal activities that have engulfed Wingate Enterprises.”
“I’m sure they will,” he said.
But she knew that even Brian, who was a very forceful presence, couldn’t change anyone’s conceptions about herself and her family.
Brian went to a lot of these types of events and normally found them a bit dry and boring, but sitting next to Piper was eye-opening. She’d chilled out after the first prosecco, and since she’d been attending this event for close to fifteen years, she knew some random fact about nearly everyone in the room.
Her little asides had him in stiches as the gala progressed. She hadn’t said anything, but it wasn’t hard for him to guess that the Wingate scandal was having a profound effect on her life. He knew that her gallery wasn’t seeing as much business due to that, and he wished there were some way he could help.
But investigations by the FBI and the DEA, and embezzling and drug dealing weren’t necessarily in his wheelhouse. For tonight, though, he hoped he was providing enough of a distraction for Piper to enjoy herself and forget about all of that.
And for himself to forget, as well.
It was hard to be from two families who were at odds and just allow themselves to date. He knew that their rivalry over who to trust wasn’t as bad here in Dallas, but when they were in Royal all of it would matter.
He still wasn’t sure what her play was here. There were times when she let herself go and was the sensual woman he knew she could be. But other times he saw her barriers come up and she forced a wedge between them.
He knew that Ava had done that to his uncle Keith. Keith had been vocal when he’d spoken to Brian’s dad about how he’d been blindsided by her refusing his calls after moving out of his house and into her own place in Royal.
Caution seemed to be more prudent where Piper was concerned but when she was naked in his bed was when he felt he saw the real woman. And playing it safe around her wasn’t an option. Because every time he slept with her, he felt something change inside of him.
Fear was a funny thing. Brian used it sometimes to convince his clients to take action, and it motivated them to make the big decisions, but it could be crippling, as well. Right now, he was watching her laugh, her head thrown back in pure and utter delight. She turned to him and he felt a jolt of desire but also a punch right in the heart.
Could he trust her?
She tipped her head to the side. “Why are you watching me instead of the stage?”
“There isn’t anything I want up there,” he admitted.
She put her hand on him, her fingers caressing his inner thigh as she leaned forward. “But you want me?”
Her whispered words right in his ear made him hard in an instant. She brushed her fingertip over his erection and then wriggled her eyebrows at him. “As soon as my piece goes under the hammer, what do you say we head home?”
“Yes,” he said, perhaps a little too forcefully as several heads turned toward them. He just smiled at them and leaned over to whisper in Piper’s ear all the filthy things he wanted to do to her.
The emcee announced her sculpture, The Border, and once it was brought onto the stage, they started the bidding. She pulled her hand from his leg and knotted hers together in her lap. Brian realized that she was nervous about this part and he couldn’t blame her. He would be too. But he wanted her sculpture for his building and raised the bid. Someone on the other side of the room was keen to have it, as well, and kept bidding against him. Finally, Brian just made a huge increase and the room went silent.