Dark Masterpiece (Serendipity Series 3) (25 page)

He sighed as the setting sun kissed her
hair, glinting golden off the blonde and turning the brown into a
warm amber color. He remembered her hair looking the same way the
night he had gone to the beach with her and Seth. That night… That
had been the turning point, the moment where he had begun to feel
life and light in his heart again. The night on the anniversary of
Leanna’s death. He should have felt guilty for it, but he didn’t.
Leanna had been all about life. She would have wanted him to be
there. He knew that now. He had done nothing wrong. He would do far
better to grace his daughter’s memory by living every day instead
of brooding in stoic silence. Evie had shown him that.

Evie glanced over her shoulder at him then,
frowning slightly. “What are you doing back there? Are you alive?
You bring me out here just to stand back there and brood?”

He smirked and watched as the sun began to
sink down behind the mountains, making the red rocks glow in a
blaze of orange and gold.

“This is so beautiful, Traevyn,” she said as
she gazed out at the breathtaking landscape. “I wish I could paint
it.”

Traevyn smiled and walked up behind her. He
wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close to him,
close to his heart. He heard her sharp intake of breath and knew he
had surprised her. He felt her pulse pounding. He closed his eyes
as he soaked in the warmth she emitted, the warmth that kept his
soul alive.

He leaned his cheek against the top of
Evie’s head and let his senses fill with her. She felt right in his
arms, soft and welcoming, like he had come home after a long and
exhausting journey. She smelled clean and sweet, probably like her
shampoo. She was not dripping in artificial, perfumy fragrance. She
smelled real. She felt real.

He had never seen Amy as anything other than
a goddess, and he had always felt unworthy because of the subtle
arrogance such beauty had given her. The silent message that seemed
to whisper, “I could have any man I want, but I chose you. Be
grateful.” Well, in the end, she had chosen another.

Amy had always seemed unreal to him, like a
fantasy or a waking dream. Evie was real, complete, a real life
fairy tale. He smiled and hugged her closer. “Evie,” he whispered
against her ear, “do you read fairy tales?”

She frowned. “I did when I was little.”

“Which one was your favorite?”

She thought for a moment.
“
Beauty and the Beast
,”
she replied simply.

Traevyn smiled and closed his eyes. “Of
course it was.” He pressed a soft kiss to the base of her neck
before returning his attention to the sunset.

Yes, Evie was real, and so were the feelings
he held for her in his heart. More real, he’d say, than anything
else he’d ever experienced. It was clear to him now.

Chapter Nineteen

Evie was, to say the least, apprehensive as
she got ready for the gallery opening. She was nervous because
she’d never been to one before, was afraid she was going to look
like a complete idiot, and Traevyn had been acting weird all day.
She had wracked her brain all night trying to figure out why he had
held her against him at Airport Mesa like he never wanted to let
her go again. She knew Seth thought she was stupid for doubting the
fact that Traevyn had feelings for her, but he had never said
anything. What if he just liked being close to her because he had
been alone for so long?

After they had returned from Airport Mesa
and had lectured their siblings—both whom thought they were
hilarious—Traevyn had spent a long time sketching on Talis’s porch.
When they’d gone to bed he’d asked Evie if she believed fairy tales
existed in real life. When she’d said yes, he’d asked if she
thought he could ever have a happy ending. She’d told him that no
one deserved to live happily ever after more than him and she was
sure he would have his fairy tale ending. For some reason this had
prompted him to reach out and touch her face so delicately that
she’d nearly passed out. Then he’d seized her hand, held it over
his heart, and had fallen asleep like that. She was still trying to
figure it out.

She had barely seen him all day. He’d all
but locked himself inside Talis’s bedroom and had been painting for
hours. She was a little hurt by the fact that he apparently wanted
to exclude her from his project, but she tried not to dwell on
it.

She sighed as she applied the finishing
touches to her makeup and made sure her hair was going to stay in
the up-do she had put it in. When she was relatively satisfied with
her appearance, she emerged from the bathroom to see Traevyn
standing in the living room talking to Seth, Talis and Ash while he
waited. Evie drew her breath in sharply. He looked gorgeous dressed
in a black suit with a black shirt and a dark burgundy tie. She had
been expecting a tux, but she was glad he was wearing what he was.
Seeing Traevyn in a tux would be almost as weird as seeing him in
swim trunks.

She gathered her courage and made her way
into the living room.

Traevyn glanced up to see Evie enter the
room and all thought fled from his mind. The air slammed out of his
lungs, and he was suddenly overwhelmed by such strong desire that
he thought he would incinerate right there. She was radiant.
Radiant beyond words.

Seth let out a slow whistle. “Dang, sis.
You’re a hottie.”

Evie’s cheeks turned pink and she rolled her
eyes. “Shut up,” she muttered.

“Actually,” Traevyn said as he took both of
her hands in his and kissed them, “I would have to agree with Seth
on this one.” He let his eyes feast on the glory that was all Evie.
The gown fit her perfectly and she had put matching smudges of
turquoise eye shadow on. Her lashes stood out long and thick and a
faint blush accentuated her cheekbones. She was dazzling. “You’re
going to distract all my patrons. No one will look at my art
because they will all be too busy looking at you.”

She met his eyes and her heart melted at the
gentleness they radiated. Two months ago she never would have
thought that Traevyn would gaze at her in such a way, or say such
nice things to her. She smiled and averted her eyes.

Traevyn smiled and took one of her hands,
lacing their fingers together. He turned to the others.
“Goodnight,” he said, eyeballing Seth and Talis. “Try not to get
into too much trouble while we’re gone.”

Talis grinned. “Us?”

Seth nodded. “You two
should get into
lots
of trouble.” He gave a dramatic wink.

Traevyn chuckled and led Evie out to the
car. She grew quiet and he seemed to notice because he stopped at
her door and gave her hand an encouraging squeeze. “Are you all
right?”

She nodded, but even she knew she looked
unconvincing.

He smiled. “Don’t be
nervous, Evie. It’s
my
art everyone will be staring at.”

She rolled her eyes. “Traevyn, you’re
already established. The people at this thing will already know and
love your art. I’ve never been to one of these before and I’m
afraid I…” She sighed. “I’m afraid I won’t fit in.”

He frowned. “Won’t fit in? Evie,”—he brought
his mouth close to her ear, his breath tickling her— “you will be
the finest piece of art there.” He pressed a lingering kiss to the
back of her jaw.

Evie’s breath caught, then
came out shaky. She instinctively pressed closer to him, wanting
his strength, wanting his warmth, wanting his arms around her,
wanting
him
so
badly that it hurt. It was getting worse. Her feelings weren’t
diminishing. They were only growing stronger. His constant
affection wasn’t helping. If she survived the rest of the summer it
would be a miracle.

Traevyn pulled her into his arms for a
short, comforting hug, then looked down at her with a smile.

She forced a smile and got in the car after
he opened her door. She had a cold, twisted knot in her stomach the
entire way to the gallery that did not recede when they
arrived.

Traevyn’s gallery was small, like most of
the privately owned galleries in Sedona, but it was fairly bursting
with people. She clung to Traevyn’s hand as he led her through the
throng, mingling with some and introducing her to people she would
never remember the next day. Everyone was dressed very fashionably
and seemed so aristocratic. It was like a whole different world to
her.

“Evie,” Traevyn’s voice came, “I have to
speak with the gallery director for a moment. Please, look around.
I know you know all of my art already, but…” He shrugged.

She grinned. “I never get tired of your art,
Traevyn.”

He smiled. “I’ll come and find you in a
bit.”

She wandered through the different rooms,
studying each one of his magnificent paintings as if it was the
first time she had ever seen it. She marveled over the fact that,
several years ago, she had seen a painting of Traevyn’s in a museum
and it had inspired her. The painting done by a mysterious man she
had never thought she would know, let alone be in love with. She
sighed. It was frightening to admit that to herself, but it was
pointless and stupid to deny it any longer. She loved Traevyn in a
way she hadn’t even known she could love, and it killed her to know
that her paradise would end in a little less than a month.

She continued from painting
to painting and lost track of time somewhere along the line. She
heard a woman mention the large painting in the far back room and
how it was exquisite, but not for sale, much to her dismay. Evie
frowned, wondering what the painting was. Deciding to check it out,
she headed toward the back, but was stopped by a copy of
Innerworkings of a Creative
Soul
. She turned toward it, unable to pass
it by, and just stared. This painting… Traevyn’s darkest moment. No
light, no beauty. Just chaotic torment. It still beckoned her. She
wanted to reach out and touch it, soothe the shadows away. She
imagined she always would.

“Brilliant piece, isn’t it?” a man’s voice
came from behind her.

She turned to see a young man in maybe his
late twenties coming to stand next to her. She nodded with a smile
and turned back to the painting.

“How amazing for someone to paint their
creative soul in such a way. To use the colors to represent such
passionate turbulence. It’s so inspiring.”

She blinked. Inspiring? Now that she knew
what the painting really represented she couldn’t call it
inspiring. It was painful. “It doesn’t represent creation and
passion,” she found herself saying.

He frowned. “I beg your pardon?” He fixed her
with an incredulous look.

“Well, look at the black shades and the
darker colors. If you look closely, they swirl into the shape of a
man screaming. It represents pain, torment, heart-wrenching
sorrow.”

The man’s frown deepened. “You’ll forgive me
if I disagree with you. This painting is one of Traevyn Whitelaw’s
most famous. It is discussed in art classes across the nation. It’s
very clearly a representation of creative genius.” His smile was
smug. “You see, I’m a bit of a Traevyn Whitelaw historian. I did my
final on him for my art history class.”

She smirked. “Did you?”

He nodded.

“Yes, so did I. Fun, isn’t it? Filling up
pages with information that doesn’t exist. Let me ask you
something. Have you ever actually met Traevyn Whitelaw?”

“No,” he replied, gazing back up at the
painting. “I saw him here tonight, but I can’t bring myself to
speak with him. It would be like talking to DaVinci.”

Evie grinned and shook her head. “He’s just
a man,” she said, her eyes softening at the thought of him.
“Imperfect as you and I, but with such a beautiful soul.”

“I beg to differ.”

She arched an eyebrow in amusement. “Do
you?”

“Yes. I believe he would be very
well-rounded and dynamic. I bet he sees beauty in everything.”

Evie almost laughed aloud. “Just out of
curiosity, what grade did you get on your final?”

He frowned in confusion.

She waved it away. “Never
mind. Anyway, trust me when I say that Traevyn is not larger than
life. He is human. He is real, and this painting does
not
represent his
creative drive.”

He folded his arms, looking irritated. “Who
are you anyway?”

She smiled. “Evie Austin,” she replied. “I’m
Mr. Whitelaw’s apprentice.”

He blinked.

“Evie, there you are,” Traevyn said, striding
up to her. “Where have you been?”

She glanced to the young gentleman, who was
now considerably pale. She grinned. “Just having a friendly
debate.”

The man looked away rather hurriedly and
scratched at the back of his head.

Evie arched an eyebrow and couldn’t help
herself. “He’s a Traevyn Whitelaw historian.”

The man glanced up in bewilderment, and his
pale face flushed.

Traevyn regarded him. “Oh, well it’s good to
meet such an avid fan.” He smiled and reached out to shake the
man’s hand.

The man stammered for a few seconds, his
blush deepening. “Yes, Mr. Whitelaw,” he finally got out, gripping
Traevyn’s hand. “I am a huge fan.” He glanced at Evie. “Is this
really your apprentice?”

“Yes, she is the most astute artist I have
ever met. Why do you ask?”

“We were arguing over your painting here,”
Evie supplied, indicating the canvas behind her.

Traevyn threw a look back at it and his lips
split into a grin. “Ah, I see,” he said with a chuckle. “Yes, that
one.” He met the eyes of the man in front of him. “A word of
advice, don’t believe everything they teach you in school.” He
winked at him and turned back to Evie. “Come with me. I want to
show you something.” He took her hand and started to lead her out
of the room when a tall, blonde woman and an equally tall man
rounded the corner.