Jennifer's Garden (16 page)

“Take care of my baby, will you?”

“Yes Ma’am,” he replied.

“I might be back for
you
,” Sam whispered with a merry wink, then turned to Jennifer.  “Damn, if this party isn’t getting off to a good start!”

Jennifer grasped her by the arm.  “Slow down, Casanova.  You’re scaring the help,” she said, aware the valet’s attention traced Sam’s every move, especially her long, hose-free stride.

“I assure you, I am doing nothing of the kind.”  She chuckled wicked and low.  “That boy is thinking of nothing but having his way with me this very minute—you can take
that
to the bank.”

Jennifer rolled her eyes.  Probably.  But tonight was about Aurelio, not Sam’s next score.

“Let’s hope Slim-Hips has invited some manly men to his opening.  I’m going to need all the distraction I can get after an eyeful of that little Kiwi!”

“Maybe you should pay attention to the art,” Jennifer suggested.  “You might just expand your horizons.”

Grasping hold of the silver-plated handle, Sam opened the door.  “My horizons are wide enough, thank you for noticing, but I was hoping for a little fun tonight.”  She stopped abruptly, as though from sudden thought.  “Tell me it’s an open bar.”

Jennifer rolled her eyes.  “Yes.  Rest assured your liver won’t shrivel up from inactivity.”

“Good,” she replied.  “That baby needs regular exercise.”

Jennifer shook her head in mock frustration, but chuckled nonetheless as she walked inside.

South Beach played a few beats faster than most, with edgy, trendy music spiking the atmosphere with an international flair.  While she was partial to Coral Gables proper, the beach provided a nice change of pace, a different flavor entirely.

Located in the heart of the art deco district, Illuminations was mere minutes from Aurelio’s high-rise home on Ocean Drive.  Organized and manageable, Jennifer envied the convenience.  His entire life was contained within a few blocks—almost his entire life, she corrected herself.  She lived a half-hour away.

And then there was Africa.  Her gaze darted around the gallery.  They would be here tonight as well.

Meandering among stylishly dressed men and women clustered in small groups of quiet conversation, Jennifer smiled as young artists enthusiastically described their art, talking color and texture.  Aurelio had given them the opportunity of a lifetime with this showing and all were eager to describe the finer nuance of their creations and technique.

Standing here immersed in his vision, she felt proud to be Aurelio’s fiancé.  His was a generosity of spirit and one of the things she loved most about him.

“There sure are some crazy imaginations at work out there.”

“Excuse me?”

“Look at that one.”  She gestured toward a painting off to their left.  “It looks like paint splatter with photographs superimposed over it.”

Jennifer considered the piece.  Basically, it was exactly as Sam said, but from the selection of photos it seemed to her the artist was drawing contrasts along generational lines.  “It’s a statement on society.”

“How do you figure?”

She turned to address her more fully.  “If you look more closely, you’ll notice each photograph represents a different era.”

“You’re reaching.”

“Art requires an extension of the mind.”

“Not all art.” 

True, none of these resembled the works Jax spoke about, the water and play of light, but that’s because they were abstract, extreme.

“I prefer the play of light on water, thank you.”

Caught by the coincidence of thought, Jennifer stammered, “Well today’s young artist doesn’t dabble in simple subjects like earth and sky.”  Both knew she meant water, and both knew she refused to voice as much.  “They deal in imagination.”

Sam grunted, but her eyes blazed with,
Caught ya
.

“Sweetheart.”

Jennifer jumped.

Aurelio swept around them and said, “I’m so glad you’re finally here.”

“Aurelio...”

Sam’s eyes flashed a shameless,
Yep, that’s his name
.

Jennifer glared at her.

A picture of understated elegance in his brushed silk shirt of salmon, black slacks and shiny Italian loafers, Aurelio pecked a soft kiss on her cheek, giving an obligatory ditto for Sam.  “Sweetheart...”  He placed a gentle hand on her back.  “I was beginning to get worried.”

“My fault,” Sam piped up.  “I got sidetracked.”

“Yes, well...”  Aurelio arched a brow.  “That does seem to happen with you, doesn’t it?”

Sam shrugged, unaffected by the slight.  “What can I say, I’m distracted easily,” she said, thrusting another mischievous glance toward Jennifer.

She returned one of her own. 
I will throttle you if you keep this up
.  Then returned to Aurelio and said, “The gallery is breathtaking, darling.  Absolutely stunning.”

“Thank you,” he replied, instantly aglow in light of her praise.  “I am thrilled.”

“Turnout’s great.”

“Yes,” he acknowledged Sam’s observation, glancing about the gallery.  “The artists are very pleased.  In fact, many have already registered their first sales, accepting commissions for more.”

“That’s wonderful!” Jennifer exclaimed.

Aurelio linked his hand through Jennifer’s and said, “I have so many people I want you to meet.”

“You go ahead,” Sam said.  “I’ll make my way around.”

“Okay.” Jennifer turned to Aurelio with a bright smile.  “I’m all yours!”

Two hours later, Jennifer strolled up behind Sam.  “I see you’ve found the premier artist.”

She whirled around at the familiar voice.  “You call
this
art?”  Pointing to the colorful canvas hanging from the wall before her, she suppressed a chuckle.  “It looks more like a stack of party toothpicks!”

“That’s by Armando and he’s quite talented in the medium.”  Jennifer shifted her glance to the drink in Sam’s hand.  Shaped like a martini glass, a rainbow-colored line began at the stem and swirled up and around to the rim of the glass, inside of which a liquid the color of ripe melon shimmered.  Definitely not her standard martini.  “What is
that
?”

Sam turned back to examine the work.  “A Cosmopolitan.”

“I repeat, what is that?”  No expert on liquor, Jennifer preferred wine, and held a large-bowled glass of Cabernet.

“I don’t remember exactly, but it’s downright tasty.”  She turned and extended the glass in hand.  “Would you like to try it?”

“No, thank you.”

Sam shrugged.  “It’s good.”  She brought the drink to her lips for a small sip.

“Any luck with the bartender?” Jennifer asked with a playful wink.

“You’re having second thoughts, aren’t you?”  Sam donned a victorious smile.  “You missed out on Jackson, but you see the potential now, don’t you.”  It wasn’t a question, but bait.  “I see the fire steaming behind those otherwise cool, baby-blues.  You want him, don’t you?  Your hunky yard boy...”

Jennifer smiled and moved her head back and forth in a methodical no.  The wine was releasing threads of tension, loosening her earlier resentment.  She harbored no ill will toward Jackson, or Sam’s insinuations of gold-digging. 

“Not quite,” she said with a smile.  Bringing her glass to within inches of her nose, she swirled the deep violet liquid and breathed in the rich scent of black cherry, plum and hints of tobacco.  “And speaking of hunky men, Aurelio did invite some rather handsome ones tonight.  If you’re nice, I’ll introduce you to one or two of them.”

“Are they straight?”

She drew down her glass.  “Of course they’re straight!”

“Uh huh,” Sam said, and arched her eyes toward Aurelio.  She hitched her mouth to the side and shrugged her shoulders again.  “I don’t know...  You know, he may have us all fooled.”

“I assure you,” Jennifer said in response to Sam’s feigned skepticism.  “Aurelio is as straight as a hat pin.”  She zapped her with recrimination.  “He’s sophisticated, a quality I realize you may be unfamiliar with in your men.”

Sam grinned.  “In a fruitful sort of way.”

“Hush,” Jennifer admonished, glancing around their immediate vicinity.  “Just because he’s refined and has a passion for art, doesn’t mean he’s any less of a man’s man.”

“Like I said...”  Sam moseyed around the corner, on to the next painting.

Realizing she had played right into Sam’s crude humor, Jennifer marched around the same corner and snapped, “This is the last exhibit you’re invited to, I swear.”

Standing in front of a mass of shrieking color, Sam’s eyes grew wide.  She spit out laughter, almost spilling her drink.

“Stop!”  Jennifer scowled at her, followed by a quick check to see if the artist witnessed her awful display.  “Stop it right now.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t help it!”  She turned to Jennifer with a look of innocent plea in her eyes and pointed.  “What is that?”

Searching again for onlookers, Jennifer looked to the painting.  It appeared the artist threw every color from his palette onto the canvas, and then smeared them together before running his nails or the sharp end of his paintbrush across them, this way and that.  Taken aback by the presentation, she murmured, “I don’t know...”

She stretched her imagination in order to find something positive to say, but was honestly having trouble.  The bright shades were nice on their own, but mixed together as they were and then scratched through like that, bid another interpretation entirely.  A bellyful of nausea?

“It looks like someone was trying to depict a psychedelic meltdown,” Sam declared.

This comment drew a few stares.

“This is definitely the last exhibit for you,” Jennifer stated, concealing her complete agreement on the piece.

“Okay, okay, I hear you.  But you’ve got to admit,” she said, dashing another gander toward the painting.  “That’s really out there.”

Jennifer rolled her eyes, refusing to give in.  “Let’s move along.  Aurelio’s expecting us.  We have mingling to do.”

“Not this we.”

Taking Sam by the elbow, she directed her toward the rear of the gallery.  Aurelio was waiting to unveil his prized subject; a sculptured nude of jade.  “
We
is plural.  That means both of us.”

“I thought we were making an appearance, not spending the night.”

“It’s a party, and you’re the
party
girl.  Now let’s go.”

“I guess I do have a reputation to uphold.”

“And then some.  Besides, there are some very important people here and we need to put our best face forward.”

“Important people?”  Sam made a quick scan of the room.  “What kind of people?”

“People who want
Illuminations
to be the first of many galleries of its kind.  Worldwide, in fact.”

Her eyes grew wide.  “Aurelio’s going
global
?”

“Yes.  Africa, to be precise.”

She slipped into a grin.  “That explains the tall, dark and handsome stranger I met earlier.”

Jennifer froze.  “You didn’t.”

“Didn’t what?”

“You didn’t come-on to him, did you?”

Her grin turned mischievous.

“
Tell me you didn’t
.”

She winked.  “Not yet.”

“Not ever.  That man is here to help Aurelio establish galleries, similar to
Illuminations
, in Africa.”

“
Africa
?”

“Yes, and it’s a very important opportunity for him.  If you do anything to interfere, I’ll—"

Sam held a hand between them.  “Got it.  But let me ask you something.  When did this Africa deal come up?”

“I don’t know...”  Jennifer eased them away from the small clusters of people beginning to fill the area.  “He told me just the other night.  He’s planning on traveling to Africa—er, I mean, we’re planning on traveling to Africa.  After our honeymoon.”

Sam’s dark eyes honed in.  “You’re kidding me, right?”

“No.  They need his expertise in setting up the first one.”  She glanced at the floor.  “He’s thinking maybe a honeymoon in the Canary Islands and then a short trip to the coast.  The gentlemen here this evening are from The Gambia.”

“Gambia?”

“Yes.  The Gambia, actually.  It’s a small country on the west coast.  They want to start there, but intend to expand the project to other countries on the continent.”

“Nice.”  Sam shifted her weight from heel to heel.  “Selfish bastard,” she murmured.

“What?”  Jennifer scowled.  “Since when is there something wrong in following a dream?”

“With everything you have going on in your life right now, the last thing you need is to be hauled off to Africa for your honeymoon.”  Anger heated Sam’s gaze.  “You told him no, right?”

She tensed the grip on the bowl of her glass.  “Of course I didn’t tell him no.  I’m his fiancé, soon to be his
wife
.  My job is to support him in his endeavors, not act as adversary.”