The Artist (The Game Changers #2) (19 page)

“Because it was real. For you, it was real.”

Nolan continued to stroke my hair until my eyes closed and the world didn’t hurt anymore. Sometime later, I woke to find myself sandwiched between Nolan and Maddox, who were whispering above me.

“She needs to eat something, Mad,” I heard Nolan whisper from my right.

Maddox’s deeper voice quietly reassured him from my left. “She’ll wake up. She never drinks. Good thing you came home early. I had a bad feeling about today.”

“Why?” I asked, startling the pair.

“You’re awake.” Nolan smiled.

“I’m awake. Still a little drunk,” I told him, taking note of my limp limbs.

“You want something to eat, Kit Kat?” Maddox asked from my other side. “Takeout and movie night?”

“Like the good ol’ days.” I smiled and rolled to my back between my two favorite men, who had created a Kitty sandwich while I slept.

“Top Gun and Roxy’s Diner?”

“Yes.” I nodded with barely a smile on my face.

“Can we add ice cream to that? If we’re going to have a calorie fest, then we might as well go all out.”

“Might as well. I have a life of raising cats to look forward to, so no need to worry about my figure.”

“Let the pity party begin.” Nolan clapped happily as he climbed off the bed.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The pity party only lasted one night, although I was sure I could have squeezed another couple out of the two of them. I think they just wanted an excuse to indulge in fatty food, but I needed to put myself back together. The next day, with the support of Maddox and Nolan, I threw myself into work. If I wasn’t working on something for the magazine, I was working on my novel. Heartbreak was an amazing motivator for writing a sappy novel. Yeah, I would definitely need some revisions once the last chapter had been written. The story had turned dark, and neither dimension was exactly bliss.

Maddox and Nolan were amazing, letting me stay with them. I promised I would get out of their hair as quickly as possible, but every time one of them went with me to look at an apartment, they found a million things wrong with it.

Grant and Eve had surprisingly become a constant presence throughout the week. Since I had no desire to see any of my other friends, I appreciated them more than I would have ever guessed. Honestly, I couldn’t stand the idea of gossiping with Penelope or listening to Victoria pick apart Adam like she had Grant. I couldn’t take it.

Instead, I enjoyed my time with Eve, Grant, Maddox, and Nolan. Since Eve was getting close to her August due date, she was feeling the effects. However, sometimes it seemed Grant was more worn out than she was while he fussed over her like an invalid.

At dinner one night, Eve finally had enough. “Grant, if you don’t calm down, I will fly home to Georgia and have the baby there.”

“You aren’t supposed to fly in the third trimester,” he reminded her with a smug smile that disappeared when he registered the glare Eve was sending his way. That one look had him cowering in his chair and the rest of us trying to keep our laughter at bay.

“Grant, you never did know when to shut up.” Maddox shook his head.

Eve and Grant continued to glare at each other.

“Enough, you two. You are supposed to be giving me hope and keeping me sane right now. I haven’t drunk my weight in wine in days. Don’t make me reconsider,” I joked.

Eve ended her death stare challenge and turned toward me. “Girl, I know how you feel. I’m sure Grant thought I was crazy when we first met.”

“Only because you thought I was going to murder you that night,” Grant accused with a laugh.

“You approached me after an event in an empty building! Creepy!” she fired back. God, I loved those two together.

“I swear you two fight like children,” Maddox said as he rubbed his temples dramatically.

“He started it,” Eve pouted.

“Mature, Peach, very mature,” Grant teased. They played their little staring contest again then kissed inappropriately for all to see.

“Great, Maddox. Look what you did. I think I prefer the childish arguing,” I told him, waving at the PDA display at the dinner table.

Grant looked over Eve’s head at me and smiled proudly.

“In other news,” I said, “I have to go to the re-opening of The Grande. Who wants to be my date?”

“Ooh! Me!” Eve exclaimed, turning away from Grant and back to her pasta. “I know I’m not from here, but from the pictures I saw online, the place is gorgeous. Every time I drive by it, I think about how I can’t wait to see it restored.”

“Perfect. It can be a girls’ night.”

“How about I bring Eve and Maddox and Nolan take you?” Grant suggested. You know we all have to go. It’s Rex’s event.”

The Grande was a hotel that shut down years ago. The owner left it to his grandson, who had recently decided to renovate the space and turn it into an event center. According to my research, he wanted the hotel running again in five years, but he worked to create a palatial party venue in a matter of months. Seattle’s elite society was invited to promote the new, improved hotel. We happened to have gone to school with the grandson, placing us at the top of his invitation list.

“Really? Eve was going to be my date,” I complained.

Nolan laughed. “Fine, I’ll take Grant,” he said, acting as if he would be so disappointed.

“That’s cool. I’m not a fan of Rex anyway. I’ll stay home.”

“Don’t be such a bore, Maddox,” Eve teased as I breathed a contented sigh. This repartee was what got me through the days without breaking down in tears. Those tears threatened whenever I thought about how badly I had screwed up. Those tears threatened each time I saw a painting, or drank coffee, or passed the hospital. I had been teetering on the edge for months while in New York, and now that I had seen him, my emotional state was even more precarious. I still missed him. How had he consumed me in the short time I’d known him? That I’ll never know. The only thing I knew for certain was that I wanted Maverick back, and I was willing to do almost anything to make that happen.

I still hadn’t figured out how to approach Maverick by the night of the hotel opening. I came up with a million ideas that all seemed flawed. Send him a letter? He might not read it. That was true for email and every other form of written communication. Call him? He might not answer. Try to talk to him at the bar? He could have me thrown out by Trent, the bouncer. Approaching him when the bar was open was definitely out of the question while I was so unstable. Every idea I could think of to tell him the truth seemed to fall apart just as quickly as it came to mind. Instead of continuing to think about the possibilities, I focused on preparing for the party that evening. I had to get dressed and find a way to make one of last season’s dresses look new.

My phone ringing was a welcome distraction. What was even more welcome was the name on the screen. Ward.

“It’s about time I heard from you,” I scolded him teasingly. “You could have been dead for all I knew.”

“There were moments I was considering it. Sitting in a boardroom going through German contracts point by point was less than exhilarating,” he said dryly. “How are you?”

“Eh, so, so. Got my job back. It’s great. Adam won’t speak to me. That’s not so great,” I summarized quickly. “How’s the wedding planning?”

“Easy. I’ve been in Germany. Bronwyn picks out what she wants, and I sign my name. Being an out-of-town groom was a breeze.”

“You know she wants your opinion, right?”

I could hear his grin through the phone. “Katherine, don’t you know? She doesn’t care as long as she gets me in the end.”

“Ha! That’s what they all say.”

“True. I did just fork out a couple grand for an ice sculpture. I told her it was just going to melt.”

I shook my head at his unsurprising sensibility. “But it’ll look pretty while it lasts.”

“And that’s why the bride plans the wedding,” he pointed out.

“And that’s why brides plan weddings,” I agreed.

“So, I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner, but this call isn’t only to catch up. I have something to tell you.”

“Oh?”

“I was with Bronwyn when I last spoke to you. After Alexander tried to…well, you know. Anyway, I couldn’t let it go any longer, Katherine. I made a few phone calls. You see, I wouldn’t be telling you except for the fact your father found out about it somehow, and I don’t want it coming back on you.”

“I haven’t spoken to my parents in over a week, Ward. What are you talking about?”

“I paid his money back. I found out how much he had sent for Jack’s treatments and returned the money to him. Jack still has an account that will never dry up, but my family now funds it. Bronwyn wouldn’t have it any other way, and honestly, neither would I. You’re like family, Katherine, so if you need something, you get it.”

“Ward,” I breathed out. I didn’t know what to say.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. It all happened while I was in Germany, and I didn’t get a moment to call you.”

“No. No. You’re fine. I just…You know I can’t pay you back.”

“I’m not asking you to. It’s a donation, a worthy one.”

Emotions bubbled up inside of me. “Thank you. You’re actually my knight in shining armor. You’re the reason I could come back here without interference from my father. You’re the reason I’m free to make my own choices.”

“No, Katherine, that’s all you. Bronwyn and I wouldn’t have done it if you hadn’t been so damn lovable.”

My heart swelled. Other than Maddox and Nolan, who tell me they love me like I’m their puppy, no one has ever said I was lovable. No one had ever told me they loved me at all. To hear Ward say I was lovable made me almost believe it. He wasn’t warm and fuzzy. He didn’t throw affections around like they meant nothing. Ward used his words when he needed them, and the man had called me, Katherine Agnes Peters, lovable.

“Thank you, Ward. I don’t know how to ever thank you enough, but I’m forever grateful. Of all the people my mother has brought into my life, you are, by far, the one I’d most like to keep.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem, Katherine.”

After I hung up with Ward, I processed what he was saying. If he donated the money, or replaced the donated money, then Maverick still didn’t know. That was a good sign. I didn’t want him to forgive me because I did something nice for him. I wanted him to forgive me because he couldn’t live without me. Obviously, that wasn’t true, but I wanted him to want me like I wanted him. I wanted him to love me. No. I wanted him to be in love with me, head over heels, can’t breathe without it, heartbreaking love.

I didn’t have time to get lost in my thoughts again. Maddox and Nolan had made it home for the day, and it was time to finish getting ready for the party tonight.

I dressed in a red asymmetrical Valentino gown. My strappy gold Manolos made my leg that peeked from the high slit look incredibly long, and my makeup was a little bolder than normal. Once my bright blonde curls were pinned in place, I looked in the mirror. Today, I looked miles better than I felt, and it was a good thing too. I was throwing myself in the lion’s den tonight. Penelope and Victoria would be there, and there was a chance I would be seeing my parents for the first time since I left New York. Tonight was about saying goodbye to my old life. May as well look good doing it.

We arrived in style in a hired car. There were photographers lining the entrance of the hotel. Somewhere in the mass of flashes was a freelance photographer hired by Sue. He or she wouldn’t be allowed in the party, so it was up to me to share the insider’s view with the readers.

I made a point of taking in the golden ballroom. From the ivory columns to the rich gold carpet, everything was the epitome of luxury. Waiters in tuxes carried trays of champagne to the famous actors, actresses, musicians, artists, politicians, and other wealthy friends of Mr. and Mrs. Rex Carlton III and Rex Carlton IV. My eyes scanned the room further as I took my first sip of the expensive Dom Perignon. They followed the balcony around the room and lifted to the extravagant crystal chandeliers that lined the center of the room. Beyond the chandeliers was what caught my eye, though.

It appeared the sky was above us, with fluffy white clouds and a sun-streaked blue that was mesmerizing. It wasn’t the sky that had my heart beating faster. It wasn’t the clouds that had me leaving my friends without a word to climb to the balcony to get a better look.

Angels floated in the corners of the mural that spanned the center of the room like a skylight. The angels appeared real with a lifelike depth and details that I had only seen from one painter in this area. The ceiling had been previously destroyed. I had seen pictures of it when I first met with Rex about covering the reopening of the hotel. Rex had insisted we show what it was to really get the full effect of what it could be. The plaster on the ballroom ceiling had been cracked and damaged by water. I knew for certain this painting was fresh, and my palpitating heart told me who was responsible for creating such beauty.

Suddenly, I needed air. There was a balcony nearby that overlooked the water. I headed in that direction to clear my head. I had planned on the possibility of my parents being there. I had prepared myself for having to talk about him with Penelope and Victoria. It never once occurred to me that I could possibly be running into him, that I would have to face him again so soon.

The balcony was empty, considering most people were enjoying cocktails in the lobby and main floor of the ballroom. I gripped the edge of the short wall protecting me from falling to the ground below. My breaths came in short pants, and I had to tell myself to slow them down.

“What are you doing?” I asked myself.

I was overreacting. For one, I hadn’t even seen Maverick. That might be his work in there, but that didn’t mean he was here. For another thing, all I wanted all week was to see him, to be able to talk to him. If he was here, then perhaps I could at least get him to agree to speak to me.

I rolled my eyes at myself. If he didn’t want to talk to me in the privacy of his closed place of business, I doubted he would even allow me to approach him in a place like this. If he had been willing to talk, we would have already talked. I was a fool for allowing myself such wishful thinking. I mentally scolded myself, and then resigned myself to return to the party. If Maverick were there, I would respect his wishes and stay away from him. I had other people to see and speak with anyway.