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19
“Look at this guest list,” Belle said, passing Rich a printout. He scanned the names and smiled at Belle. Her face was radiant in the afternoon sun. “Carlyn really came through. There are some huge names in the L.A. art scene coming. And she hasn’t listed them yet, but she thinks she can get a couple of celebrities, too. That should be fantastic for publicity – she’s got a lot of media connections that are interested in attending.” Belle grinned at him. “How amazing is that?”
“It’s fantastic.” Relief rushed through him. Carlyn was holding up her end of the bargain, as they’d agreed. Sure, he’d have to spend a night in her gallery as a result, but it was a small price to pay to see his sister’s beaming smile.
“You haven’t given me your guest list yet. I put six tickets aside for you, but I need to know who they are. Carlyn’s arranging for a security guard at the entrance, and he’ll need names.”
“Well there’s me…”
Belle rolled her eyes. “I know that, dummy. But what about the rest?” She gave him a sly glance. “You’re bringing Meghan, right?”
“I hope so. I need to double check with her.” They’d been too busy, and it had slipped out of his mind.
“I hope she can come. She could bring her daughter, too, if she likes.”
“It’s not a good idea.” There was no way he was having Isla anywhere near Carlyn. And he was almost certain Meghan wouldn’t want to go either. “Isla won’t be coming.”
“Why not?”
He hadn’t told Belle exactly what went down between Carlyn and Isla. He hadn’t wanted to worry her. Or have her cancel her show because of something he’d done.
“Because she’s too young. And there’s a lot of expensive stuff in that gallery, I’d hate for her to pick them up or something.”
“Most of the expensive stuff will be stored while my show is going on.” Belle gave him a strange look. “What’s going on? You haven’t messed things up with her already, have you?”
“What do you mean?” Rich frowned.
“I guess your track record with relationships isn’t great.” Belle gave him a soft smile. “As in you can’t keep one going for love or money.”
“I’m a doctor. I work crazy hours and a lot of women can’t live with that.”
“Can Meghan?” Belle tipped her head to the side.
“Yeah. I think she can.?
? He blew out a mouthful of air. This wasn’t the conversation he wanted to have with his baby sister. “I’ll come back to you on the list, okay?”
Belle pressed her lips together. There was a strange look on her face, as though she couldn’t decide whether to voice her thoughts or not. The voice finally won. “You’ve been different since you two started dating.”
Now he knew that was bullshit. Because they hadn’t been dating at all when Belle first met Meghan. It was all a lie and only the two of them knew it. “Have I?” he said lightly, sending a silent message for Belle to change the subject.
“Yes. And I saw the way you looked at her when we were at the gallery. You two were so at ease with each other. She’s special, Rich. I know she is. Please don’t mess this up. You deserve to be happy.”
“I am happy.” He winked at her. “How could I not be with a genius in the family? I’m counting down the time until you sell your first million dollar work and I can retire.”
“Ha. You’ll never retire. I swear you’ll be the oldest doc in the ER. What would you do if you didn’t have work?”
“I’d…” Rich frowned. “Sleep, I guess.”
“And then?”
His lips twitched. “Then I’d call the ER and ask if they had any extra shifts for me.”
Belle laughed. “At least you know yourself. But that’s sad, isn’t it? There has to be more than work.”
He shrugged. “It’s the one thing I’m good at.”
“You could be good at relationships, too, if you weren’t so scared.”
