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And then she glanced up.
A handmade leather shoe on the end of a suited leg was her first glimpse of him. Then he stepped out of the car and she saw his tall frame and immaculate suit. From his confident stance, Mr Devereux certainlylookedas if he owned the street that he stood in.
She felt the coolness of champagne on her hand as the liquid fizzed over and stopped pouring. While she should have mopped up the mess, instead Merida chose to steal a moment and gaze upon his beauty while she had the chance.
Colour had not been on the artist’s palette whenthismasterpiece had been created. His skin was pale, while his hair was as black as a raven’s wing. As he turned his face and his eyes squinted in the late-afternoon sun she saw him in profile—and he was pure masculine elegance.
His absolute beauty flustered Merida.
Unusually so.
Stunning, elegant visitors regularly graced the gallery. At times the rich and famous did too.
He was more than that, though—only there wasn’t time to examine her thoughts...or rather the feelings this man stimulated in her.
With a hand-towel she blotted the tray and topped up the glass, and then poured another for any guest he might have brought. She looked outside, expecting a gorgeous beauty to have emerged from the car and flocked to his side.
But he walked towards the gallery alone.
Though she’d been warned about his good looks, nothing had prepared her for her reaction to them. Merida found that her lips were pressed together and her fingers dug into her palms. She unfurled them and smoothed the skirt of the dress, glad to have had a couple of minutes’ warning of his magnificence in which to gather herself. But as the door opened and he stepped in, and she saw him without the barrier of glass, there came a knockout blow to her senses that had her internally reeling.
His eyes went straight to hers. They did not roam her body—he was too suave for that—and yet she felt a tingle on her skin as if they had.
‘Mr Devereux...’ Merida cleared her throat and drew on her acting skills as she grappled to find a more poised persona and fought not to blush as she extended her hand. ‘It’s lovely to meet you. I’m Merida Cartwright.’
‘Merida.’ His voice was rich and deep as he repeated her name and then said his. ‘Ethan.’ He invited her to use first-name terms as he briefly shook her hand.
Oh, his touch might have been fleeting, yet his brief grip was firm, his skin warm enough to shoot out tiny volts. Like touching fire, the feeling intensified after contact, and Merida had to resist examining her fingers for a mark as she continued her introduction.
‘I’m the gallery assistant...’
‘Assistant?’Ethan checked abruptly, and the question in his tone told her that he had expected something better.
‘Yes.’ Merida swallowed. ‘Reece would have loved to be here to take you around himself, but he’s off to Egypt tonight.’
Ethan Devereux was less than impressed. Even at impossibly short notice he expected to be accommodated, and the fact that they had only managed to produce an assistant to show him around did not impress one bit.
Sheikh Prince Khalid of Al-Zahan—the owner of the amulets—was a personal friend and business colleague of Ethan’s. They went way back, and had met years ago when studying at Columbia. Over dinner last night in Al-Zahan, Khalid had explained that he was worried that there were issues with the gallery to which he had loaned the royal collection. His sources stated that the staff were ill-informed, the tours somewhat rushed, and that patrons were steered towards the items that had the potential to earn most commission.
Khalid had asked Ethan to discreetly check things out.
Ethan had pointed out the fact that nothing he did in New York City went unnoticed. But still, he had agreed to drop in at short notice and hopefully get a handle on what was going on. The fact that it was a mere assistant here to greet him scored the gallery its first black mark.
The fact that she was beautiful did not erase it.
‘Before I take you through would you care for a drink...?’ Merida offered.
‘Let’s just get started, shall we?’
He was brusque. Restless and impatient.
And he ignored the nibbles too.
Few did.
Merida had long since observed that at private viewings—even if guests staggered into the gallery after a three-course dinner—still most would sample the delicacies that had been laid on.
But Ethan Devereux didn’t feel the need to partake in a free glass of champagne or caviar-laden blinis and succulent chocolate-dipped fruits.
