AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Thank you for buying it for me.” Riley smiled. “It’s a tad shorter than what I normally wear, but I feel good in it.” What she didn’t add was that she had to use all and any ammunition she had if she wanted another chance with Mitch.
“Someone is trying to get your attention,” Aunt Janice said. “I’ll keep Dylan occupied; the others should be here shortly.”
The owner of the gallery wanted to introduce Riley to more guests. She smiled and nodded, trying her best to appear interested in whatever they were saying. Hopefully nobody would ask her anything afterward. She could see their mouths moving but making sense of what they were actually saying wasn’t possible. All her attention was on the entrance.
*
Mitch helped Annieout of Craig’s car before he looked around him. Aiden had parked right behind them and both he and Annie joined them on the sidewalk. Apparently, they were meeting Janice later. “Where are we exactly? I don’t see any restaurants on this block?”
Annie put her hand through his one arm, Vivian through the other. “The night is young, Mitch. There is something you have to see first.” Annie smiled.
Warily, Mitch looked at his brothers-in-law for support. “What do I have to see?”
Both Aiden and Craig were grinning. “You may as well surrender.”
It was only when they entered the venue that Mitch realized what it was. A gallery. His eyes searched the walls. Portraits.
“An exhibition of portraits,” he muttered, his brain desperately trying to grasp something he should know.
“Indeed.” Annie chuckled. “There are two, in particular, you need to see. Over here, come on.”
As he followed his sisters, people turned and stared at him. Some nodded while others smiled. What the hell…
As his sisters dragged him farther into the gallery, his heart skidded to a stop, and a loud noise filled his ears, making it impossible to hear anything else. Against the wall, beautiful portraits were on display.
Portraits. Riley. His head reeling, he took a deep breath. She’d told him about a gallery in Bozeman that was interested in her work. They were looking for portraits, if he remembered correctly. Looking at one portrait study after the other hanging on the walls, he realized that this had to be the exhibition. With everything that had happened since, he hadn’t given the phone call she’d received another thought, but she’d obviously decided to send them some of her work.
Things were finally beginning to make sense. That was why they were here. His sisters wanted to show him Riley’s works. His heart kicked against his ribs—did that mean Riley was here? In Bozeman?
The next portrait stopped him in his tracks. He recognized it instantly. It was a picture of him, one of the many Riley had taken of him on Craig and Annie’s wedding day, the ones she had saved under the folderSomething Stupidon her laptop.
This particular one had been taken after he’d left the bride with her groom. He was walking back to take his seat. There was a smile on his face, but his eyes were filled with tears. The background was faded, the focus on the contrasting emotions on his face.
“Isn’t it amazing how Riley has captured exactly who you are? My big brother with the big heart who has never been afraid or uncomfortable to cry in front of everyone. But come and look at this one—it’s my favorite.” Grabbing his hand, Vivian pulled him around the corner.
Another huge portrait of him hung against this wall. Dazed, he stepped back. It was a bit disconcerting looking at such a huge picture of oneself, but as he stared, the feeling faded.
Around him people were talking, and some were whispering. They’d obviously recognized him, but he ignored everything else and focused on the portrait.
Struggling to breathe, he tried to look critically at the work. He’d been looking directly at the camera, directly at Riley, when she’d clicked her camera. In awe, he noticed the perfect way she’d used light and background, the small smile around his mouth, but what stole his breath was the emotion in his eyes.
He hadn’t even known it at the time, but her camera had picked it up. Look at that—he’d already been in love with her. It was there, in his eyes, for all to see.
As he stared at the huge portrait, he remembered the exact moment when Riley had taken this one. The remarkable thing was, this moment had been captured earlier in the day, long before he and Riley had danced together, long before he’d become aware of that first tug at his heartstrings.
Somehow, though, his heart had known she was the one for him, long before the rest of him had caught on.
Stunned, he turned around. The crowd parted, and a vision in soft yellow walked toward him. Riley. His heart sighed. She was here, and within moments he’d be able to touch her. She was holding Dylan’s hand tightly in hers, her eyes on Mitch, those blue eyes telling him everything he’d wanted to know.
Without any message from his brain, his feet moved toward her.
Then Dylan saw him. “Uncle Mitch!” he cried as he dropped his mom’s hand and rushed toward Mitch. “Mom, look—it’s Uncle Mitch.”
By this time, the rest of the crowd had figured out something was going on, and every eye in the room had turned in their direction.
Mitch bent to pick up Dylan, his eyes never leaving Riley.
“Uncle Mitch is here,” Dylan told the crowd. “It’s a Christmas miracle.”
