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He glanced at her, thinking that she was like that. Beautiful, with cool hidden secrets that others didn’t notice. “Are you going to bid on it?”
“Ha! I’ll leave that to the billionaires. I have been eyeing one of the small prints in her shop, though. I might be able to afford one of those someday. Are you into art at all?”
“I admire it, but I don’t know much.”
“Me, too. I’m in awe of artists. I always wanted to be able to draw when I was young. I used to sketch all the time, but I never got any better. It’s funny that you can see something perfectly in your head, but somehow your hands can’t make it.”
“Right, it’s like—”
“Veronica,” a man boomed from behind them.
Gabe swung around to see a distinguished-looking man in his sixties. He wore an expensive suit cut to make his paunch look a little less noticeable. The man took off his glasses to give them a quick polish, then looked everywhere except at Veronica and Gabe. “I’m leaving. I put in a bid on that mixed-media piece by the door. Text me if I’m outbid. I’ll have to make a donation if I don’t get it.”
“Sure,” she said. “Dad, this is Gabe MacKenzie. Gabe, this is my father, Judge Anthony Chandler.”
“Sir,” Gabe said, trying hard not to think about the virginity joke he’d made as he shook the man’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you,” her father said gruffly, barely glancing at Gabe. He left without another word to Veronica. Gabe watched him stop on his way toward the door to clap hands with another man with great enthusiasm before hugging the man’s wife. He wasn’t gruff with everyone, it seemed.
“I hope that was painless,” she said.
“Is he pissed at you?” Gabe asked.
“Dad? No. Just eternally unimpressed.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
She shrugged. “He’s a political animal and I don’t have any power, and he must have decided you were too young and harmless to merit his charm. You’re not one of the silverbacks.”
“Wow.”
She winced. “Sorry. That was kind of a mood killer. I’m used to him, but I’m sorry if you felt snubbed. Let’s get back to the art.”
He followed her back to the wall of photos. “And your mom? Are they divorced?”
“My mom died when I was little.”
“I’m sorry,” Gabe said, feeling as though he finally got her shyness. With a dad like that and no mom around...?
“It was a long time ago,” Veronica said. “She had cancer most of my life, but I still remember all the time I spent with her. We used to watch movies in her bed. She was sick, but she never let me see her down. She used to bake cookies every Friday, and they’d still be warm when I got home from school.”
“She sounds amazing.”
“She was. That’s where New York started for me. With her. She’d been once with my father and she’d been enchanted. The skyscrapers, the taxis, the street performers, Times Square and Broadway. She wanted to take me to see Cats when I was old enough. But she got sick again. And that was that.”
“Shit, Veronica.”
“It’s okay. I got my fill of New York later. It all worked out.”
He didn’t know what to say to that. It had clearly not worked out.
She smiled. “Do you feel sorry for me now? I hope so, because I’m going to try to talk you into coming over later and I’ll use every advantage I have.”
He nudged her with his elbow. “And you say I’m the worst?”
“I know, right? What are your parents like?”
Compared to her dad, they were saints. “My dad runs his own business. He’s always busy, always going, big personality. My mom is kick-ass. She mostly stayed home with us, but she ran our household like the commander of an army. She doesn’t take crap from anyone, including my dad.”
