The Art of Love

by Celya Bowers

  CHAPTER 4

  Sunday morning came much too early for Peri. The alarm clock buzzed at her. The phone rang at the very same time each Sunday morning. She knew it wasn’t Brendan, it was her mother. That woman was as regular as clockwork. The phone rang again. Peri sighed and reached for the phone. “Good morning, Mom.”

  “Good morning, dear. Are you going to morning services?”

  “Yes, Mom. I’m getting up right now.” She pushed back the covers on her king-sized bed.

  “Good. I’ll tell your father. See you soon.” She ended the call.

  Peri sighed. So much in her life had changed in the two years since she had ended her relationship with Robert. Her relationship with her parents had been the biggest casualty while they were together, but thank goodness that rift had been repaired within months of Robert’s departure. She took a shower and got dressed for church.

  She arrived with moments to spare before morning services began. Her older sister, Bailey, greeted her as she prepared to enter the church.

  “You look tired. Working late again? Your bosses are really taking advantage of you being an overachiever.”

  Peri was so tired of hearing this speech. She loved her older sister dearly, but some days, it was a struggle not to tell her where to get off. “For your information, I was at the Maza Art Gallery opening last night with Kyla.”

  “I’m glad you’re actually going out. Even if it is with one of the wildest women in Arlington.”

  “Don’t start.”

  “Peri, I like Kyla for the spark she lights in you, but you have to face facts, that girl is outrageous. Anyway, I’m glad if I can’t get you to go out, at least Kyla can.”

  Peri wanted to shut her sister up once and for all. “Actually, it’s due to Kyla that I have a date next weekend.” She walked inside the church without another word.

  She sat down a few rows behind her parents’ customary seats. Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church was one of the largest churches in Arlington with more than ten thousand members. Even with all those members, Peri felt at home in the megachurch. Her sister soon joined her.

  “What do you mean, you have a date? You don’t date. Maybe I should have him checked out. I can get Elijah to run a background check on him.”

  “Don’t you dare,” Peri whispered to her sister. “I just met the man. Let me find out if there’s something wrong with him.”

  “Like Robert.” Her sister loved reminding Peri about the past. “I don’t want to see you like that again. So if I can do anything to prevent it, I will.”

  Peri heard the conviction in her sister’s voice. “Thank you, sis.” She patted her hand. “I don’t want to relive the past either.”

  Sunday afternoon dinner with the Reed family was always a race against the clock with Peri. How long would it be before one of her dear parents would remind her that she needed to start dating again? Her mother had outdone herself today with roasted loin of pork, garlic mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts with bacon, and corn on the cob. Peri’s mother was a firm believer in vegetables.

  Peri sat between her brother, Xavier, and her niece, Dakota. Her sister and brother-in-law sat at opposite sides of the large dinner table. Elijah was wearing a grin that told her something was afoot. Again. As soon as her father, Edward, finished the prayer, Elijah struck.

  “Peri, Bailey tells me you have a date next Friday.” He reached for the platter of Brussels sprouts.

  Every adult at the table gasped in amazement. Her mother cleared her throat and spoke. “Now, Elijah, if Peri wants to share about the first date she’s had since that man left, that’s her business.”

  Talk about subtle. “Okay, so you guys won’t badger me to death. His name is Brendan Donovan. He works at Maza’s Art Gallery in Dallas. I met him at the gym. He invited Kyla and me to a showing. He’s divorced and has a five-year-old daughter named Chelsey.” She left out a few crucial details, like he’s Irish and definitely not a brother. She hoped she’d offered enough information that no one else would ask her any questions.

  “Hmm,” Elijah mumbled. “Donovan sounds Irish.”

  “So does your last name, and you’re certainly not Irish.” Elijah’s skin was a shade or two lighter than dark chocolate.

  “True, but I’m not the art director of a major art gallery, either. Nor is my picture planted on the front page of the arts section of the Dallas Morning News this morning. Nice dress, I might add.”

  Oh, no, she thought. No way. No way in hell. Was she going to be outted by her irritating brother-in-law? “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  He chuckled. “I’m sure you don’t.” He reached for the pork loin and speared a piece of meat. “Mr. Donovan looks like he might know what I’m talking about.”

  She really hated when Elijah took this tone, and she hated when he directed that FBI line of questioning at her. “Isn’t this leading the witness?”

  “I can’t stand this. Peri Reed, tell me what’s going on with this man,” her mother, Sonia, demanded. “There’s something you’re not telling us.”

  The jig was up and she knew it. “There’s something I’m not telling you, but being that the FBI has stuck his nose where it doesn’t belong, I’ll tell you now.” She took a deep breath. “Brendan is white.”

  Her mother exhaled. “Oh, that.”

  “Mom!”

  “Honey, you’re 35, and it’s your life. Just make sure he’s going to make you happy.”

  “Mom, we’ve only had dinner.”

  “What?”

  “We ended up at the same restaurant last week. So I ate with him and his daughter.”

  Her mother smiled. “This sounds promising. When can we meet him?”

  “Not for a while,” Peri hedged. “We don’t know each other yet, and he’s very busy at work.”

  “I’m sure you’ll work something out,” her mother said.

  Peri shook her head. Her mother heard what she wanted to hear, and it was now up to Peri to make it happen.

  * * *

  Sunday evening Brendan had to try his luck. Maybe Peri hadn’t seen the photograph of them in the newspaper, he reasoned. He dialed her number and waited for her to pick up the phone. He felt himself smiling when she finally answered.

  “Hi, Brendan,” she said quietly.

  He cleared his throat. “I hope I didn’t catch you in the middle of something.” Or someone.

  “No, I was just sitting here looking at the paper.”

  He grinned. His plan was taking action. “So I guess you saw the pictures from the showing.” He hoped she had. Now he just had to determine if she was upset.

  “Yes, I did. Actually, my brother-in-law told me about it. I checked it out when I got home. I don’t think I’ve ever had my picture in the newspaper. My mom was impressed.”

  “Good. I mean, it’s good you’re not upset. I was worried when I saw the pictures this morning. Normally, when there’s a showing, the press is always around. You’ll have to get used to seeing them where I’m concerned.”

  “So you’re like a local celebrity?”

  Was she teasing? “No, I’m not. I’m well-known in the art community, but that’s about all. The press is always around the gallery, especially when a new artist is on the scene.” He loved talking about art. “For instance, I just hired a restoration expert to work on some paintings. There was a big story in the arts section a few months ago.”

  “What does a restoration expert do?”

  “They take paintings that the gallery has acquired that have been damaged in some way. They research the history of the painting, then fix it so that we’re able to display it.”

  “That sounds like a dream job,” Peri said.

  “Really?” Brendan said. “Most people find it tedious and boring.”

  “Not me. I love art, whether it’s art history, art expression, just about anything that goes with art.”

  “So why didn’t you major in art in college?”

&nbs
p; She laughed. “My parents. My dad didn’t think I could make a living at being an artist, so I majored in finance instead.”

  Brendan could see that. He had stumbled into an art career. “Understandable.”

  “Yeah, I understand now, but then, I didn’t. I’m glad I took their advice.”

  His other line buzzed. Unfortunately, it was his ex. His daughter had been sick earlier. “Peri, I’m sorry, my other line is beeping. I’ll see you at the gym.”

  “Sure. Good night.” She ended the call.

  Brendan wasn’t ready to end their conversation, but he had to take Claire’s call. There will be other times, he promised himself.

  * * *

  Friday night Peri stood in front of her mirror and smiled. For every problem she had had during the week, this made up for it. The week had started out great, but with each passing day a problem arose, ending with her sister ‘volunteering’ to pick out something suitable for Peri to wear on her date with Brendan. Rather than get into an argument, Peri agreed to wear the sleek, black dress that Bailey had purchased for her. Although it showed a little more cleavage than she would have liked, her sister was right; sometimes it was good to show off.

  The doorbell rang, bringing her back to the real world. It was time for her date with Brendan. She hurried to the front door and let him inside. He was very handsome in a dark suit that seemed to bring out the blue in his eyes and cut for his athletic body.

  “You look beautiful,” he said, smiling down at her. He kissed her lightly on the cheek.

  “You look very handsome,” she replied. “Please come in. I’ll be just a few minutes.” She guided him to the living room. She raced to the bathroom and dabbed on a little lipstick and returned to the living room.

  He stood the minute she entered the room and walked toward her. “Ready?”

  “Yes.” She took the few steps to her front door and reached for the door knob.

  “I’ll get that,” Brendan said, stepping toward her. He opened the front door and stretched out his palm. “Let me lock the door for you.”

  She put her key in his hand. A girl could get used to all this, she thought.

  She stepped outside while Brendan locked her front door. The street was quiet. The only noise she heard was tires screeching in the distance. He returned the key and guided her to his black Range Rover. Once they arrived at Shantrels, a four-star restaurant in downtown Fort Worth, Peri was flattered by all the attention he gave her.

  It was a very elegant restaurant, she noticed, as the waiter gently placed the linen napkin in her lap and poured her a glass of wine. Peri studied the menu. Everything sounded delicious. Making a dinner choice was going to be a hard decision to make. She ate salads most days, tonight she wanted something different. Maybe Brendan had a suggestion.

  He spoke as if he had read her mind. “The steak is great here. So are the pasta dishes. I’ve never had a bad meal here. I was thinking about lobster drowned in butter. What are you having?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe a salad.”

  “Are you sure? They have great dishes here.”

  Peri decided to throw caution to the wind, just as the waiter approached their table. She ordered a filet mignon with a spinach salad, while Brendan ordered broiled lobster.

  Peri took another sip of wine and thought of a conversation starter. “Do you have Chelsey every weekend?” And is she going to the play with us tomorrow?

  “Sometimes.” He took a sip of Guinness.

  “Sometimes.” Not the answer she was looking for.

  Brendan smiled at her. “Yes, with my job, I travel a lot. Usually Claire, my ex, is pretty good about letting me have Chelsey whenever I am in town.”

  “You travel that much?” Peri asked as she took a sip of Merlot.

  “Depends on the season.”

  “What exactly do you do?” These cryptic answers could only mean trouble, Peri thought.

  “Maza is part of a huge corporation. Technically, I buy the art for all the galleries. There are ten Maza galleries in the world. Six are in the US, one in England, one in Scotland, and two in Spain. The Dallas gallery seems to get the most press.”

  “Why do you think that is?”

  “I guess mostly because I’m at this gallery. Normally, reporters have phone interviews, so usually the art reporter here gives us good press since I’m here and in person.”

  “Why do they interview you?” Peri asked as she took another sip of wine.

  “Like I said, I buy the pieces. So I give the reporter a heads-up on new collections. Also if I happen to discover a new talent, they’re very grateful to get in on the ground floor.”

  Slowly she understood. “One hand washes the other, so to speak.”

  He smiled. “That’s it.”

  He had a lot of power, she realized. “It must be great to be surrounded by all that art,” Peri said with the enthusiasm of a small child at Christmas.

  Brendan looked at her. “Sometimes. Can you in-line?”

  Peri didn’t understand what he meant. She wondered if it were some kind of Irish slang. “Excuse me?”

  “In-line skating? Can you in-line skate?” he asked.

  “No, I’m afraid not.”

  “It’s really fun, and it’s a great workout.”

  Peri thought that he was insinuating that she was too fat or too something. She played with her glass of wine, trying to think of a retort for Mr. Health Nut.

  “Maybe I could teach you sometime?”

  “That’s very nice of you, Brendan. But I know I’d fall, and I’m not really into pain.” Peri thought of trying to explain a skating injury to her health insurance company.

  Brendan set his drink down. His gaze locked with hers. “I would catch you before you ever hit the ground.”

  She had to remind herself to breathe one, two, three…

  * * *

  As Brendan drove back to her condo, the silence in the car was unbearable to Peri. She wished Brendan would say or do something, but his eyes were focused on the road ahead. Maybe he was regretting making two dates with her. She wondered if there would actually be a second.

  “I love this music,” Peri said. She fidgeted with her purse as she tried not to sound nervous.

  “Really? It’s Debussy,” said Brendan.

  “I know,” said Peri. Did he think she had no classical music taste? Maybe he thought she could only listen to hip-hop music.

  Brendan seemed to sense that she was upset. “Usually, my dates hate classical music.”

  She breathed a little easier. “Sounds like you’ve been dating the wrong women.”

  He chuckled. “Possibly.”

  As they arrived at Peri’s condo, she was again taken aback at how courteous Brendan was. He opened her door for her and helped her out of the Range Rover. Peri smiled as he took her door key and opened her door for her. She debated asking him inside. “Would you like to come inside?”

  “I’d like that a lot.” He walked inside of her condo ahead of her. “Wait, let me make sure it’s safe.”

  She watched him disappear into her condo then instantly a light came on. Brendan reappeared and led her inside and closed the door. “You should leave a light on at night.”

  Peri nodded. After the ordeal with Robert, she was normally diligent about leaving lights on, but tonight Brendan threw her off her game. “I will keep that in mind.”

  He sat on the couch. “I thought we’d firm up the time for me to pick you up tomorrow. The play starts at seven. I’ll pick you up about 6:15. Does that sound okay?”

  She nodded. “I know it’s a picnic kind of thing. I can pack a lunch for us.” Was she actually offering to fix a picnic lunch for the two of them?

  He shook his head. “No need. It’s all taken care of. Just dress comfortably.”

  As Peri walked him to the door, she wondered if she was supposed to kiss him goodnight. Brendan solved that dilemma for her. He leaned down and brushed his lips with hers. Then he kissed her agai
n. This time not as softly, but a little longer on her lips. She tasted his hunger. She was ready to give into that hunger, but he was gone. She smelled his cologne long after he left.

  CHAPTER 5

  Peri stood on the scale at the gym for their weekly weigh-in on Saturday morning. She was probably wearing a silly grin on her face but she couldn’t help it. Memories from her date last night were still fresh in her brain and in her heart.

  “I take it that dinner went well?” asked Kyla.

  “Yes. It was very nice,” said Peri. She had lost five pounds this week. Peri stepped off the dreaded scale with a smile on her face. Even with eating that high fat meal the night before she had still lost some weight for the week. She might learn to like the scale yet. She watched as Kyla weighed herself.

  “Kiss?” Kyla pushed the digital controls.

  “Yes.” Peri felt herself blushing.

  “Tongue?”

  “Kyla!”

  “Well?”

  “Yes. The kiss was quite nice. He always smells so good. He’s making me think things I shouldn’t. He’s definitely a five-star kisser.”

  “It is not a movie review, you know,” Kyla reminded her.

  Peri laughed. “I know. I just wished you were going with us tonight.” She honestly did. She could use a confidence builder and a chaperone.

  “I think I’m going to make it a movie night.”

  “Where’s Ryan?” Peri asked in a quiet voice.

  “Oh, he had to rush to Houston for some meeting. He’ll be home later tonight. Peri, don’t worry.” Kyla reassured her friend. “I’ll be just fine. Who knows? Maybe Ryan will get a surprise tonight.”

  “I know you’re lying, now. You’re going to torture my poor friend for having to go to Houston,” Peri teased.

  But Kyla didn’t answer her. A male voice broke into their conversation, a decidedly male voice with a detectable Irish accent. Tanned hands were now around Peri’s waist, giving her the feeling of security.

  “Hi, Brendan.” Peri noticed he was in a shirt, tie, and slacks. Not exactly gym apparel. Where was he going? Was that her sounding possessive already? Not good.