Dark Masterpiece (Serendipity Series 3)

by Brieanna Robertson

  Evie put her hand in his and let him help her up, but she slumped against him without meaning to. She was so tired. She felt like she had turned inside out. His arm came to wrap around her shoulders, and he guided her back into the living room. He placed the blanket over her once more, then stood back. “Did you want to watch television?”

  “I guess,” she grumbled.

  He handed her the remote, but still remained. He was uncertain of how to proceed. He felt awkward and stupid. He knew he should leave her in peace and return to his room, but she looked so small and frail lying on the couch all alone. It dawned on him that he didn’t like seeing dynamic Evie small and frail. She had shown him nothing but kindness, despite his abhorrent behavior. He couldn’t bring himself to leave her all alone. He sighed. “May I keep you company?”

  She glanced up at him. “If you don’t mind having a vomit faucet as a companion.”

  He smirked and sat on the end of the couch. Without even really thinking, he took one of her feet and began to gently rub it.

  Evie frowned. “What in the world are you doing?”

  She sounded more perplexed than anything. She probably thought he was trying to give her a heart attack on top of her food poisoning. He wouldn’t be surprised if she suspected that he really just wanted to kill her so he’d be rid of her once and for all. Massaging someone’s feet was somewhat intimate, and it definitely wasn’t a practice he made a habit of doing. He actually felt slightly embarrassed, but he tried to hide it. He was acting on pure instinct and trying not to think too much about it. Thinking just made him analyze, which made everything seem more complicated than it needed to be.

  “Do you know reflexology?” he asked.

  “I know of it.”

  “Every part of the body is supposed to be represented by different parts of the foot,” he replied.

  “You know where my stomach is?”

  He shrugged one shoulder. “Well no, but I figured if I tackled the whole thing I’d hit it sooner or later.”

  She studied his face while he wasn’t looking at her. She knew it was stupid, but it took her breath away every time she looked at him. No man on Earth should be so divinely beautiful.

  “Evie,” he said suddenly, his voice serious. “I’m sorry about just leaving you the way I did last night. I feel rude for it, but I was having a difficult time—”

  “Traevyn,” she interrupted, “you absolutely do not have to explain yourself to me. I understand. Besides, you’ve never had a problem being rude before. Don’t start caring now.” He met her eyes and she gave him a teasing smile.

  He smiled and looked away. “So tell me a little about yourself, Miss Austin,” he said. “You are a junior in college, correct?”

  She nodded. “One more year to go and I’ll be unleashed on the world. Frightening, isn’t it?”

  “Do you plan on staying in Oregon?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve lived there my whole life. It would be nice to get away. I’d love to travel, see the world.”

  “Traveling is a love of mine as well. I get so much inspiration from beautiful places. Where would you most like to go?”

  “Italy,” she replied without hesitation. “I want to drink wine, eat pasta and paint everything.”

  He chuckled. “By ‘drink wine’ I hope you are not referring to five dollar bottles of White Zinfandel.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “I think I might manage to branch out a little.”

  He grinned with ease. “And do you have a young man to have a romantic adventure with while you are there?”

  She giggled. “No, unfortunately.”

  He frowned. “No one? You have no one you are interested in?”

  “No one I can have is more like it. My best friend Meg’s brother has been the object of my affection for years. Maxim deBoer…” She shook her head and sighed. “He’s married. It sucks.”

  He gave another soft chuckle and began to rub her other foot. “And why is this Maxim deBoer so special?”

  “He’s intelligent, first of all,” she said. “Very literate. He’s a novelist. And he’s quiet and gentle. He isn’t loud and obnoxious and flirty. He’s just…Maxim. He just always seemed so beautiful to me, so genuine and real.” She shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s stupid.”

  “No, it isn’t,” he countered. “Our world is full of fake, shallow people. Depth and uniqueness are refreshing. That’s how you are. Genuine and real. No pretenses. I admire that.”

  She met his eyes and grinned. “Thank you.” For some reason, his words made her feel warm all over.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked.

  “A little better. Just exhausted.” She eased herself up into a sitting position and reached for her water glass. She forced down a few swallows, then turned on the TV. “What do you want to watch?” She flipped blindly through the channels until she recognized a movie she loved. “Oh!” she exclaimed. “V for Vendetta!”

  Traevyn smiled and sat back. “You like political movies about revolution?”

  “I love this movie,” she commented. “Besides, Natalie Portman’s character is named Evey. I mean, come on.”

  He chuckled. “We’ll watch this then.”

  She scooted closer and offered some of the blanket to him. He accepted and they watched a little of the movie before Evie’s eyes started to feel heavy. Without even realizing it, she leaned her head on Traevyn’s shoulder.

  He glanced down at her and put his arm around her. “Put your feet up. Lie down,” he said gently. “I don’t mind.”

  She obeyed and rested her head on his lap. She knew she should feel awkward, but she didn’t. For some reason, when she was with him, it just felt right to her somehow. Natural and easy. Even when he was being sullen and brooding. Even when he was barely speaking. She closed her eyes as she felt his fingers begin to caress her hair. She was starting to realize that she felt the most comfortable with him when he was being warm and gentle. It was rare and fleeting, but she liked it very much.

  * * * *

  Traevyn knew that Evie had fallen asleep, but he remained there for awhile. He watched the movie, but didn’t really pay attention to it. His mind was spinning with the realization that he enjoyed having her close to him, touching him, trusting him. It was troubling.. How? How could she affect him the way she did? He had made himself a recluse, a loner, a cold, dead man. He had done it to protect himself, to keep the pain away. How was it that she made him feel warmth and tenderness without doing anything at all? When had she gone from being an annoyance to being dear? How was it that, when she was around, he felt like he could breathe again instead of feeling like he was suffocating? Maybe because she saw him. Maybe because she saw his art. Maybe because she cared. Or, maybe it was like she had said. She was genuine and real. Whatever it was, it was beautiful.

  He slowly eased Evie off of him and turned the TV off. He gathered her in his arms and carried her up the stairs and down her hallway. Seth apparently heard him coming because he opened his door, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Evie, where—“ Traevyn shushed him softly and he blinked up at him. “Is she okay?”

  He nodded. “She has food poisoning. She’s resting now,” he whispered.

  Seth frowned. “You should have woken me up. Evie doesn’t like to be by herself when she’s sick.”

  “It’s all right. I took care of it. Go back to sleep, Seth.”

  He nodded. “All right. Hey, thanks man.”

  Traevyn gave him a small smile and nodded. He continued into Evie’s room and set her down on the bed. He pulled the covers over her before standing back. He reached down, removed her glasses, folded them, and set them on the nightstand. He took a quick glance at her room and smiled at all the papers and books she had strewn everywhere. Several of them were his. His own art book sat on the dresser and he ran his fingers over it on his way out. With a sigh, he closed the door and headed back down to his bedroom. He still felt empty inside, but he also felt slightly mor
e human than before.

  Chapter Ten

  Traevyn was in the kitchen when Seth trudged in still half asleep and wearing only boxer shorts. He sat down at the table and yawned.

  “Morning, dude,” Seth muttered.

  Traevyn smiled. “Good morning.” He turned back to smearing jelly onto a piece of toast.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Making Evie breakfast,” he replied.

  Seth frowned. “You sure she’s gonna want to eat after barfing her guts out all night?”

  “It’s just toast. And the ginger ale will settle her stomach.”

  Seth nodded, then smiled mischievously. “What did you make me?”

  Traevyn turned his gaze to the teen and raised an eyebrow. He glanced around the kitchen for a moment, then grabbed a banana and threw it to him. “Bon apatite.”

  Seth stared at the banana. “Gee, thanks,” he grumbled.

  Traevyn smirked and carried the plate and glass out of the kitchen and up the stairs. He knocked softly on Evie’s door, figuring that if Seth was awake, she should be awake also.

  “Go bother someone else!” came a shout from within.

  Traevyn raised his eyebrows, then knocked again.

  Evie let out an annoyed snarl. “Why are you knocking, you idiot? What’s the matter with you?”

  He chuckled softly and opened the door just enough to stick his head in. “I beg your pardon, madam. I will leave you in peace shortly.”

  Her eyes widened. “Traevyn!” she cried. “I’m sorry! I thought you were Seth!”

  He opened the door wider and stepped in. “Good to know. I brought you some breakfast.”

  Evie put her hand over her stomach and made a face. She set aside the drawing she had been working on, turning it face down so Traevyn couldn’t see it, and she smoothed her hair self-consciously. It was still bound in the braid he had put it in the night before.

  “How are you feeling this morning?”

  “Like I did about a million crunches.”

  He smiled. “I brought you toast and some ginger ale. The ginger ale should help settle your stomach.”

  She looked up at him and he met her gaze. She smiled, tenderness radiating from her eyes. Traevyn’s heart did something funny at the way she looked at him. Something it was not accustomed to doing. It seemed to stutter like a car engine trying to turn over. It took his breath away and he averted his eyes. He cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Think you can eat?”

  She nodded and reached for the plate. “Thank you. And thank you for being so thoughtful last night. Having you keep me company made me feel better.”

  His lips quirked and he glanced at her sketch pad. “What are you working on?” he asked, reaching for it.

  “Nothing!” she all but shouted, slamming her hand down on top of it.

  He raised an eyebrow and smiled devilishly. “Well, now I have to take a look.”

  “No you don’t. Leave it alone.”

  “I’m supposed to be the master, aren’t I? And you my lowly apprentice. Let me see it.” He reached for it again.

  “Traevyn, come on.” She tried to push his hand away. “I’m just messing around. They’re just stupid sketches. They aren’t even a big deal.”

  He flashed a smile that he knew reflected the mischief he felt. “Then you won’t mind me taking a look.” He grasped the corner of the sketchpad and started to pull it toward him when a pillow met the side of his head. He shook his head, grinned and yanked the sketchpad to him. He dodged Evie’s next swing and stood quickly, sauntering over to the dresser. He leaned nonchalantly against it and gave her a pointed looked. “Eat your breakfast,” he commanded.

  Evie stared at him in dismay. She averted her gaze to her lap and started playing with her fingers.

  Traevyn smirked at her, then opened up the sketchpad and flipped through it absently. There were sketches of various people he didn’t recognize and several of Seth. There was one of his house, which was quite good, and several of the view from the terrace. He turned a page and saw one of himself. He blinked in surprise.

  He was on the terrace with his back turned. It must have been that first night he and Evie had actually shared a conversation. He turned the page and there were more of him. Different angle sketches of his face. When had she done these? Had she silently been watching him from the shadows? He turned the page to see the one she had been working on when he’d come in. It was a larger sketch of him smiling. He peered closer at it. The detail was incredible. It was like looking in a mirror. Although, he was not accustomed to seeing himself smile.

  He glanced up at Evie and smirked at her obvious discomfort. She was doing everything in her power to avoid looking at him. She was actually pretending to be very interested in her toast. He closed the sketchpad and went to set it back down beside her.

  “I have been…uh…trying to work on faces. That’s why there are some of Seth in there. There’s a lot of you because you’re features are so…um, dramatic.” She stole a glance up at him.

  He sat back down on the foot of her bed and smiled. “They are excellent. When did you start the latest one?”

  “This morning,” she murmured.

  He frowned. “What were you drawing off of?” he asked in amazement. “I’m pretty sure I don’t have any pictures lying around with me smiling like that.”

  She wanted to invert. “My…memory,” she all but whispered. She loved to remember his beautiful smile. It was something she liked to revisit and, while he did seem to be smiling more now than before, she had yet to see another grin like the one she had seen on the beach. She wanted to capture the image while she still had the details in her mind.

  He arched an eyebrow. “Your memory? That’s incredible, Evie.”

  She felt her cheeks turn hot. Because she couldn’t think of anything else to do, she flung her pillow at him again. It hit him in the face, then fell in his lap. He blinked and Evie giggled.

  “You’re awfully ornery for being so sick last night,” he commented.

  She shrugged and took another bite of her toast. She couldn’t believe that Traevyn had actually hand-delivered her breakfast. She remembered how kind and attentive he had been to her the night before. She remembered falling asleep on his lap while he stroked her hair, feeling like it was the most natural thing in the world for her to be there. She also knew that he must have carried her to bed because she did not recall getting there herself.

  He cracked a small smile. “Maybe I could sketch you sometime.”

  The bite that Evie had been swallowing lodged in her throat. She looked up at him. Okay, she didn’t know what was wrong with her, but the way he had said that… Soft, gentle, his voice sounding almost like a lover’s caress. It was wrong. How could someone say something so simple and have it come out so sexy? She forced a smile and swallowed her toast with a gulp. “Why in the world would you want to do that?”

  An enigmatic, almost teasing smile flashed across his face. “I want to study your dramatic features.” He stood, anticipating that the pillow he must have sensed was heading his direction again. He chuckled. “No, really. Let me sketch you sometime. All right?”

  She gave a bashful smile. “If you really want to.”

  “It would be good for me to practice faces as well. I haven’t worked on them for some time.” Evie nodded and he sighed. “In a few days I have to go to San Luis Obispo. Some of my work is in a gallery there, and I need to deliver some new paintings. I’d like you to come with me.” She looked up at him with a quizzical expression that made him smile. “It would be good for you to know the ropes of the business end of being an artist as well as the artistic end of it. It’s roughly a three and a half hour drive. We should be there and back in a day.”

  She smiled at the thought that he actually wanted to take her along on something that he was used to doing alone. The knowledge that he had even thought of her made her feel like he actually considered her worthy of being his apprentice. “When are we go
ing?” she asked.

  He smiled. “Wednesday. Three days from now.”

  She nodded. “All right, it’s a date!”

  His smile faded and he paled considerably.

  Her cheeks burned. “Well, not a date like a date…obviously.” She swallowed and looked down. “I just meant…” She shook her head. “Yes, Wednesday sounds good.” She plastered a smile on her lips.

  His smile seemed slightly pained, but he nodded. “All right. I will leave you in peace. Take it easy today. Rest.”

  She nodded. “Thanks again for breakfast.” He gave a little bow, which made her giggle. Then, he turned and left.

  Evie spent the rest of the day lounging, watching television, and taking it easy, just like Traevyn had said. She figured she had earned it. She didn’t make dinner either, much to Seth’s dismay. In an attempt to be nice, he had made pancakes, but they had come out burnt on the outside and goopy in the middle. Traevyn actually managed to down two of them, which made Evie think he was either really hungry or a lot nicer than she gave him credit for.

  The next two days went by fairly normal and Tuesday night found Evie and Seth in the living room as they watched a terrible martial arts movie. Seth burst out laughing at a cheesy part and Evie grinned. She knew she should go to bed. She and Traevyn had to get up early to leave the next morning, but she wasn’t tired. Besides, she could always sleep in the car.

  “Oh my gosh!” Seth cried. “Did you see the way that guy just punched? That looked so gay!”

  Evie smirked. “Like you could do better,” she teased.

  Seth frowned, then delivered a mean punch right into her shoulder. Her eyes bulged and she grasped at her now dead arm. “Oh my gosh!” she cried. “That hurt so bad!” She turned to her brother to retaliate, but he was quickly retreating. “Come back here!” she shouted, jumping up after him.

  Seth laughed as he continued to evade her, but he wasn’t fast enough and Evie shoved him. He stumbled backwards into a book case that was against one of the walls. It sent a vase wobbling on top and two large photo albums tumbled to the floor. One of them landed open. The other one had a wedding picture of Traevyn and his wife on the front. Evie blinked in surprise and stared down at the picture. He looked so happy, blissful even. She knelt down and picked the album up, running her fingers across the front. “Traevyn’s wedding album,” she murmured.