When the Billionaire Begs novel · Chapter 18 of 24

Chapter 18: The Opening Night

I did not wear the ivory dress.

I wore a deep green one that I had bought myself.

Stellan wore a dark suit that made me forget my own name for a second.

"Ready?" he asked outside the gallery.

"No."

"Good. Neither am I."

We walked in together.

The main hall of the Biennial was full of candlelight and soft talk.

My painting hung on the far wall under its own light.

The Empty Chair, on its rainy corner, with the streetlamp.

Strangers stood in front of it with their heads tilted.

A woman near me whispered, "She painted that after her mother's stroke," and I had to look away.

Our table was at the front.

Veronica already sat at the head of it in a pale silk dress and pearls.

A glass of white wine stood at her elbow.

Carlton sat beside her.

He was thinner, and he stood up when he saw me, and for once he said nothing at all.

"Claire, dear," Veronica said warmly. "How lovely. Stellan, sit by me."

"I'll sit by Claire," Stellan said.

"As you like."

I took the chair across from her and put the folded florist's card on the tablecloth between us.

The silver ink caught the candle.

Veronica looked at it, and her smile stayed exactly where it was.

"Not here, dear," she said. "It's a celebration."

"I think here is fine."

The lights dimmed on the dais.

A man in a tuxedo tapped a microphone and welcomed the guests.

He thanked the sponsors, and the Harlow Fund, and then he said, "And now our most generous patron, Mrs. Veronica Keswick."

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