Dark Masterpiece (Serendipity Series 3) (2 page)

Maxim gave a shy smile and waved it away as
if it wasn’t important.

Alyx rolled her eyes. “He’s too modest. Evie,
have you met our friend, Javan?” She indicated the blond man she
had been talking to.

Evie nodded. “Once, I think.” She shook his
hand and he flashed her a bright grin. She sighed and lapsed into
thought as she took a seat in one of the deck chairs. She had
always adored Meg’s family and the circle they ran in. Everyone was
always so nice and accepting. She felt warm every time she was
around them, like she belonged somewhere.

“How has college been treating you, Evie?”
Maxim’s soft voice asked.

Her stomach flipped, and she turned to meet
his eyes. “Good… Running me ragged. You know, the usual.” She
smiled.

“You’re an art major, right?”

She nodded, impressed that he had
remembered.

“You should let us see your new work
sometime,” Alyx said. “Maybe you could sell some paintings to my
brother and spice up his boring house.”

Evie grinned and glanced over to where
Alyx’s brother was talking to Jeff at the barbeque. They seemed to
be having an argument over something that suddenly resulted in an
enormous amount of flame spiraling up from the barbeque, which sent
Jeff running. After a moment, he approached the grill, stunned. He
glanced inside, then scowled at Alyx’s brother, who was laughing.
He promptly started to beat him with the spatula.

Evie laughed. Alexi Oncidezzerro, Jeff’s law
partner and quite a stud himself. She gave a thoughtful frown. He
was tall, muscled, and handsome in a very refined sort of way… She
could always go after him.

Evie had always been a geek in school, and
had been made fun of and teased until college. She had never been
one of those slender, blonde goddesses that all the guys went
after. She was very petite and very voluptuous. Her waist was thin
and she was not overweight, but her curves would put an hourglass
to shame. Her hair was thick and dark with blonde chunks and her
face was attractive, but not amazingly so. She was one of those
girls everyone classified as “cute.” Not beautiful, not stunning.
Just “cute.” She was the perfect little sister, best friend type,
not the hot, steamy sex type. She had accepted this long ago, but
somehow, when she was with the deBoers and their friends, she felt
beautiful. They had always made her feel beautiful. And they
validated her passion for art, which was something she rarely
got.

Anyone pursuing the arts
for a career was always looked down upon by those pursuing
normal
careers. Med
students, accountants, business majors. But Maxim was a novelist
and Alyx and Javan were actors for the Oregon Shakespeare Company.
The arts were recognized and accepted among the deBoers.

“Evelina.”

Evie bristled and was brought out of her
thoughts by the cold, dead, irritating voice of Barrett deBoer. He
was the only one who ever insisted on calling her by her full name.
She grudgingly looked up at him and sighed. “Barrett.”

He smiled as much as Barrett could smile,
which actually made him look as if his face might crack at any
given moment. He sat down next to her. “You haven’t been to my
store lately,” he said. “It hurts my feelings.”

She forced a smile. “Well, Barrett, I’ve
been busy.” He managed a bookstore downtown, which she avoided at
all costs. Barrett was not like his fantastic family. He barely
smiled and, when he did, it mostly always resembled a slithering
smirk. He was cynical and cold and… Well, he was a jerk. There was
no other way to put it.

“Meg has time to come in and see me,” he
continued, “and she’s a physics major. You’re just an art major and
you have no time for me?”

She scowled. “Surprisingly, I have a lot
that keeps me busy. Even with me being a mere, lowly art major.
Besides, Meg is your sister. She‘s family. She has to put up with
you. I, however, don‘t.”

“Hey! Food’s ready!” Jeff shouted. “Everyone
come and get it!”

“Yeah, if anyone finds hair in their meat
it’s just Jeff’s eyebrows that he singed off!” Alexi called.
Laughter followed.

Evie took the opportunity given and fled,
seeking refuge at the picnic table where Javan, Meg and Alexi were
already sitting. She took a seat next to Meg and did her best to
flash an alluring smile at Javan and Alexi. Alexi smiled back, but
Javan seemed preoccupied with heaping food onto his plate. The
others started to file over and Evie realized in sudden horror that
the seat on the other side of her was still empty. She met Jeff’s
eyes as he set the plate of hamburgers down on the table and tried
to gesture for him to come and sit next to her, hoping to convey
the desperation she felt.

Jeff frowned in confusion and mouthed,
“What?” to her.

She tried to point to the seat next to her
again without having to actually stand up and flail her arms like a
flight attendant. Unfortunately, she was unsuccessful. Barrett took
a seat right beside her. She heaved a sigh and flashed Jeff a
disgruntled look.

Jeff finally understood what she’d been
trying to say. He winced and put his hand over his heart. “Sorry,”
he muttered.

Evie started to serve herself, engaging Meg
in conversation so she wouldn’t have to talk to Barrett. Soon
everyone was sitting down and laughing, sharing stories and
pleasant conversation. Jeff gave a speech about Maxim’s book and
how proud he was of his brother, causing Maxim to turn several
shades of red.

Evie listened to Javan and Alyx talk about
the new play they were working on, and Jeff related embarrassing
stories of Maxim. Alyx and Javan recalled humorous stories of a
trip they had taken with Maxim two years ago. These stories were
classics. They were always told. Evie had heard them several times
before, but she never grew tired of them. It was her greatest
dream, next to being an artist, to have a close-knit group of
family and friends. Her family had never really been close. Her
parents were always away on business, and she and her younger
brother really had no relationship at all. Her parents had always
provided for them, but they had never really been close. Not like
Meg’s.

“So Evie, tell us about your painting,” Jeff
said suddenly. “How is it coming? Sell anything yet?”

She smiled and felt her cheeks burn with a
blush. “Oh gosh, no. I’m just trying to make it through school
alive. Besides, I do mostly sketches anyway.”

“You’re going to try and sell your things
after you graduate, aren’t you?” Alyx asked. “You’re so
talented.”

Evie gave a shy smile. “I would like to make
a living out of my artwork, yes.”

Barrett snorted. “There is no future in
being a starving artist,” he muttered.

“Well Evie won’t be a starving artist,” Alyx
retorted. “She is much too talented to be overlooked. She’ll be
making millions and living in Paris while you are still scraping by
on your used paperbacks.”

Barrett scowled at Alyx, but Evie
grinned.

“Still,” Barrett said, “life shouldn’t be all
about work.” He turned to fix his gaze on Evie. “You should get out
once in awhile, have some fun.” He raised a suggestive eyebrow at
her.

She sighed. “I have plenty of fun,
thanks.”

Jeff rolled his eyes. “Barrett, why do you
insist on trying to pick up on Evie? It’s apparent she is not
interested. Why do you continue to harass her?”

Barrett looked at Evie again and smiled.
“Well, because. She’s intelligent.” He gave an indifferent shrug.
“I mean, she’s no perfect ten to look at, but her mind makes up for
any physical imperfections.”

Evie blinked and the table went silent.

“Barrett, you just hit your all time low,”
Meg muttered, flinging her fork down onto her plate in
irritation.

He drew his dark brows together in a frown.
“What? I think brains are much better than beauty. That was a
compliment.”

Evie stood and turned to look at Barrett.
She smiled sweetly. “Barrett, thank you for complimenting me on my
intelligence. It will make the sting of rejection easier for you to
bear knowing that I used my superb judgment in doing this.” She
picked up her half full glass of lemonade and flung it at him. She
then turned and strode away, furious tears burning behind her eyes.
Javan had burst into uproarious laughter behind her over the sticky
liquid dripping from Barrett’s dark hair and undoubtedly bewildered
face. She ignored it and continued toward the house.

“Evie!” Maxim’s voice called after her.
“Evie, hold on a minute.”

She stopped on the deck and folded her arms
as he caught up to her. She turned just enough to see Meg
apparently ripping Barrett another one.

“Evie, I’m sorry about my brother,” Maxim
said. “He’s an idiot.”

She looked up into Maxim’s gentle eyes and
sighed. “It’s all right.”

He frowned. “No, it’s not. Look, Evie,
you’re beautiful. Don’t let anyone ever try to tell you otherwise.”
His smile was soft.

Evie’s heart turned over and gave a small
smile. “Thanks, Maxim.” She wished she could stay a little longer,
but she was sick of Barrett, and she didn’t feel like fighting him
off all night long. Besides, she knew Maxim was only saying those
things because he was nice. “Hey, I’m really tired,” she said. “I
think I’m going to go home.”

He frowned. “Please don’t leave because of
Barrett. He really is a complete imbecile.”

She smiled again. Maxim was so sweet. Alyx
was such a lucky woman. “No, I have to study for my finals
tomorrow.”

“Okay, well thanks for coming.”

She nodded. “Of course! Congratulations on
your book! Tell Meg I’ll see her tomorrow. One of you can give her
a lift home, right?”

He nodded and smiled as she departed.

Evie sighed and made her way through the
house and to her car.

She knew Barrett was a jerk, but he had
still managed to destroy her evening. She knew she wasn’t
beautiful, but she didn’t need it pointed out in front of all the
people she admired the most. It was humiliating. He had embarrassed
her completely.

She got in her car and started toward home.
She wondered if anyone would ever think she was beautiful. She
doubted it. She supposed she would have to get by on her brains and
her talent… Since that was apparently all she had going for
her.

Chapter Two

Evie had never been more relieved to end a
semester in all her life. She headed for the main entrance of the
building the way a prisoner being set free might head for the
prison exit. It had been a rough, rigorous semester and she was all
too happy to put it behind her.

She stopped in the foyer
and admired the huge oil painting decorating the wall. It was a
Traevyn Whitelaw original. He had graduated from Southern Oregon
University and many of his paintings adorned the walls. This one
was, by far, her favorite. It was entitled
Innerworkings of a Creative Soul
and
it was basically an abstract of blues, purples and black all
swirling in a cauldron of chaos. Everyone interpreted it as the
artist’s passion, that the painting was how the artist viewed his
own creativity and drive. Basically, he had so much swirling around
inside of him that it was an unorganized and chaotic chasm of
beauty.

Evie had always thought differently. When
she looked hard at the painting she noticed that the black shades
and dark purples seemed to form abstract and contorted shapes that
reminded her of a man screaming. Everyone said the painting was a
reflection of passion and creation. Evie had always felt it was a
reflection of the deepest kind of sorrow. She had no foundation on
which to base her theory. It had always just been what she
felt.

“Evie!” a jolly voice called suddenly. “Oh,
I’m so glad I found you!”

She turned to see her Art History and
Painting professor hurrying toward her. He had a wide grin on his
round face.

“Evie,” he said, “I read your paper on
Traevyn Whitelaw.”

Evie groaned. Great. She’d probably failed
miserably.

Her professor chuckled. “No, no, it was
quite good. Actually, you scored the highest grade in the class.
Traevyn Whitelaw is an elusive artist to write a paper on. I was
very impressed.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Are you serious?”

He nodded, still grinning. “Evie, you are my
most promising student. Your love for art is apparent in everything
you do. As you know, I myself taught Mr. Whitelaw when he attended
SOU. We have kept in touch over the years.”

Evie smiled, wondering what this really had
to do with anything. It was fascinating, but the thought of falling
onto her bed and not moving for the next hundred years seemed much
more appealing to her at the moment.

“I spoke with him at the beginning of the
semester about perhaps taking one of my students over the summer as
an apprentice,” her professor continued. “He agreed, and I have
been carefully monitoring everyone since then.” He put his palms
together. “I have decided it should be you, Evie.”

Her eyes bulged and she was sure her jaw
dropped clear to the floor. “W—What?” she squeaked.

“You have the highest grade in class, work
the hardest, and it is apparent that you admire Mr. Whitelaw’s work
very much.”

Admired? She practically worshipped the man.
She had prints of his paintings everywhere in her apartment and the
collector’s edition of his coffee table art book. She was obsessed
with him. His work was beautiful and vibrant, full of deep meaning
and symbolism. In her opinion, he was the greatest artist of all
time, hands down. She blinked slowly, having trouble comprehending
what Professor Roth had just said. “Y—you want me to be
his…apprentice?”

He nodded. “You would live with him for the
summer and learn from the master himself.”