Let Me Be The One (30 page)
“I’ve recently heard that there is a year-long residency opportunity in Italy for a sculptor. Does that sound like something you might be interested in?”
The woman’s eyes grew big. “Are you kidding? I’d jump on a plane to Italy in a heartbeat. There isn’t one single thing tying me to San Francisco.”
Whereas, everything in the world that mattered to Vicki was right here.
As they exchanged contact information and Vicki promised to make the call to the museum as soon as the awards ceremony was over, she finally realized she hadn’t introduced the woman to Ryan.
“Kris, this is my
fiancé
, Ryan Sullivan.”
She was the first woman Vicki had ever met that didn’t look like she wanted to eat him up as she said hello. It made Vicki like her even more.
After she walked away, Vicki said, “I really hope I can help make the residency work out for her.”
Ryan pulled her closer. “You’re amazing.”
“She needs Italy. I don’t.”
He was bending down to kiss her when they realized Anthony was standing right in front of them.
“Looks like I finally get to meet my replacement.”
There was a wide smile on her ex-husband’s face as he held out his hand for Ryan to shake, one Vicki recognized as false. Anthony’s sculptor’s hands had drawn her in from the start, but now, as she watched the two men’s hands come together, she was struck by how small and pale Anthony's were.
He leaned in to give her a kiss on each cheek, as if to indicate that there were no hard feelings. It was surprisingly easy to let him play the benevolent ex-husband when he meant so little to her now.
Especially when she knew he’d never have the power to hurt her again.
“No,” she told her ex in a perfectly pleasant voice, “Ryan isn’t your replacement. You were right when you said I’d never find anyone like you, Anthony.”
With that, she turned her full attention to the man she loved, who loved her back every bit as much. “You’re so much more to me, Ryan.”
And if she couldn’t help but feel a tiny little rush of pleasure at Anthony having to watch his ex-wife’s big, strong, gorgeous pro-baseball-playing
fiancé
claim her mouth in the middle of the museum floor, well, she was only human after all...
When they finally came up for air, Anthony had taken his position on the stage with the rest of the board. The stage lights were bright and nerves fairly vibrated off the walls from the dozens of artists hoping to win a fellowship position. Fellowships would be awarded tonight to one painter, one photographer, one digital artist, one clothing designer, one mixed-media artist, and one sculptor.
As they began to announce the winners one by one, Vicki’s hands grew sore from clapping so hard, especially when Anne’s name was called. Not only were her clothing designs brilliant, but she’d also created all of the textiles from scratch.
Anne winked at her from the stage and Vicki hugged Ryan even tighter. “I’m so glad we came tonight. I wouldn’t have wanted to miss seeing her win.”
Finally, they were down to Vicki's category. Anthony came forward holding a thick white envelope.
“It was a great honor to be asked to join the fellowship board this year. Some magical essence in San Francisco’s salty air not only makes the sourdough bread unparalleled, but it seems to have worked the same magic on all of you. In the thirty years that I have been invited to judge similar competitions, I can honestly say that I have never seen such an impressive group of projects.”
Events like this, Vicki had to admit, were where Anthony excelled. Up on stage, he was both confident in his position and generous with his compliments. And the truth was, she wouldn’t have married him if he hadn’t had any redeeming qualities. She didn’t doubt that he’d loved her. He simply hadn’t had the capacity to love her right.
“Every board member agreed that the winner’s sculpture was not only risky and engaging to the senses, but also beautifully and skillfully executed.
I’m extremely pleased to present this year’s sculpting fellowship to Victoria Bennett!”
As
ANCHOR
was brought to sit on a table beside the lectern and lit with another spotlight, Ryan leaned over and whispered, “Just like I’ve always known. You’re brilliant.”
She hadn’t prepared for this moment, hadn’t thought there was any chance of her winning the fellowship with James and Anthony voting. She probably would have stood there with her mouth hanging open in surprise if Ryan hadn’t put his hands on her waist and said, “Go be a superstar. It’s your turn this time,” before giving her a gentle nudge toward the stage.
The applause turned deafening as she made her way up to the stage. She’d searched for validation for so long that even though she no longer needed it because she’d finally learned to believe in herself, she let it feel good anyway.
Really good.
Vicki took the envelope and the pretty little statue from Anthony. She’d never been particularly comfortable speaking in front of groups of people, but tonight, with Ryan—and the friends she’d made—cheering her on, she felt steadier than she ever had before.
“I thought I knew exactly why I got on the plane in Prague to come to San Francisco. I wanted to win the fellowship, of course, but it was more than that. I believed I needed it.”
She looked down at the trophy and envelope in her hands for a long moment before gazing back out into the crowd of important curators and collectors and fellow artists, all the people she’d been so hoping to impress tonight.
“But I was wrong.”
She turned to look back at Anne, who was standing behind her on the stage. “Coming to San Francisco was about making good friends.” She looked out into the audience at Ryan. “It was about going back into the past to find new love.” He blew her a kiss she swore she could feel land on her cheek. “And it was about finding out what I’m capable of.” She ran her hand over
ANCHOR. “
I’m proud of the work that I’ve done here. Really proud.”
She smiled at each of the board members, wanting to acknowledge their recent support. “Thank you very much for choosing me this year, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to accept the fellowship.”
As she turned and handed her trophy and envelope to Anthony, then picked up her sculpture, it occurred to her that the last time she’d seen him look that surprised, she was telling him she was leaving him.
She knew accepting the fellowship would be good for her career, but from here on out, she wanted her sculpting career to reflect passion and joy, not be a reminder of the darkness into which James had tried to pull her.
Vicki had faith that other opportunities would come her way. And until then...
She walked into Ryan’s open arms, her winning sculpture cradled between them. He grinned down at her. “Can I drive you home?”
The years immediately disappeared until it was just the two of them again, a girl and a boy who had become friends in an instant...and who would end up sharing the rest of their lives together.
“Sure,” she said, “if you don’t have anywhere else you have to be.”
He put his arm around her shoulder and walked beside her. “Nothing more important than hanging out with my best friend.”
They were halfway across the room when she felt her phone buzz in her purse. She handed her sculpture to Ryan so that she could pull it out of her bag. She was surprised by the name on the screen.
“Smith is calling me. Do you have any idea why?”
Ryan shook his head. “Nope. He hasn’t said anything to me.”
She picked up. “Hi, Smith. If you need Ryan, he’s right here.”
“You’re the one I’m looking for, Vicki, and I’m really glad I got you. Any chance you could drop by the set first thing tomorrow morning? I’ve got the set designer coming in and we both need to sit down with you to discuss the pieces we’ll need for the movie.”
She’d felt perfectly calm while dealing with Anthony and turning down the fellowship. Only now did she feel like her head was spinning and her fingertips were buzzing.
She recognized that feeling.
Inspiration.
“I’d love to meet with both of you, Smith. Thanks for the opportunity.”
“I’m the one that should be thanking you for agreeing to jump into the deep end so fast. I’ll text you the details for the meeting. Bring a piece that represents your style, okay?”
She looked at her sculpture in Ryan's arms. “I’ve got just the one. See you tomorrow morning.”
“I’m going to work with Smith and his set designer on his new film. You didn’t have anything to do with that, did you?”
“Trust me,” Ryan said as she slid her phone back into her purse and he handed
ANCHOR
back to her
.
“Smith takes his movies way too seriously to do anyone a favor. He wants you on his movie because you’re the best.”
She was about to press a kiss to his lips when a gray-haired man stepped in front of her. “Ms. Bennett, I’d like to introduce myself. I’m the curator for the Marina Gallery in Sausalito. We’re very interested in your work.”
And with that, Ryan stood proudly beside Vicki while she finally had her day in the sun.
Epilogue
Three weeks later...
The whole crew was at Smith’s house and there was nothing he liked more than sitting back and watching the mayhem created by his brothers and sisters and their significant others and kids and stepkids and dogs. Only Ryan, who was pitching in Detroit, and Vicki weren’t there.
“Everyone, this is it!” Lori called out. “If he nails this pitch, we win the World Series!”
Even the animals quieted down as Ryan looked in for the sign from the catcher, shook off the first two, then nodded yes to the third. He went into his windup and broke off a slow curve that split the plate in half. The batter was completely fooled, the bat frozen on his shoulder.
“Strike three!”
On the screen, even as the Hawks' players charged out of the dugout then jumped on each other like little boys in a sandbox, Ryan's entire focus was on Vicki as he blew a kiss up to her in the stands.
Lori hugged Megan and Summer. Chase and Chloe danced with baby Emma between them. Marcus and Nicola used the win as yet another excuse to kiss each other. Zach and Heather tried to calm down their overexcited dogs while Summer’s poodle puppy peed in the middle of one of Smith’s priceless Aubusson rugs. A very pregnant-with-twins Sophie and Jake stayed right where they were on the couch and everyone came over to hug and high-five them.
Smith danced his mother, Mary, into the kitchen. Together, they pulled several bottles of Marcus’s finest champagne out of his wine refrigerator, along with a couple of bottles of sparkling apple juice for Sophie and Summer.
More cheers rang out as they popped open the corks. Once every glass was filled high enough for bubbles to skid across Smith’s kitchen counter and everyone had a glass, Lori said, “To Ryan for winning the World Series!”
“And for winning Vicki’s heart, too,” Sophie pointedly added.
Everyone clinked to that, then relaxed back into their seats.
“So,” Chase asked as he put down his glass and bounced his adorable little girl on his knee, “how’s casting going?”
“Good,” Smith said. “We’ve just signed Tatiana Landon.”
“She was amazing in
Midnight Lake
,” Chloe said.
“And she seems so sweet in her interviews,” Heather added.
“I think she’s pretty,” Summer said. “Can I meet her?”
He ruffled her hair. “Of course you can.”
His family was right. Tatiana was a talented, sweet, and beautiful twenty-one-year-old actress. Funny, then, that he hadn’t given her a second thought since they’d signed the contracts.
No, it was Tatiana’s older sister he couldn’t stop thinking about.
Valentina Landon was a watchdog for her younger sister...and she clearly didn’t trust him—or like him—one bit.
Smith had never let a woman distract him from his work. And given the fact that he was finally directing, producing, and starring in a movie in his home town, his focus was tighter than ever.
Still, none of that stopped him from wondering about what lay beneath Valentina Landon's armor as he grabbed a roll of paper towels from the kitchen then got down on his knees beside Summer to help her clean up the mess the poodle puppy had made of his rug.
~ THE END ~
Don’t miss the first five books in Bella Andre’s Sullivan family series ~ out now!
(Chase & Chloe, The Sullivans #1)
(Marcus & Nicola, The Sullivans #2)
(Gabe & Megan, The Sullivans #3)
(Sophie & Jake, The Sullivans #4)
(Zach & Heather, The Sullivans #5)
Watch for Book #7 coming this Winter!
COME A LITTLE BIT CLOSER
(Smith Sullivan’s story)
* * *
Please enjoy the following excerpts from Bella Andre’s books...
IF YOU WERE MINE
Zach & Heather – The Sullivans #5
© 2012 Bella Andre
Can two people who have both sworn off love find forever in each other's arms?
The last thing Zach Sullivan wants is to take care of his brother's new puppy for two weeks. Until he meets the dog trainer, that is. Heather is bright, beautiful, and he can't stop thinking about her. Unfortunately, she just might be the only woman on earth who wants nothing to do with him.