Whatever He Wants (30 page)

 
     
"You could be right, but I wouldn’t
mind checking it out to see what the fuss is about. Let’s take a look.”

 
     
“Sure.” He escorted her over and as he got
closer, James could see why people marveled at the statue that looked damn
close to the original. It wasn’t a statue at all, but a cake. He could smell
the cloying sweetness of the artistic concoction. Surrounding the life-sized
cake were five more cakes. They were round layered cakes with a smaller layer
stacked on top on the next. Each one was painted with a famous work. James
immediately recognized Munch’s
The Scream
,
Van Gogh’s
Starry Night
, and Grant’s
American
Gothic
.
Whoever created these marvels had managed to overshadow the rest of the art.

 
     
“This is amazing,” Eleanor gasped.
"I’ve seen fancy cakes before but this is top notch. Susan went all out
with this opening.”

 
     
“They’re almost too fancy to cut into,”
one of the patrons murmured.

 
     
“But they smell so good,” someone else
mentioned.

 
     
James too was fascinated by the culinary
art, but something drew his attention away from his observations. He had the
feeling he was being watched. James looked around and then froze. Standing
several feet away and looking in his direction with a wide-eyed stare was
Noelle. She’d haunted his dreams for the last several months. Surely this was
all in his imagination.

 
     
Just to make sure this wasn’t an illusion,
he shook his head to clear it of any daydreams, but there she stood. The long
hair she used to sport was now replaced with short, soft-looking curls that
hugged her scalp. Her face bore only a minimal amount of makeup and she wore a
modest little black dress that still managed to lovingly hug her curves,
showing them off to her advantage. She looked more beautiful than he
remembered. Noelle reminded him of the day he’d first met her, innocence and
sensuality mixed in one ball of temptation. His body immediately reacted to
her.  As if on
their own
volition, his feet moved
toward her.

 
     
It was then Noelle backed away with a
shake of her head. James halted in an instant when Paul appeared by her side,
shooting him a glare that could melt ice. The blond man casually slung his arm
around Noelle’s shoulder and James wanted to rip that arm off for daring to
touch Noelle. She was still his, dammit!

 
     
But then James remembered.  He’d
fucked things up with her so badly he didn’t have the right to be angry. Besides,
with Eleanor next to him, it would have made him an even bigger ass to act on
his emotions.

 
     
Their gazes remained locked however.
Noelle was frozen like a deer caught in headlights and he couldn’t look away
even if his life depended on it. Finally what seemed like an eternity, Paul
steered Noelle away until she was out of sight.

 
     
 
“She looks familiar,” Eleanor casually noted.

 
     
“Excuse me?” he asked, still looking in
the direction Noelle had been. He wondered what Noelle was doing here with Paul. 
The sight of those two together tormented him far worse than anything he’d
experienced before.

 
     
“The woman you were staring at. She looks
familiar. I think I’ve seen her before but I can’t figure out where.”

 
     
James felt guilty he couldn’t give Eleanor
the attention she deserved. “I’m sorry, Eleanor.”

 
     
“
It’s
okay,
James. We never pretended this was a love match did we? Anyway, I’m trying to
place where I’ve seen her before. I’m almost sure I’ve had a conversation with
her.”

 
     
Where could those two have interacted?
James had always been careful to keep his worlds separate. Before he could
reply they were joined by Eleanor’s friend.

 
     
“Eleanor, sweetie!
It’s so good to see you.” The tall brunette greeted.

 
     
Eleanor turned to her friend and the two
women hugged and air kissed each other’s cheeks. “James, I’d like you to meet
my friend, Susan. This is her gallery.”

 
     
James took Susan’s hand in a friendly
handshake.
“Pleased to meet you.”

 
     
"Likewise.”
Susan grinned at Eleanor. “He’s even more handsome in person than in the
paper.” She winked at James before releasing the firm grip she had on his hand.

 
     
“Everything looks great, Susan,” Eleanor
complimented.

 
     
“Thank you! Tonight has been a hit. I was
surprised when you RSVP’d. I would have completely understood if you couldn’t
make it so I’m thrilled you did. How’s your father, by the way?”

 
     
“His condition is stable. Thanks for
asking.”

 
     
“Please let me know if there’s anything I
can do for you. And send my love to your mother. This can’t be easy for her, I’m
sure.”

 
     
“It’s not easy for any of us.”

 
     
 
“How is your father’s health affecting your
wedding plans?”

 
     
It was obvious to James that Susan wasn’t
the most sensitive of people but he remained silent during the exchange.

 
     
“Actually, we’ve postponed the wedding
until Daddy makes a full recovery.”

 
     
“Oh, well, of course. That seems like the
sensible thing to do but don’t make this handsome devil wait too long.” The
brunette batted her eyes flirtatiously at James.

 
     
James smiled politely, trying to pay attention
to the conversation but he couldn’t stop thinking about Noelle.

 
     
Eleanor tactfully changed the
conversation. “I see quite a few art critics here. That must be exciting.”

 
     
“Yes, and sales have been fabulous. I
fought tooth and nail to keep the gallery in the divorce and I’m sure Timothy
is eating his heart out. He didn’t want it anyway. He just didn’t want me to
have it, the bastard. I hope that little slut he’s with now takes him for every
cent he has. I hear he didn’t make her sign a
prenup
.
What an idiot. The girl is trash and will bleed him dry. You know what they
say, you can take the girl out of the trailer park but you can’t take the
trailer park out of the girl.”

 
     
The more she talked the less James liked
Susan Fontaine. Eleanor thankfully switched topics again. “So where did you get
these cakes? I’ve never seen anything like them before.”

 
     
Susan gushed. “Aren’t they the bee’s
knees, darling? I think the cakes are getting more attention than the art,” she
laughed. “I took a chance on someone new and it paid off. The baker was just
here a few seconds before I walked over. I was actually going to thank her for
the display. I guess I’ll have to catch her partner Paul later.”

 
     
This latter part of the conversation
caught James attention. “Paul Winters?”

 
     
“Yes? Are you familiar with him?” Susan
asked.

 
     
“Yes.”  James answered without
offering any explanation. So Noelle had made the cakes. He knew she liked to
bake and was aware of her artistic talents, but he never could have imagined
she was capable of something so extraordinary. And it shamed him that he’d
wasted the chance to learn more about her beyond his own selfish needs. 

 
     
He was thankful when Susan finally excused
herself.

 
     
“James, I can see you’re not really into
this and honestly I’m anxious to see how my father is doing. Can we leave?”

 
     
“Yes.”

 
     
“I just need to run to the powder room,
okay?”

 
     
“No problem.”

 
     
As he waited for Eleanor to return, Noelle
came into his line of vision again. She was headed toward the exit and Paul was
nowhere in sight. James couldn’t let this opportunity get away from him. He
didn’t know what he would say to her but he had to be close to her again, even
for a few seconds.

 
     
Noelle could feel his eyes on her before
she saw him. No one could make goose bumps form along her skin or the hairs
stand on the back of her neck without even touching her except James. Seeing
him at the gallery tonight had stunned her to the point where she couldn’t
function. If Paul had not come along and practically pulled her away from where
she’d stood, Noelle would still be rooted to the spot.

 
     
He looked every bit as handsome as she
remembered. But there were also subtle differences to his appearance. He wore
his hair slightly longer than she remembered and his face looked slightly gaunt
denoting a recent weight loss. One thing that hadn’t changed was how intensely
his stare seared right through her. As he held her under his gaze, just like
that Noelle became the same weak-kneed girl she’d been upon their first
meeting.

 
     
Only when Paul ushered her away was she
able to breathe again. After hyperventilating in the bathroom for several
minutes she was determined to make a quick exit from the party. She made her
apologies to Paul who offered to take her home, but she knew how much this
gallery opening meant to their business so she made him promise to stay behind.

 
     
She was almost out the door when James’s
hand fell on her shoulder. His touch practically scorched her skin. Noelle
couldn’t turn around. She didn’t have the courage to face him. She’d imagined
this scenario in her head over and over again where she’d be confident enough
to tell him to fuck off but instead she was trembling like a leaf.

 
     
Mustering up enough bravado as she could,
Noelle took a deep breath and shook his hand off her shoulder, forcing her legs
to move until she was outside. Noelle only stopped when she was several feet
away from the building. The scent of James’s cologne wafted to her nostril. He
smelled so damn good. She silently prayed for the strength to make it through
this confrontation without making a total fool of
herself
.

 
     
“Hello, Noelle.”

 
     
She’d forgotten how his dulcet tone made
her shiver. Slowly she turned to face him.
“James, what a
surprise.”
  She forced herself to sound nonchalant even though she
felt far from it.

 
     
“Yes, it is.” He hesitated in his response
almost as if he didn’t know what to say to her. “You look, well, beautiful actually.”

 
     
When they had been lovers a compliment
like that would have been enough to melt
her,
however
she remembered the drop dead gorgeous redhead at his side. Squaring her
shoulders, she raised her chin and met his gaze.  “So does your fiancée.
Shouldn’t you be in there with her? Heaven forbid you’re seen in public with
me.”

 
     
“Don’t.”

 
     
“Don’t what? Say out loud what you never
actually did but showed me in every way possible? I wasn’t good enough then so
don’t come to me now like we’re old buddies with things to catch up on. I’m not
even sure why you followed me out here.”

 
     
“I…I wanted to see you.”

 
     
“Right, because it doesn’t matter what I
want even if that’s to be left alone. James, I just can’t with you. I’m going
to walk away now and I don’t want you to follow me.” She attempted to leave
while she still had the will, but James caught her arm in his grasp.

 
     
“Let go,” she hissed getting angry. How
dare he even approach her when his fiancée was still inside? “Aren’t you
forgetting someone?”

 
     
“Eleanor isn’t the jealous type.”