about the Silhouette Gallery screamed Lorenzo Bennett’s name. From the high ceilings to the pure white walls and the smoky-gray moldings, it was chic and understated, masculine and smooth, artistic and unique.
The outside of the building was deceiving, sturdy brick with no flare and no excitement. Just above the swinging glass doors the simple word Silhouette was scrawled in bold black script letters. The moment she entered, the clean lines and sharp angles greeted her. A pewter winding staircase shocked her as she found herself traveling to what should have been the basement, but was actually the main showroom.
Stone-gray marble floors and recessed lighting flanked her as she walked through absorbing either canvases on the walls or statues on podiums. It was class personified and Bree was simply amazed.
Renny walked beside her, afraid to ask what was going through that mind of hers. She always seemed to surprise him, so he decided he’d let her comment on her own.
“This is extraordinary, Renny. Did you do all this by yourself?” Bree finally said.
“I’d like to think I had a hand in it, as well.” Clicking heels and a sultry female voice interrupted the twosome.
Bree turned in the direction of the sound and nearly swallowed her tongue as she was faced with the most gorgeous female creature she’d ever seen. She had to be at least five feet eleven inches to six feet tall, limbs as fluid as liquid draped in a red crepe slip dress that accentuated her honey-toned skin. Bold, blond tresses cascaded past her shoulders while her flawless makeup let you know she was serious about her appearance. Her gaze briefly swept past Bree before resting comfortably on Renny.
“You’re late,” she said as her long arms twined around his neck, pulling him close for a hug.
Renny reciprocated. “I got caught up at the foundry. Is everything going okay?”
The hug was complete, but her arm stayed around his neck in a proprietary fashion that wasn’t totally lost on Bree. She took a step away from Renny to assure this platinum bombshell that she wasn’t stepping into her territory.
“Everything is just fabulous now that you’re here.” One long red-nailed finger stroked his chin as she spoke only to him.
Bree shifted from one foot to the other before clearing her throat. She wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous, but she wasn’t about to be ignored, either. He’d have plenty of time to cozy up to this sex goddess when she was off duty, but until then he would give her a modicum of respect.
Renny had already released his hold on Yolanda, but since she hadn’t done the same he was sort of trapped in her embrace. He hadn’t forgotten that Sabrina was standing there, nor had he missed the implications this little display undoubtedly sent to her. “Sabrina, this is Yolanda Tate, my general manager. Yolanda, this is Sabrina, a friend of the family.”
Again he so effortlessly lied. Bree was careful to take note of that fact. She extended her hand and pasted a smile on her face. “It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Tate. The place is wonderful. You’ve done a good job.”
Yolanda regarded the outstretched hand a moment, then turned to Renny. “Are you babysitting?”
Resisting the urge to put this Amazon in a Chinese headlock, Bree lifted a brow and then pulled her hand back. “It’s called a greeting. I say ‘nice to meet you’ and you say ‘same here’ or something to that effect. The handshake is optional, but I assure you I’m not contagious.” She shrugged. “Just a few things I’d think a general manager would know.”
Renny grinned. Clearly her size was an underestimation of any opponent. He’d be sure to take that into consideration at all times. Thankfully though, Yolanda took the bait and released him from her grasp.
“Your candor isn’t amusing. Still, if you’re a friend of the Bennetts I assume you know when and where to use it. Will you be visiting long?”
Bree slipped her hands into her pockets; that was the only way she could assure herself that she wouldn’t take a swing at the blond beauty. “I’m sure you and I will be seeing a lot of each other since I’ll be here for quite some time.”
As exciting as a catfight seemed to younger men, Renny was not about to let one break out in the middle of his gallery. “I’ve been showing Sabrina around today. We stopped at the foundry and now we’re going to look around here. She has a wonderful eye for detail and I thought I’d put it to good use.”
Bree looked at him as he talked about her. Something in the way his eyes roamed freely over her body made her fidget. She clearly paled in comparison to Yolanda, so his look must be intended to agitate, not excite her.
“She has an eye for detail?” Yolanda looked her up and down, clearly not impressed.
“She has an exceptional eye,” Renny said, still staring at Sabrina. He was talking about the intense pools of brown, how they swirled and tantalized him, and of course how she paid attention to her security detail. “We’ll just take the tour and I’ll speak with you before I leave.” He took Sabrina’s hand and led her away from Yolanda, not waiting for the woman’s reply.
“Your Amazon manager is going to need some etiquette classes before the opening or you’re never going to sell a thing,” she commented when they were only a few steps away from Yolanda.
Renny laughed. “She’s usually not so…blunt.” He led them around a sharp corner.
“Is that the best you could do? I was thinking more along the lines of shallow, rude…”
Renny squeezed her hand gently. “I get the picture. But she looks good and the men will come in just to see her alone.”
“Is that why she was scarcely dressed and draped all over you?” She sounded jealous. She could hear the cold tint of her voice and didn’t like it one bit. “I mean, if she hangs on to you like that, they’ll assume she’s taken and go on about their business elsewhere.” Goodness, was it hot in here, too?
His thumb played over her skin as he listened to her. She sounded jealous, but then that was impossible, or was it? He decided to find out if his bodyguard was indeed feeling the same attraction he was. “Do I detect a note of jealousy?”
She tugged on her hand, but he didn’t let go. “You don’t detect anything. I’m just making a point to rebut your reasons for having her around. At any rate, you’re touching me again.”
She was definitely shaken. He couldn’t help but grin. If she was shaken, then she was affected, if she was affected, then the attraction wasn’t entirely one-sided. He lifted her hand to his lips, placed a whisper-soft kiss over her knuckles and watched her eyes darken. There it was as plain as the day, desire. Dark as sin and as alluring as fool’s gold. This was exactly what he wanted his art to bring to the surface. The liberation and release of pent-up desire in everyone.
“Let me go,” she said softly and without any conviction. What was it about him that appealed to her? She knew and yet she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Sure, he was fine and he seemed intelligent enough, but there was something else—something inside him that called to her.
“Is that what you really want, Sabrina?”
Her name rolled off his tongue like a rush of warm water and she almost drowned in its effect. He kissed her knuckles again, this time letting his warm lips linger, his thin mustache prickling her sensitive skin. He was smooth. That was his reputation, and as of this morning she’d been forewarned. With a forceful tug she retrieved her hand and glared at him. “I always say what I mean, Bennett. Don’t forget that.”
And there it was, the door had been closed and from the looks of it, locked securely. She was the bodyguard again, the professional. But for the briefest moment, just like back in that room at the foundry, she’d been something else. She’d been the woman, the enigma that plagued him.
She hadn’t a clue how she’d let Renny talk her into dinner. Maybe it was his plea that he needed to eat and she was his bodyguard