warded off an answer. âDonât tell me.â Canvases were shuffled slowly and her grin grew wider.
âAshley!â Rising on tiptoe to shift a haunch onto the edge of the desk, she rested a stack of canvases on her knee. âYou did it! Nicole Callison, you did it! Ashley Blackmon painted these, and somehow youâve accomplished the impossible and convinced him to let us show them.â
âNo,â Nicole demurred. âAshley convinced himself.â
âWhatever. I donât care, so long as we have them.â
âIâd like to include them in this showing.â
âYou mean to sell?â Annabelle lifted an incredulous brow.
âNot this time.â Nicole shrugged. âMaybe never. Still, Iâd like to include them.â
âWhich means weâll burn the midnight oil to change the exhibit.â
âOne of us will.â
âWrong!â Annabelle slipped from the desk and straightened her skirt. âTwo of us will.â
Nicole laughed. âI knew I could count on you.â
If Annabelleâs grand entrance and conversation commanded Jebâs attention, Nicoleâs laughter stopped him cold. Before, it had been self-conscious and mechanical. But beyond that, he couldnât remember ever hearing her laugh with such abandon and delight.
As he saw her now, in an element sheâd created, speaking with this irrepressible woman who was clearly a trusted friend, he knew heâd never seen her as happy.
When this was finished, when heâd done what had to be done, he wondered what would be left of her life.
âGood morning,â a cheerful voice boomed out. âThe boss lady suggested that there might be something I can show you.â
Jeb turned automatically toward the woman who had appeared at his side. In his millisecond of distraction sheâd moved with an astonishingly quiet step after her boisterous entrance. âIâm sorry, I didnât see you there.â
âI can understand that. The wolf is beautiful.â
âThe wolf?â
A dramatic gesture indicated the massive head of bronze where his clenched fist rested. âSince youâre two of a kind, itâs natural he would be one of your favorites.â
At a bit less than five feet, the woman called Annabelle was a foot shorter than he, but what she lacked in height was compensated for by unrestrained flirtation. As their gazes met, hers was flashing, unrepentantly appreciative. His was as aloof as an autumn mist. âI beg your pardon?â
âHoney.â Annabelleâs eyelids drooped in speculative appraisal. âAny man who looks as good as you, or as bad, has no need to beg anything from me.â A hearty laugh bubbled somewhere in the depths of her bosom as her shoulders shook. âAt least, not too hard.â
âGood and bad?â Jeb mused. âAn interesting if peculiar analogy.â
âInteresting, maybe. But not peculiar,â Annabelle declared. âNot peculiar at all. On the surface youâre good-looking in a rugged sort of way, but you canât fool me. Underneath it youâre as wild and wily as the wolf, and twice as fascinating.â
âWild and wily?â Jeb was chuckling now. The woman was outrageous and loved every minute of it. âJust an off-the-cuff analysis, huh? And if you had more time, you could delve a little deeper?â
âI wouldnât mind the delving, but it isnât necessary. Any woman worth half her salt can take one look at you and she knows.â
âBut what does she know?â
A bold look moved over him again. âShe knows everything. â
His chuckle turned to laughter. âI hope not. Sounds dangerous.â
âOnly for the woman, sugar. But taking a crack at taming you would be worth it.â Abruptly her thoughts hopscotched in another direction. âNow that weâve settled that, is there something special you wanted to see?