Tell Me Something Good Read Free

“They’re the real thing. Old money and old family
name.”
    “I gotcha. We better smile when they treat us
like dirt.” Kevin joined her in laughter. “I’ll get back to the
salt mines.” He headed for the storage room again.
    Noel St. Denis stepped from behind a wide
decorative screen that came from Madagascar. “We’re not as bad as
you think.”
    “Oh I, uh ...” Lyrissa looked into his shrewd
eyes and decided flattery wouldn’t work She gave him her most
winning smile. “You got me.”
    He smiled back. “It’s okay. Grandmother is
used to being in charge.”
    “Mrs. St. Denis is still with Mr. Taylor?”
Lyrissa glanced over his shoulder.
    “Yes.” He walked around looking at the art on
display. “The agreement seems fine. They’re just chatting about
mutual acquaintances.”
    Lyrissa followed him at a respectful
distance, as she did with most wealthy customers. He stopped in
front of a wooden sculpture by Frank Hayden. Noel circled the panel
of smooth walnut fashioned in swirls. While he studied the art,
Lyrissa studied him. Her first impression had not changed: he was
one fine man. Yet she felt sure he had an inflated ego to match his
good looks. His bearing said he was as used to getting his way and
being in charge as his grandmother. Watching them together, it was
obvious that he was the apple of his grandmother’s eye— handsome,
spoiled, and arrogant, Lyrissa mused. One tall package of
everything she detested. Or should. He turned to face her, his
striking face radiant with pleasure. Unexpectedly, desire flowed
through her body like warm milk.
    “The wood seems to pulsate with energy,” he
said in a reverent voice. “It tells a story, like a griot.”
    She moved closer to him as though drawn by a
magnet. “The lines are sinuous, inviting you to touch it. You’d
expect it to be warm like a living thing.”
    “Yes,” he said, now looking at her instead of
the sculpture. “So beautiful, it’s hard not to touch it.”
    Lyrissa watched the movement of his lips. His
words seemed directed at her, not at the sculpture. She tried hard
to ignore the insistent prickle in her hips as she stepped away
from him.
    “Of course, that’s the genius of a great
artist, to breathe life into his creation. He makes us feel it as
much as see it,” she murmured, still staring at his mouth in
fascination.
    Noel gazed into her eyes steadily and took a
step to-ward her. “I definitely feel it.”
    The room, indeed the whole world, tilted in
his direction. The air between them crackled with electricity—at
least, that’s what Lyrissa would have sworn at that moment. Then
Kevin walked in.
    “I think they sent us the wrong catalogues,”
Kevin said, peeling stiff cellophane wrapping from a package.
    “What?” Lyrissa felt a bit dazed.
    “These are for some medical supply company.”
Kevin held up a stack of glossy brochures. The wrapping snapped and
crackled as he wadded it up into a compact ball.
    Kevin glanced from her to Noel, who was now
studying the dancers’ sculpture. “Oops, bad timing. Sorry.”
    “No, no. We’re talking about the art,”
Lyrissa stammered.
    The young man gave her a puzzled look.
“Right, you’re with a customer. You okay?”
    “Fine. I’ll, uh, look at those later, Kevin,”
she said.
    Lyrissa gave him a thin smile. Kevin nodded,
and then left. Noel hovered near, the subtle scent of his cologne
drifting out to tickle her nose. She fought the urge to close her
eyes and follow it until their faces touched.
    “You know, I’m not that educated on art.
Maybe you could teach me more,” Noel said, an inviting inflection
in his tone.
    “I...”
    Lyrissa shivered with anticipation at
spending hours alone with him. Before she could make a more
coherent reply, the front door opened. A tall, elegantly dressed
woman came in. She wore a short olive wrap skirt and an ivory
cotton blouse.
    “Noel, I can’t believe my eyes!”
    “Hello, Felice.” Noel met the woman halfway
and