Then & Now (37 page)

Barking out a laugh, Matt threw his napkin down onto his plate.  “Want to go out to eat?”

“No.”  She answered honestly. “No, let’s make something together.”

His blue eyes darken ever so slightly as he pushed his plate to the side and leaned closer to her.  “What did you have in mind?”

She playfully shrugged. “I don’t know.  But we’ll figure it out.”

Ella walked slowly into their hotel room trying to hide her amazement. S
he was greeted with golden marble floors and walls. She walked straight under a giant chandelier which hung magnificently down from the center of the entry way. Marveling at the gold and crystal as it played wonderfully with each other she had to look away from the exquisite light fixture, before Colin saw her astonishment.

H
er gaze went to the room to the left of her.  It seemed to be a living room of some sort.  With old fashion, hardly used furniture, a baby-grand piano, and a finely sculptured fireplace. 

Spinning around her eyes landed on another room to the right of the entry way.  This one looked more like a room for entertaining guest.  With its priceless art donning the wide walls, gallant wet-bar, and deep colored leather furniture.

It took Ella a moment to realize that Colin had moved more into the hotel room. She hurried forward only to stop at the sight of enormous oak dining table.  Marvelously crafted oak dining chairs, lined each side of the elegantly, long table perfectly.  Beyond the table she could see two massive French-style doors.

“This room is a little rustic, but it looks right over the exhibit.” Colin explained as he walked into one of the back rooms.

Fallowing him into the room, Ella paused.  Her gaze landing on the king-sized bed that stood right in the center of the room.  Its puffy peach colored comforter and perfectly stuffed pillows caused her cheeks to visibly flush. Thankfully, Colin had disappeared into the master bath, for it seemed that her legs had rooted themselves right into the plush carpet, only inches from the door. 

She swallowed hard
as her eyes darted from the bathroom door, to the bed and back. She probably looked as though she was about to bolt out of the room at any given minute. Taking only a few steps closer to the intimidating bed she tried to not look completely at a loss.

Turning back to the bathroom Ella bit down on her lip when she saw Colin leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest.  He said nothing as his beautiful green eyes roamed over her.

Feeling like she needed to say something, she waved a dismissive hand. “This room will be fine.”  She could actually feel her heart pounding behind her ribs while she looked over his face for any reaction.

“Yes, I’m glad we came.”
His voice stayed low, and calm.

Nodding, she lifted one shoulder. “Well…We have plenty of time.”

“I was hoping we would.” Taking a step towards her he looked as if he was approaching with caution. “I want you to have the first walk through before the exhibit opens.”  

“What? You do?” Amy had told her that he didn’t care of her opinion, yet there he stood proving her wrong and she wasn’t even there to hear it.

“Yes.  Of course.” He began without taking his eyes off of her. “I want you to see where all the hard work has gone. I think you will really enjoy some of the new Egyptian art that will also be presented. This will be, for some, the first showing in America.”

Ella’s heart leaped at his words. The idea of being the first to walk through an opening was only something she had once dreamed about. To feel the electricity humming through the air, and to see the excitement of the budding artist, would be something wonderful.

Swallowing hard, Ella let out a calming breath. “That would be amazing.”

His eyes lightened a little as he nodded.
“I’ll leave you alone, so you can freshen up. When you are ready we will head over.”

Dressed in one of her sister’s gowns Ella sat staring at herself in the bathroom mirror. It was taking forever to get her make-up right, though she guessed it was because she was shaking so bad.  Excitement along with nerves was making the application process nearly impossible. If she totally blew it, then she at least needed to look good.

She gave herself one last nod of approval before she made her way out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. There on the bed laid a dozen, long-stem, red roses with a lovely white ribbon wrapped around the stems.
An uncontrollable smile came across her face as she picked up the beautiful bouquet. She noticed a card lightly tucked among the flowers that simply read “Hello Beautiful”.

As she came out of the room carrying the flowers she stopped short at the sight of Colin standing in the middle of the room in his tux. Breathing in slowly through her nose Ella told herself not to react to how unbelievably sexy he looked.

“You look exquisite.”  He smiled wickedly.

“Thank you.” She glanced down only for a minute before she made herself look right at him. “You look quite nice yourself.”

“I try.” His small joke took her by surprise, but before she could react he asked.  “Would you like to eat here or go out?”

“Here would be fine.”  She replied softly.

Raising his hand Colin motioned at the table. “I thought you would say that.” There on the elegant table was a full course meal awaiting them.

She slowly approached the spectacular array of food only to be surprised that he had ordered lobster raviolis with a sherry wine sauce.  They were her and Amy’s favorite dish growing up. Although she didn’t think Amy ate them anymore because of the fat content.  Deciding to leave that little tidbit out, Ella sat down slowly in the chair Colin had pulled out for her. 

“Is everything how you like it?” He asked as he took the seat next to her.

Nodding she reached for her fork and knife. “This looks amazing.”

“Good.” He grinned as he helped himself to his own dish.  After a few minutes he lightly dabbed the corners of his mouth. “I have something for you.”

Ella stopped mid bite while he set a black, velvet box down next to her. Setting the fork full of food back onto the plate, she took the box into both hands.  She couldn’t help but feel Colin’s eyes on her as she slowly lifted the lid.  Her breath caught in her throat as she fingered the diamond necklace.  The light topaz stones accentuated the diamonds flawlessly. 

“Your birthstones match your eyes perfectly.” He stated as he removed the necklace from the box and stood.

Although she put her hair up she had to lift some of her curly tendrils out of the way as he placed the necklace around her neck. She could hardly breathe as his fingers brushed the back of her neck.  She nearly came out of the chair when his finger and thumb rubbed her ear lobe.

“I have never noticed the three little freckles on your ear before.” Panic shot up her spine as he took his seat. “I think they are rather adorable.” Giving her a playful wink, he smiled.

Flowers, a stunning necklace, and now a compliment, she could no longer lie to herself, she loved the way he treated her. Matt never treated her that way, not even when they dated. Though she had feelings for Colin, her respect for him and her sister, was far too great to throw it all away on long lost affection.

Clearing her throat Ella decided to change the subject. She took a hold of her fork still filled with food and pointed to the delicious bite. “These raviolis just might be better than my grandmothers.  But, don’t tell her I said that.”

“I won’t, I promise.”  He chuckled, than unexpectedly brushed one of her tendrils aside.

His actions caused Ella to rush into a question without thinking.  “So the exhibit is mostly filled with the art from the Egyptian collection that you are trying to get financing for, is that correct?”
Oh, hell.
Amy wouldn’t know any of that. Not knowing what to do next she glanced in his direction.

His quizzical expression only lasted a second before he nodded.  “Yes, that is why this exhibit is so important.  Some of these artists have real talent. But all the political…” Shaking his head Colin turned back to his food.

“That’s why you are selling some of your own collection; it is to grab her attention.” She remembered Colin and her father talking about it. Colin had hoped his sacrifice would appeal to the Egyptian Council, one member particularly.  “Oh. Well it is her loss.  Some of those pieces you own are from the Protodynastic Period.  Which is just fantastic, I can’t believe these artifacts are still in such good…” Stopping abruptly, she realized what she was saying.

Swallowing hard she wondered if she might have just given herself away. She watched him carefully as he looked her over. Exhaling slowly he set his napkin on the table. “Well, it won’t matter anyway if she doesn’t show tonight.”

Relief washed over her so profoundly it nearly knocked her over. They couldn’t sit there talking any longer. She was going to give herself away at any given minute. “Well,” She smiled. “I for one can’t wait to see the exhibit.”

Nodding Colin stood. “Yes, I want to make sure you have enough time to see everything.” He pushed in his chair then turned and offered his hand to help her up.

Standing slowly, she swallowed her pride. She tried to smile even though her heart was shattering into a million pieces. Amy had been wrong. Colin wanted the woman he married by his side as his dreams came to life. Not her pathetic twin, who knew some stupid facts about Egypt.

For a split second she thought about faking a stomach ache and calling it a night. She had no right to enjoy this evening. Colin wanted Amy, always did.
Though she wanted to cry until her heart exploded, Ella knew it wouldn’t solve anything. She had to face the facts; she been in love with a man who was in love with her sister.

Even if it killed her, she would go to the opening and make Amy look good. Then when she got back she will tell Amy to be honest with him. He loved her regardless, and Amy needed to accept it.

Ella couldn’t say anything as she walked long the exhibit.
Every painting, every sculpture, had her gapping in awe. Growing up with a father who collected fine art she learned to respect each piece he had brought into their home. His hobby became her passion. By the time she was sixteen her father had her picking out the best pieces for his collection.  He had told her that she would do great things for the art industry.  Unfortunately, that never planned out.

Trying to stay indifferent about the pieces just as Amy would have
, Ella casually gestured to one of the paintings that caught her attention. “Is this one from one of the new artists?”

Nodding he pointed to three other paintings along the wall.  “These are all his.”

Being indifferent was proving to be harder then she thought it would be. The curator in her wanted to pick the painting apart, analyze each section until she was dizzy with knowledge, theorize the artist intentions, pinpoint his true vision…instead she gave a casual nod and went to move on.

“No, wait.” Colin reached for her hand. “Tell me what you really think of his work.”

Knowing it might come back to bite her, she inhaled deeply. “They are stunning. I love the way he used the old way of resembling man, like you would see on the walls of pyramids, then evolving him to what we see today.  It’s brilliant.”  Moving on to the next painting Ella found herself lost in the array of colors the artist used. She sighed as they came up to the last painting. “He has real talent.”

Without letting go of her hand Colin faced her fully. “You should come with me to Egypt. I think you would enjoy yourself.”

The suggestion nearly stopped her heart.  She would love to go away with him. To fallow the man of her dreams into a country that has fascinated her most of her life, would’ve been everything she had ever asked for. As for Amy?  She had no idea. Though, the thought of her sister camel riding through the Sahara Desert had her swallowing a chuckle. 

Not knowing how to answer him she nodded slowly. She was taken by surprise when he closed the space between them. While he lightly brushed some curly tendrils off of her forehead she realized how close he was. She could smell his wonderful cologne, see the specs of gold in his dark green eyes, and feel the heat from his body.

She needed to back up.  His presence was overwhelming. Her pitiful heart thumped against her ribcage as he ran his knuckles down her face.  The air around them seemed to have thickened making breathing nearly impossible.

Slipping a finger under her chin Colin gently tilted her face up to meet his.  His lips only inches from hers. “Honestly, if I asked you, would you come with me?”

Tears nearly sprung to her eyes.  He was asking the question to the wrong woman.  Taking a deep breath she answered him honestly. “Yes. If you asked
me
I would come with you.”

He smiled so big it shattered her already broken heart. “I want to show you something.”

Clearing her throat she made sure her voice was steady. “Alright.”

“Come.”  Squeezing her hand Colin led towards the side hall to a room marked ‘Employees
Only’.

“I don’t think we can go in there.” Ella informed as she pointed to the combination lock on the door.