Gateway to Heaven by Beth Kery Page A

on Saturday night. I didn’t really ask him or anything,” she said quickly, trying to cover her tracks.
    She barely noticed the impatient feminine sigh that broke the silence.
    “ Not that this stare-fest isn’t fascinating. It actually is. But I’ve got to get back to work. Megan, do you think you could get around to introductions before the next millennium comes to a close?” Tina prodded.
    “ Oh, of course.” Megan formerly introduced Christian and Tina. His stoic expression warmed when he took Tina’s hand in greeting.
    “ I already knew it was you,” Tina told Christian with a smug grin. She nodded to the Chinese script printed on his T-shirt. “Cool shirt. Did you actually go to that club in Shanghai?”
    “ Yeah, a couple times. You’re the sun worshipper, right?”
    Tina glanced back at Megan with an unasked question in her dark brown eyes before she turned her attention back to Christian. “You saw that piece, huh? You’ve been in Megan’s place? Someone around here has got some explaining to do,” Tina murmured with a pointed look at Megan. “Well, gotta run. Hot metal won’t wait anymore than a hot man will.”
    Tina ignored Megan’s repressive stare and winked suggestively before she left the room.
    The exchange between Christian and Randy was notably more strained. Christian’s eyes were like chips of blue ice when he shook Randy’s hand and listened to Megan describe his role as one of the owners of the gallery.
    “ We just offered Megan a showing at Rosenfeld and Epner,” Randy said, obviously trying to promote polite conversation when Christian maintained a stony silence after they were introduced.
    “ We?” Christian’s eyes glanced around the studio with mock innocence.
    Randy looked slightly abashed. “Well, I made the official offer. But of course, it comes from both my partner, Nancy, and I.”
    “ Of course,” Christian said blandly enough, but Randy shifted his feet under his relentless stare.
    “ I still can’t believe it. It hasn’t sunk in yet,” Megan murmured dazedly.
    The shadow on Christian’s countenance seemed to lift when he looked at her. He touched her bare shoulder. His fingertips were calloused, but his caress was soft. Megan shivered.
    “ Congratulations. You deserve it,” he said with a small smile.
    She shouldn’t have looked into his face. Suddenly she was lost in the warmth of his gaze. Randy cleared his throat uncomfortably, smart enough to realize that his presence was not only superfluous, but also completely unheeded by the two other people in the room. He politely made his exit, promising to be in contact with Megan about plans for the showing.
    Randy’s abrupt departure startled Megan back into reality. Why was she staring at this man like a star-struck teenager after he’d spoken so rudely to her the other day and then had the nerve to leave Chicago without a word? Hadn’t Jeff dropped that a limousine service had picked Christian up on Saturday evening, and that he’d taken a suitcase? That didn’t sound like an unplanned, casual trip across town to his parents’ house.
    Megan resolutely stepped away from the source of her unrest and began straightening her workspace. Her back was turned to him when she spoke. “You didn’t say anything on Saturday afternoon about your plans for leaving on Saturday night.”
    He didn’t answer her immediately. She looked over her shoulder in time to see his regretful expression. Their gazes caught and held. “That’s because I didn’t mean to leave. Something came up. Actually, the thing that brought everything to a head was that conversation we had over at your place. I needed to talk with…no, convince a good friend about something important.”
    For a second or two, she just stared at him. Something told her he was referring to the conversation they’d had about feeling artistically stifled.
    “ Where did you go?” she finally asked.
    “ Los Angeles.”
    “ Is that where your friend