Page 12 of Second Chances (Passion and Perseverance #2)

Finishing her yogurt, she reviewed the images she’d put together as an idea board for Caroline’s studio and exhibition, trying to take into account some things that she knew about her and what she’d been able to glean from her style of art and previous showings .

Ten o’clock. Showtime.

Stopping in the kitchen to throw away the container, Beth moved back into the closet to see what her options were as far as clothing for this morning.

She decided that a nicer pair of pants and blouse with flats was her best bet since she was going to be spending the afternoon on her feet.

She quickly blew out her hair and got dressed, grabbing an Uber to Balthazar, excited to see Jane and meet her newest client.

When the car pulled up, Beth got out and saw Jane standing outside waiting for her.

“Hey, you didn’t have to wait! Is Caroline here?” Beth asked, hugging her sister.

“I’m not sure, I haven’t gone inside. I just thought I would wait for you,” Jane responded, fidgeting shyly.

Beth smiled and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before leading the way into the restaurant.

The hostess informed them that the other member of their party was already here and led them over to their table, where the exquisite blond that Beth vaguely remembered from the party was sitting.

Caroline was gorgeous, there really was no other way to describe her.

Her loose-flowing blond curls were softly pulled back from her face.

She was wearing what was meant to be a loose-fitting style of pants, yet they seemed to be made for her body, hugging her curves just enough and in the right places.

Her blouse, too, was attempting to be loose except her breasts didn’t give it much of a choice.

She filled it out and made what most would consider a modest top, appear incredibly enticing.

Beth couldn’t help but envy those women whose bodies could literally make a sack of potatoes look sexy because that was definitely not her.

On seeing them, Caroline stood up and gave them both a dazzling smile amidst the expertly applied makeup on her face. She came around the table and gave them each a hug and reintroduced herself, her personality seeming much warmer than it had the first time Beth had met her .

“So good to see you both again,” Caroline exclaimed as they all took their seats at the table.

“You too! I’m glad we could meet up and get a chance to hang out and chat. Charles has told me so much about you,” Jane replied warmly with a smile.

“I’m sure some of it was not-so-flattering,” Caro said with a laugh, “I don’t have the best track record with my family, but I’m working on it.”

Well, she was definitely a straight-forward, no-nonsense type of person.

“Well, we know how that can feel,” Beth chimed in with a smile. She didn’t want to be too involved in the conversation just yet because she didn’t want to hijack Jane’s opportunity to get to know her future sister-in-law with all business talk.

“So how long are you in town for, Caroline?” Jane asked.

“Oh, please! Call me Caro - everyone does. Well, don’t hold me to it but, I think I’ll be in town for the foreseeable future; I just signed a year lease on a townhouse, which is the longest I’ve even leased something for.

So, hopefully, with your sister’s help and guidance, I can hit the ground running with my studio here,” she replied with a confident nod to Beth.

“Wonderful! Were you tired of Europe? I mean, Charles seemed to think that being in Europe really fueled your passion and inspiration; he was - pleasantly - surprised when you told him you were coming home.”

“I do love Europe, but I went there for certain reasons that I’ve moved on from and I felt it was time to finally come back and begin my career here, where I always wanted it to be, and repair certain relationships that I’d destroyed,” Caroline explained as she took a deep sip of her coffee.

Beth watched the interaction between the two yet she kept having this gnawing feeling inside that there was just something off about Charles’ sister.

Maybe it was because she’d been in PR for so long that she recognized when people were hiding something, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to Caro’s return than she was letting on.

Granted, she’d basically just met Jane and her, so why would she share her personal struggles with basically two strangers? Still .

They ordered mimosas and brunch and Beth continued to be a passive participant in the conversation, mostly observing, her curiosity listening for any clue as to what really brought her back here.

While they ate, the conversation turned towards Jane and Charles and their upcoming wedding.

Caro seemed genuinely interested in Jane’s plans for the wedding and how she and Charles met and fell in love.

Beth thought she glimpsed a look of longing mixed with jealousy in her eyes as she listened to Jane’s responses, but she couldn’t be sure.

Her mental investigation was paused when Caro addressed her directly,

“So, Beth, I’m really excited for you to see the studio. I’m not sure if you’ve seen any of my work…” here she trailed off, waiting for confirmation or denial.

“Yes, thanks to Google, I was able to look at a couple of pieces that were popular and sold in Europe,” Beth informed her, while Jane just gave a slight nod indicating that she too had seen or, more likely, heard from Charles the subject of his sister’s pieces.

“Great! So you’re familiar with my subject matter,” she said wryly before holding her hands up to her mouth, mock-shielding her next comment, “I hesitate to just start talking about naked portraits here - the general public of the US is so sensitive!” She set her hands back down with a laugh.

“Yes, Europe is overall a little more laissez-faire on that subject,” Beth agreed.

“Anyway, so I was thinking of giving the studio space a very rustic, ‘naked,' if you will, vibe,” Caro continued her original thought.

“I think that would work really well with the subject matter,” Beth agreed. “For the opening, we could do some naked cake, berries, etc., and give it that naked and natural vibe.”

“What a great idea!” Caro exclaimed, “I’m so glad I hired you. ”

The conversation turned back to Europe as Caro began recommending places for Jane’s honeymoon. Soon enough they had finished eating, paid for their meal and were saying goodbye to Jane and getting in a cab to take them to Caro’s studio space.

“Ok, I want you to be completely honest with me if the theme is going to work for the space. I may be an artist but interior design is not my forte,” Caro said as she unlocked the door to the studio.

As Beth stepped inside, Caro turned on the track lighting, illuminating the space.

“Well, the hardwood floor is going to work well. The exposed beams we can work into a rustic appearance. Overall, I think it’s a great space, lots of room to work with and nothing that jumps out that wouldn’t work with your vision.”

“Oh good! So, I hope this is possible but, I’d like to have the opening in three weeks. I have thirty pieces ready which are about ninety-five percent of the exhibit and I’d like to get the ball rolling.”

“Oh. Wow. Ok,” Beth responded, sounding shocked. “I mean, that’s not a problem on my end - a slight rush but nothing I haven’t dealt with. I’m just surprised you have all of the pieces ready already.”

“Yes, well a lot of them are older pieces that I’ve refused to sell until now; most from when I just moved to Europe and my first few months there,” Caro explained.

“Oh, I see. What made you decide to sell them now?” Beth asked, genuinely curious.

“Well, they represent a part of my life that I’ve moved on from and don’t want to hold on to anymore,” a degree of regret clear in her voice.

“I see,” Beth responded quietly, holding herself back from prying further as she walked around and pretended to examine the space further.

“Who am I kidding? You’ve seen my work,” Caro began with a small laugh. “Most of my original pieces were of men that I was in relationships with, if you could even call them that. ”

“I see,” Beth repeated to herself, processing the information that Caroline had revealed. Thirty pieces meant thirty men. That was a lot of relationships in such a short amount of time.

“I see your brain working,” she began with a knowing smile, “yes, it’s a lot and yes, relationship probably wasn’t the right word to use.

I was young and they were my muses and they knew that.

It took me awhile to learn that to capture someone so intimately didn’t mean I had to intimately involve myself with them. ”

“Do they know you drew them?” Beth asked, curiously.

“Oh, of course. It was part of the process; they were well aware,” Caro answered. “What do you think I should title the exhibit though? Nothing I come up with seems to evoke the emotion that the pieces do.”

Beth thought for a moment before turning to face her and say, “The Art of the Lovers.”

Caro just stared at her for a moment, before she let loose that brilliant smile of hers, “That’s amazing! Oh, my God, I love it!” she exclaimed, hugging Beth out of gratitude. “Ok, so what do you need from me if this is going to happen in three weeks?”

“Any catering or general preferences you might have. Other than that, I would say about three photos of different pieces that I can release with the press so that guests will have an idea for the type of art; one of which will be for the official invite, and a list of any specific people you would like invited to the event - like certain family members or friends,” Beth replied, quickly thinking through the event in her head to make sure she didn’t need anything else from Caro at this point.

“Well, we may be on speaking terms now but I think inviting my family, aside from Charles, would be a bit of a stretch right now,” she said with a wry laugh, “I can email you all that info tomorrow and any other questions I have. ”

“Great!” Beth exclaimed, checking her phone to see that it was almost four in the afternoon - Darcy should be getting home within the hour. She smiled mischievously to herself, deciding to welcome him home with a little surprise of her own.

“What’s that smile for?” Caro asked perceptively. “I know my art is great and all but I don’t think a gallery opening is putting that kind of anticipation on your face.”

Beth’s face flushed, caught in her dirty thoughts. “I, umm, just started seeing someone and he gets home from a business trip tonight…” she trailed off, wincing at her hesitant, lackluster explanation.

“Ahh, I see,” Caro replied with a knowing eye. “Who is the lucky guy?”

“Ahh, well, it’s kind of a secret for now. We just started dating and with my luck, I don’t want to jump the gun,” Beth responded sheepishly.

“Ok, ok, I can respect that. Well, if it’s less of a secret in three weeks, you are welcome to invite him to my opening - I’ll make sure to include ‘Beth’s secret boyfriend’ on the guest list,” she teased with a wink.

Beth laughed as they headed for the door. As much as she was enjoying Caro’s company, her mind - and her body - was eager to focus on someone else.

“Oh, Beth, before you jet off I just wanted to throw this idea out there since Jane isn’t here,” Caro interjected just as Beth was about to grab a cab, “I don’t know if you’ve thought about this yet but I wanted to offer up the townhouse I’m renting for Jane’s bridal shower.

I thought it might be the least likely place for her to expect it at, unless you don’t think she’ll want it to be a surprise. ”

“Oh, ok. Yeah, that might actually work out well. I know my mom has been working on the invitations; she wants to have it in two weeks - really trying to rush this whole wedding along.” Beth gave a short laugh, realizing just how close that date sounded right now.

“We definitely want it to be a surprise for her though so that would work out really well. I would say tentatively yes, but I’ll talk with my mom and let you know for sure sometime this weekend. ”

“Ok, great! Just thought I would offer - and anything else that you need or want help with for the party, let me know!” Another dazzling smile graced Caro’s face to accompany her generous offer.

Beth thanked her again and hopped in a cab back to Darcy’s.

As they pulled away from the curb, Beth looked at Caroline and was taken aback, not just by how beautiful the woman was, but how there was something about her, something that was lurking just below the surface.

Beth didn’t think it had anything to do with her or Jane, it was definitely something private and personal - almost as though she had a specific purpose for being here; she was here for something, and it wasn’t her brother’s engagement or the opportunity to showcase her art.

It was something deeper and darker but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

Her curiosity vanished as the cab pulled up to the plaza and Beth speedily made her way to Darcy’s apartment. This time, she was taking control.