"You wound me." Joel spread his arms wide, showing off his black silk dress shirt, black slacks, and equally black loafers. "And here I dressed up just for you so I'd look presentable tonight."
"And you do," she insisted. "You look very handsome."
Lora had to agree. She'd only seen Joel in denim and cotton shirts, and now, with his new haircut, fashionable clothing, and smoldering masculine features, he looked as though he could have stepped right off the pages of a GQ Magazine.
Mia turned her attention to Lora, her gaze bright with interest and speculation, before looking back at Joel. "And this must be Lora, the woman you told me about on the phone, right? The one that's a client of ESS?"
"Yes," he confirmed, obviously going with the client perception. "Lora, this is my pain-in-the-ass sister, Mia."
"Nice introduction," Mia said, and wrinkled her nose at her brother before grinning at Lora and extending her hand. "It's very nice to meet you."
Mia's handshake was friendly and welcoming. "Yes, it's a real pleasure," Lora said. "Joel has told me so much about you." Well, as much as she'd been able to drag out of him while they'd been at the cabin, anyways.
The other woman narrowed her gaze playfully at Joel. "All wonderful things, right?"
"Absolutely." His grin was full of charm, and his gaze was affectionate, making the bond between brother and sister evident to anyone who happened to see the two together.
"You've been trained well," she replied sassily. "Now, there's champagne and a dessert table, and soda if you prefer, so please enjoy whatever you'd like while you're browsing."
Joel frowned. "What, no beer?"
"Funny, but Cameron asked the same thing, as did Steve." She put her hands on her slender hips and shook her head in mock distaste. "Now come on, Joel. Does this look like a beer kind of joint to you?"
He chuckled in amusement. "Okay, I get your point." He glanced at Lora. "How about something to drink?"
"Sure. I'll take a glass of champagne."
"Me, too," Mia added with a persuasive smile.
"Two glasses of champagne, coming right up," Joel said, and headed over to the bar that had been sent up for the evening.
"Your designs are absolutely amazing," Lora said, once Joel was gone.
"Thank you." Mia beamed, basking in the compliment, and rightly so. "I have to admit, it's such a thrill to be able to open my own gallery. There was a time when I thought my designs would never see the light of day, let alone have people purchasing them."
"They're unique and gorgeous. All of them," Lora told her, then looked back at the one with the exotic fairy. "Though I do have to say that this piece is my favorite so far."
"I just finished that one a few days ago." Mia seemed to consider the jewel-toned design with a fresh perspective. "It was probably one of my most challenging designs I've ever done. Piecing together the shards of glass for the fairy's wings was a true nightmare."
Despite the complaint, Lora could tell that Mia loved what she did and was happy with the end results of this "Midsummer Dream."
"You know, I can't help but think that you look so familiar to me," Mia said, studying Lora through inquisitive eyes. "Have we met before?"
"I don't think so." If they'd been introduced in the past, Lora would have remembered someone as vibrant as Mia. But she did get that do-I-know-you question every once in a while, due to where she worked. "Unless maybe you've been to The Electric Blue? I'm a waitress there."
Mia snapped her fingers. "That's it! That's exactly where I've seen you before, though I have to admit it's been a while since I've been there."
"Too busy working on your designs?" Lora guessed.
She flashed a nice sized diamond solitaire encircling her left ring finger. "That, and The Electric Blue isn't quite the place an engaged woman should frequent." Her gray eyes took on a mischievous sparkle. "But I have to say that I did enjoy myself at that bar immensely when I was single."
"Ahhh, there she is." A tall, good-looking man with sandy blond hair and a charming grin approached the two of them, with Joel walking beside him. "No wonder I couldn't find you. You've been hiding out in this corner over here."
"I'm not hiding," Mia said, and took the glass of champagne that the man handed to her, while Lora thanked Joel for hers. "I'm just enjoying a conversation with Joel's… client." Mia slanted her brother a sly glance that said she didn't quite believe that their relationship was that simple. "Lora, this is my fiancé, Cameron. Cam, this is Lora."
Once the introductions were made, confusion creased Cameron's brows as he glanced back at Mia. "Did you say that she's a client of Joel's?"
Joel jumped in to explain the situation, but it was obvious that Mia had her doubts. Those expressive eyes of hers made it clear that she was wondering what the real scoop was when it came to her and Joel. Unfortunately, their relationship had truly reverted back to a platonic business arrangement and it didn't show any signs of changing back to something more intimate anytime soon.
Cameron gently touched Mia's arm. "I hate to be rude and steal you away, but there's someone I want you to meet."
Mia smiled at her fiancé. "Oh, okay." Then she transferred her gaze to Lora. "Don't be a stranger. Stop in at the gallery anytime. Oh, and I give a nice discount to family and friends."
"That's good to know. Thank you." Lora took a sip of her bubbly champagne, finding it incredibly nice of Mia to extend the discount to her, as well. "I'll be sure to bring my best friend by soon. She'll love your artwork."
"Wonderful." Mia waggled her fingers at them as she walked away with Cameron. "I'll see you two around."
"She's a little whirlwind, isn't she?" Joel said, chuckling and more relaxed than Lora had seen him in days. "Here one minute, gone the next."
"I really like her."
"The feeling is definitely mutual," he said, and smiled. "By the way, I saw my brothers and cousins when I went to get your champagne. Come on, and I'll introduce you to them."
His hand came to rest at the small of her back again as he guided her around the various partitions to the other side of the gallery, where it was more crowded. Guests were gathered in circles, talking and laughing, while others mingled from group to group to visit with everyone. Joel led her toward a fairly large cluster of people, and that's when she was introduced to his large family as a client-including his two brothers, Scott and Alex, his three male cousins, and all their spouses. The Wilde men were similar in looks, with their thick black hair and gorgeous blue eyes, and after a round of handshakes and friendly hellos, she felt quite overwhelmed.
She latched on to a familiar face standing next to her, Ashley St. Claire, who was married to Joel's older brother Scott and managed the hotel where Lora worked. They chatted for a few minutes, then Ashley glanced at the other women in the group.
"Come on, ladies," Ashley announced, "let's let the men catch up while we indulge in a bit of retail therapy. We need to make sure we keep Mia in business for a long time to come."
At the mention of retail therapy, the men let out a collective groan, and the women just laughed.
"That sounds good to me," Alex's wife, Dana, said with a grin.
"Me, too," Chayse added, and made a big deal of batting her lashes coquettishly at her husband, Adrian, in an obvious attempt to soften him up. "Since we're supporting Mia, I take it I can buy whatever I want?"
All the men stared expectantly at Adrian, knowing that whatever his answer, it would set a precedent for their wives, too.
Adrian exhaled a deep breath and smiled down at Chayse. "You go right ahead and buy whatever your heart desires, sweetheart."
Another round of deep groans echoed from the other men, the mingled sounds echoing their disappointment in Adrian's response.
"Thanks, man," Alex said dryly, and slapped his cousin on the back. "You just gave all our wives carte blanche, you know that, right?"