“What better time? We arranged this time in the astral plane! I have to catch a plane tomorrow. Seize the moment!” Rafael took her arm and led her away from the crowd. Vivi glanced uncomfortably back at Jack. He followed closely, his face unreadable.
“Listen carefully,” Rafael began earnestly. “A sample month in the life of Vivi D’Onofrio, art promoter. One week in San Francisco, eating sushi and going to the opera. The next week in Berkeley, taking in wild experimental theater. A tour of the wine country in between. On to Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Fe, always a different view. No fleabag motels, no moldy campground showers. You eat in award-winning restaurants, you sleep in five-star hotels. You deal in outrageously expensive art. It’s fun, stimulating, challenging. What do you say?”
“You know money has never been a big priority for me—”
“Oh, I know.” Rafael patted her shoulder. “But just try making lots of money for a while, and see how fast you get used to it.”
“The real reason is not the money,” she plodded on. “I’m—”
“This job is your way back into the high-end art world! Everything that bastard Wilder took from you, you can have again! I’m not suggesting you be a site manager or curator forever. I’m thinking about your long-term artistic career! If you go this road, with the contacts you develop, you can write your own ticket!”
“But my shop is already organized, and I—”
“A little shop in a little town has its charm, but think about it. Work with me for a while, and that scumbag Wilder will be eating your exhaust. Just imagine the satisfaction.”
Vivi imagined it. She twisted gently out of Rafael’s grip and wrapped her arms across her chest. Shivering, although the night was warm. The crowd swirled around them, but the music faded to the background of her mind as she pondered the images.
The big-time art world. Success, fame, money. The life she’d dreamed of as a struggling young artist. It didn’t make her heartbeat quicken anymore. She lifted her gaze past her friend’s expectant face, to where Jack stood, behind him. His stance rigid. Eyes fixed on her.
That life didn’t include Jack. The finality of that fact sent a stab of nervous panic through her. “Ah…ah, it’s tempting, but—”
“And you could play fairy godmother to your artist friends! You’d have the power to bring their stuff to the attention of the high-end buyers! You could change their lives! Wouldn’t that be grand?”
Vivi took a slow breath. “It sounds great, but I found a perfect location for my shop. I’m content with that. I’m staying put.”
She twisted to see if Jack was still listening. He was close behind, but when she tried to meet his eyes, he looked straight ahead.
Rafael’s gaze shifted, from Vivi to Jack, back again. “Ah. I understand, angel. You just think about it. I won’t push.”
Vivi turned to Jack and reached out to take his hand. “The band is starting another song. Let’s go back near the stage, okay?”
Jack’s hand was stiff, unresponsive. “I’m ready to leave,” he said.
Rafael’s smile faded. He looked at Jack fingering the waxed ends of his moustache. “I hope I haven’t put you in a tight place, love,” he said. “Will you think about it?”
“Certainly, I’ll think about it,” Vivi said quietly. “And thank you. It’s a beautiful offer, and you’re a wonderful friend.”
Rafael gave her an impulsive hug. “Give me your cell number. Promise me you’ll give it some serious thought. I’ll walk you out to the van.”
She pulled out her phone. “I don’t get much mobile coverage out where I live,” she told him. “I’ll give you the landline number at my shop, and at Jack’s house, too.”
They exchanged various numbers as they strolled. Rafael’s eyes grew nostalgic as they stopped at the van. He turned to Jack. “Did Viv tell you that I—”
“Yeah, she told me,” Jack said dourly. “You painted the serpent.”
Rafael’s eyes turned dreamy. “This was my best van painting. I’d be more than willing to paint the other side for you, love. How about a portrait of the two of you? Chain-mail bathing suits, shreds of fur, a flaming sword? You can be hugging his leg. I love it when the girl hugs the guy’s leg.” His gaze flicked to Jack’s muscular thigh. “Mmmm.”
“Oh, no, that’s okay,” Vivi said quickly. “I like just having the one.”
“I had such wild times in that van,” Rafael reminisced. “One night Billy and Ronnie and I got some tequila and limes and salt, and we—”
“You told me that story,” Vivi interrupted hastily.
“I painted that scene after I broke up with Ronnie,” Rafael said, wistfully. “That was my ‘man-alone-battling-his-demons’ period.”
“Yeah, that about sums up the last few years of my life, too,” Vivi said ruefully. She dug her keys out of her purse and gave Rafael a hug. “It was great to see you, Rafael. I’m happy to see you doing so well.”
“Thank you, angel. Let me know what you decide. Contact me on the astral plane, by all means, but call my cell phone, too, okay?”
“I’ll do that. Thanks.”
Jack climbed into the van and slammed his door shut. Rafael waved exuberantly as she backed out of the parking spot.
The silence was unbearable in the van. Jack sat like a graven image in the dark, not responding to her attempts to speak. They got to the toll bridge, and she scrabbled in the dark for quarters. He handed her the change. The small contact gave her courage.
She flung them into the basket. “Jack,” she began.
“Don’t start,” he said, in the cool, detached voice she had not heard for weeks. Not since before they had become lovers.
“But you have the wrong idea. Rafael is a good friend, but he talks too much, and he has no idea where my head is right now—”
“Shut up and drive, Vivi,” he said.
She closed her mouth with a snap. When she pulled into the driveway at home and killed the engine, he got out without a word and headed toward the house.
Vivi stared after him, wondering if she was still welcome in there.
Edna leaped and bounded at his heels, licking at his hand as he unlocked the front door, shoving her way in when the door opened. In any case, she had to retrieve her rambunctious dog. She walked slowly up onto the porch and stepped inside, shutting the door. It was dark inside the big room, but he had not turned on any lights, and she didn’t either. The dark made it easier.
“I don’t want Rafael’s job, if that’s what you’re thinking,” she told him. “It’s a fabulous offer, but it’s not for me.”
“That’s not how it looked.” Jack’s voice was bleak. “You looked tempted. And you should be. That job’s a road back to the career you always wanted. All your hopes and dreams and training. Do what you have to do. Don’t let me hold you back.”
She shook her head in helpless dismay. “But I have everything I need, right here! Rafael was trying to help me, but I don’t need any help! His timing just sucked, that’s all!”
“No, his timing was perfect,” Jack said. “I was starting to delude myself. I owe him for bringing me back to earth.”
That drove her right over the top. She ran over to him, and whacked at his chest with the heels of her hands. “You were not deluding yourself!” she yelled. “You were starting to trust me, and I deserve to be trusted! We have something special!” She whacked him, trying to shove him back toward the couch. “Thick-brained lug! Would you just take a goddamn chance on me?”
He trapped both her wrists in one hand. “Don’t get in a wresting match with me, Viv.”
“Why the hell not?” she shot back. “Why try to be good? What’s the point of controlling myself? Why even bother?”
“Because I’ll win.” He dragged her close and cupped her ass so she could feel his erection. “Is that what you want? I’ll give it to you like that, if it is. I’ll give it to you right now.”
They stared at each other, grim and furious. Angry as she was, he still aroused her. Her heart pounded when he tossed her onto the couch and shoved up her skirt. His fingers parted her folds, slid inside her, found her wet and yielding.