Page 46 of An Heir For Her Enemy

Then she gave herself a little shake. The rabbit wasn’t going to talk back. She tossed it into one of the open suitcases. The plushy was a memento from Delaney’s childhood, when she’d held that rabbit every night to help her fall asleep. Maybe it could offer a similar comfort to her child.

Delaney picked up a set of no-heat hair curlers, sighed, and tossed it into the garbage bag marked “Donation.” Even in her small studio, even with her frugal lifestyle, she had managed to accumulate quite a few possessions during her time in New York. Now, she was leaving for Rome in four days, and her apartment had never been more of a mess.

Delaney had decided to give up her lease on her studio. She wasn’t sure when she’d be back from Rome, and it didn’t makesense to maintain a place in New York City. The rents were just too high for it to be worthwhile. Delaney was surprised to find that she was a little sad about giving up her studio. It was small and expensive and the radiator never seemed to work right, but it was also the first place where she’d lived by herself.

It was also the place where she’d spent the night with Logan, but she was trying not to think about that. In four days, she’d be thousands of miles from Logan. He would be out of her life forever.

Delaney reached for the next item in her pile. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw it was the tiny model of a pizza she’d gotten in Rome with Logan. She hadn’t seen it in her bag when she’d returned, but it must have gotten mixed up with her clothes and gone through the wash or something. She held the tiny pizza in the palm of her hand and felt tears spring to her eyes.

She wanted to blame pregnancy hormones for her sudden tears over a miniature pizza, but she knew it went a lot deeper than that. Despite herself, she slipped the tiny pizza into the envelope where she was keeping the euros left over from Rome. Then she put the envelope on top of her suitcase and pushed herself to her feet. It was clearly time for a break.

Delaney grabbed her phone from the charging port and flopped onto her bed. She had a few new messages. Cora had written to ask when they were going to have a goodbye party, but Delaney ignored it for now. She didn’t want some big event to mark her departure from New York. Delaney’s mother had written, too, to ask if she wouldn’t reconsider moving in with them instead of going to Rome. Delaney ignored that, too. She knew going to Rome was the right decision, even if no one else seemed to believe it.

She also had a few news alerts. She’d set up a system to email her about art news in New York City. Delaney clicked on the first alert, something about the Met acquiring a new piece of art, and felt her heart skip a beat yet again.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is pleased to announce our latest acquisition,The Cherished Infant.This Renaissance masterpiece is believed to be the work of Botticelli. Its rich history and gorgeous artistry make it the crowning jewel of our collection.

TheCherished Infant? Delaney could hardly believe what she was reading! Had the painting she’d authenticated for Logan really been donated to a museum? It didn’t seem possible. Logan had been so set on keeping it for himself and his wealthy clients. Delaney kept reading.

The paintingwas donated by Logan Banks, a local businessman. Banks reported that he’d donated the work because it was simply too beautiful to be kept under wraps and because the public deserved to see it. In celebration of this, Banks has partnered with the Metropolitan Museum to sponsor a monthly ‘dollar day’, during which New York residents can enter the museum for just one dollar.

The exhibit will be unveiled…

Delaney skimmed the rest of the article, which went on to detail plans for the unveiling, then talked about the history of the painting and offered a brief analysis. Delaney set her phone down. She wasn’t sure how to react. On the one hand, she was proud that Logan had decided to make the piece accessible to everyone. She was sure she’d had a role in that, since Logan had been very against the idea in the beginning.

Yet this might not be the philanthropic gesture it seemed. Maybe Logan had donated the painting so that he could capitalize on the benefits it would provide to his reputation. He might have used her insights to pave his own way.

No matter Logan’s motivation, it was a good thing thatThe Cherished Infantwould be on display. It was a gorgeous painting and Delaney was glad that people would get to see it. Still, this was a puzzling development.

Delaney got to her feet and stretched, then padded to the kitchen to find something to eat. Lately, she’d been craving pickles and peanut butter, so she prepared a peanut-butter sandwich with three large pickles on the side. As she was about to sit down and eat, her phone dinged from the bed. Delaney looked at it suspiciously. Then, with a sigh, she got to her feet and grabbed it.

She had one new email, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her jaw dropped as she clicked on it.

Dear Ms. Cohen,

We are pleased to invite you to the grand unveiling of our new acquisition,The Cherished Infant,on November 12that the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The event commences at seven. The dress code is black tie and we will be offering passed hors d’oeuvres.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Sincerely,

Patrick Adaire, Curator, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Delaney read the email several times. The news aboutTheCherished Infantbeing donated to the Met had been surprising, but this was even more so. Delaney had no idea why she’d been invited — there was no way the Met knew about her involvement with the painting.

Unless… unless Logan had been the one to invite her. Delaney bit her lip. She didn’t want to get her hopes up one way or another. There was every likelihood that she’d misread the situation. Worse, perhaps Logan had invited her to the event because he felt like, now that he’d donated the painting, they were even.

Delaney wasn’t going to go. She couldn’t. After all, she was far too busy packing and preparing to depart for Rome. She was leaving the day after this event. And even if the timing hadn’t been so inconvenient, she wasn’t sure she could keep it together while being in the same room as Logan. It was better to turn the invitation down and focus on her big move.

Delaney deleted the invitation. It was better that she wasn’t tempted by the opportunity to see the painting again — and perhaps get closure with Logan.

Yet, as she ate her sandwich and went back to packing, she couldn’t stop thinking about the event. Despite her best intentions, her curiosity had been piqued. She wanted to know why Logan had donated the painting and why she’d gotten an invitation to the unveiling.

The next day, Delaney distracted herself with another round of packing before going to meet Cora at their favorite diner. It was the only goodbye party that Delaney was willing to have — anything else would feel way too permanent.

Cora embraced Delaney at the door and led her to their usual table. They both ordered, then Cora sat back, her eyes watery.

“I’m going to miss you so much.”

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